We just looked at a pilgrimage principle from Psalms 129 & 130 that is so challenging. No one wants to face hardship and pain. But it is an all too real part of the human experience and we must be prepared to cling to God when we don’t understand what’s going on or why. I want to talk about another idea from these texts which is equally challenging.
As you near the very holy place of God’s presence and power, your iniquity is exposed.
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? (130:3)
As you learn to delight in drawing near to the presence of your faithful Father, you come into the penetrating light of His love and justice. He is holy, holy, holy and the closer you get to Him, the greater the blemishes appear. You are, like Isaiah, being “searched out.”
Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts! (Is 6:5)
This is a paradox of the Kingdom. As you come near to God in your spiritual pilgrimage, you come to a place where—by His holy grace—He reveals your true heart as he sees it. And it feels like you are sinking in the miry clay of your iniquities. Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8)
As I have taught you before, iniquity is an important word. It comes from the Hebrew root avah, which means to bend, twist, or distort. Iniquity is a mystery. It comes from within and is called selfishness and rebellion. It is the undisciplined human spirit refusing to submit to the will, purposes, and directions of the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth.
Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mk 7:20-23)
God wants you to go His way, but you want to twist it to get your own way, maybe at times slightly and at other times grossly. But the end is always the same—you want what you want when you want. Me too.
Worse, under the guise of religion, we want God to bless what, from His perspective, is selfishness and rebellion.
Here is what we fail to realize. Iniquity separates us from the presence of God; sin exiles us from the power and glory of His presence. It is at the root of idolatry. And like Israel before us, we exile ourselves from the presence and the power of God by indulging it.
Iniquity (avon) is a unique word because it connotes both sin (the misdeed) and related punishment (the consequences). Because it is one of the final and most difficult hurdles to cross on your journey up to the City of God, I want you to understand it with the proper biblical balance and discernment.
Iniquity isn’t easy to see because not only is it sold to us as normative in culture, but it has effectively pervaded our churches today. We even have a figure of speech for ministers when they speak “evangelistically.” It means they are exaggerating and we chuckle when we say or hear it. What an indictment. We accept they are twisting the truth, distorting reality, playing loose with facts. Iniquity, not humility, is symptomatic of the church in our day and age.
Isaiah gives us a memorable picture of iniquity: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Your rebellion and mine reaped an unspeakable punishment, taken by Jesus on the cross. He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; He bore the sin of many (Isaiah 53).
With help from God’s Spirit, we must examine ourselves.
But be careful you don’t go off into the deep end of constant inward introspection, one of the chief characteristics of the Western mindset. Introspection is not the biblical way. In fact, it can be another form of self-centeredness. Your heart is deceptive, capable of justifying even the most egregious actions. Most of the time you can’t understand yourself and your motives until you look back in hindsight and think: good grief, I didn’t even know that was working in me.
So if not introspection, what is the biblical way? Ask God, in prayer, to show you what is going on. Let Him examine and question you so that you can confess and change. Pray with the psalmists; search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And then, Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
I tremble to think of praying that and meaning it, but I tremble more at not praying that and remaining at a distance from my Father in Heaven.
Before His throne of grace, make a decision to turn from iniquity to humility.
You are turning from your way to His Way. Humility is strength in submission. It is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking about yourself less. It is surrendering to a Master who says, Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Mtt 11:29). Practicing humility is not easy, but it is the antidote to iniquity.
As in all things, Jesus of Nazareth is our help and our example. He embodies humility in word and deed.
- I have come not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me (Jn 6:38)
- My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work (Jn 4:34)
- I do not seek to do my will, but the will of him who sent me (Jn 5:30)
- Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. (Lk 23:24)
My dear brothers and sisters, don’t stop now. In Jesus, let us pray and praise as we press on into the presence of our great God.
O Israel, hope in the LORD!
For with the LORD there is steadfast love [hesed, grace],
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities.
– Psalm 130:7-8
