“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.” (Psalm 19:13)
I do not doubt that I will live eternally in the Kingdom of the Living God, I rest in the promise of Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
I know in my soul that I am one of the chosen, but I do not know what sins I will commit this day that will cause dishonor to His Holy name.
And that my friends is a good thing.
Waking up early in the morning with the full knowledge that I am going to commit an act of violence, that later that day I am going to go and steal something, that I have every intention of ruining a person’s day, if not a large part of their life, of intentionally hurting someone has not been my way for many decades now.
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” (Lam. 3:22)
Presumptuous sins are committed by the wicked every day, sometimes many times a day, His eternal power and Godhead, the invisible things of the Living God are clearly seen by them, yet they presume on His grace and mercy, they presume upon His forgiveness, they live by a set of scales, of weights and balances that do not exist.
It is why the Romanist invented penance, two good deeds will outweigh one bad one, and so the wicked, whether they adhere to the precepts of that cult or any other that teaches that works, the works of men who are concerned only with their own skin, can receive the favor of the Lord even after an entire life of despising and denying the sacrifice of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, without true repentance.
I have no plans to sin today, but in some form or fashion, I will.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1st John 1:8)
I do not presume upon the grace and mercy of my Father in heaven, servants receive without question what their masters offer, children accept what their father who loves them places before them. We serve in love and all humility, we fall short at times, but, in a sense, we behave in the manner of the prodigal son, we pray that we will be accepted back into His house, even if it is as the lowest servant, we return in abject humility.
We do not walk boldly to the throne of grace after we have sinned my friends.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1st John 1:9)
If not, “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numb. 32:23)
It is a great sin in itself to presume upon the grace and mercy of the Almighty, believing that because of a status or position that we believe exists within us, one though that does not truly exist, that our Father in heaven will turn a blind eye to any sin we commit. We live with this knowledge daily, that He loves us, that we will sin, and that if we repent of those sins, that He will forgive us, but we do not presume upon these truths.
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Heb. 12:6)
David presumed on the grace of the Lord for almost a year after his sin with Bathsheba, the way out of the temptation was not taken by him.
“God will let this one go unnoticed, because I am one of His.”
No, He won’t.
We are, in a sense, as those who “walk on pins and needles,” not because we fear our Father in heaven, but because we love Him.
Our sins do not only cause us to dishonor His name but can give the wicked an opportunity to do the same.
Presuming you will be forgiven without asking for that forgiveness is indeed a great sin in itself.
Planning to sin my friends is not the same as those inadvertent sins, it is worse, much worse.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1st Cor. 10:13)
Sometimes the way out is as simple as turning your head, averting your eyes.
It always involves allowing your mind to be transformed.