Sunday School Lesson

1. Psalm 32: 1-11
“The Blessings of Forgiveness”
A Psalm of Instruction (maskil) by King David
August 13, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The Glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
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2. August Memory Verse
Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Special Prayer Requests
• First Baptist Church Jackson
• Beth Handley
References
• ESV Study Bible, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishing, 2011).
• Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are quoted from the ESV.
• Phillips, John, Exploring The Psalms, Volume One, 1-88 (Loizeaux Brothers,
Neptune, NJ, 1988) pp240-247.
• Kendall, R. T., Total Forgiveness, Charisma House, Lake Mary, FL, 2004.
Introduction to Psalm 32
• The story behind Psalm 32 is 2 Samuel 11 & 12.
• King David’s reign was 40 years (1000 BC – 961 BC).
• 2 Samuel 11:1
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out
with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the
Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 Samuel 11:2-5
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the
palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,
3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "She is
Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite." 4 Then David
sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she
was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

3. David adds murder to his sin of adultery.
• David tries to trick Uriah into appearing to be the father of the baby.
• Uriah remains a faithful soldier to David.
• David arranges for Uriah to be killed in battle.
• David takes Bathsheba as a wife (one of eight).
• Nathan confronts David about his sins.
2 Samuel 12:13-14
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replied,
"The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by
doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will
die."
• God forgave David’s sins with his confession.
• Psalm 51 is that confession.
David’s Confession of Sin
Psalm 51:3-4a
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4a Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
Psalm 51:12-13
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
• Psalm 32 is the promise David made to teach others.
What will Psalm 32 teach us today?
1. The four different points of view of sin.
2. The three words for and the meanings of forgiveness.
3. The meaning of guilt and how it affects us.
4. Forgiving others as God has forgiven us.
5. What does forgiving others look like?
Four Hebrew Words for Sin
Psalm 32:1-2
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

4. “whose transgression is forgiven”
• Transgression = rebellion, refusing to submit to rightful authority.
• A transgression sin is defiance.
• We refuse to be subject to God’s rightful authority in our lives.
“whose sin is covered”
• Sin = to miss the mark (target).
• We fall short of the mark which God intended for us to reach.
• God’s Word shows us the mark.
“against whom the Lord counts no iniquity”
• Iniquity = bent or twisted.
• Denotes perverseness and distortion.
• Human nature is warped, bent, and twisted instead of being straight,
perfect and true.
“in whose spirit there is no deceit”
• Deceit = deception, guile, deliberate cover-up, falsehood, hypocrisy.
• Trying to present a false front so that you look good even when you’re not.
Three Words for Forgiveness
Psalm 32:1-2
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
“transgression is forgiven”
• Forgiven = to be taken up and carried away.
• Our sin is a burden which God Himself bears and takes away.
• Scapegoat – The high priest symbolically placed the sins on the head of a
goat and sent it into the wilderness to carry the sins away.
“sin is covered”
• Covered = out of sight.
• God puts our sins out of His sight, which means He will never bring them up
as a matter of judgment between Him and us.
• Psalm 103:12
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

5. “the Lord counts no iniquity”
• Not counted = not imputed, not charged to our account.
• The debt is not reckoned.
• Your sin debt is paid.
What other word can be added for forgiveness?
• Cleansed = washed clean.
• The sacrificial system in the Old Testament could only “cover” our sins.
• Jesus washes us clean from our sins.
Jesus Cleanses Us
1 John 1:7-9
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
The Guilty Conscious
Psalm 32:3-4
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
“my bones wasted away”
• Conscious = “an inner feeling that acts as a guide to the rightness or
wrongness of one’s behavior.”
• Guilty Conscious = an inner feeling of shame and condemnation for
something you did wrong (sin).
• You are affected mentally, physically and spiritually.
“through my groaning all day long”
• Groaning – a deep inarticulate sound.
• Expanded definition of groaning:
- Short tempered.
- Anxious.
- Grumpy and grouchy.
- Unpleasant to be around.
- Defensive attitude.

6. “your hand was heavy upon me”
• The weight of the world is on your shoulders.
• You cannot find peace or rest.
• Caution: Satan will try to make you feel this weight for sins for which you
have been forgiven and God remembers no more.
“my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer”
• Physically – you become weak and vulnerable from non-restful sleep and
anxiety.
• Depression – Please seek professional help if you find yourself in a “dark
place” because clinical depression from a chemical imbalance in your
brain can feel like the “darkness of unconfessed sin”.
Psalm 32:5
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Why must we confess our sins?
God already knows about it.
• When we confess our sin, we are agreeing with God that we were
disobedient.
• Confession should also involve repentance.
- We are sorry for our sin.
- We want to start afresh and new.
- We allow the Holy Spirit to fill us for the next battle with temptation.
David’s confession
• 2 Samuel 12:13
13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan
replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin."
• God is not interested in your excuses or justifications for falling into sin.
Psalm 32:6
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
• The first thing to do when you are tempted is to pray.

7. Psalm 32:7
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah
• Pray for the protective hand of God to sustain you.
• Jesus is our deliverer.
• Praise the Lord for His mercy and grace!
Psalm 32:8
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
• We need to be guided.
• “I” has been interpreted as God and/or David.
• David committed in Psalm 51 to instruct others.
Psalm 32:9
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
• Do not be so stubborn.
Don’t be a stubborn _________!
Psalm 32:10-11
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

8. Do we have an obligation to forgive others?
• Reference: TOTAL FORGIVENESS by R. T. Kendall
• Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses.
Total Forgiveness
• Total Forgiveness – Where there is a total cessation of negative feelings
toward the offender and you can pray for God to bless them as He blesses
you.
• Let’s look at what total forgiveness looks like according to R.T. Kendall.
What Total Forgiveness Is Not:
1. Total forgiveness is not approving of what the person did.
2. Total forgiveness is not excusing what the person did.
3. Total forgiveness is not justifying what the person did.
4. Total forgiveness is not pardoning what the person did.
5. Total forgiveness is not reconciliation.
6. Total forgiveness is not denying what the person did.
7. Total forgiveness is not blindness to what happened.
8. Total forgiveness is not forgetting.
9. Total forgiveness is not refusing to take the wrong seriously.
10.Total forgiveness is not pretending we are not hurt.
What Total Forgiveness Is:
1. Being aware of what someone has done and still forgiving them.
2. Choosing to keep no records of wrong. 1 Corinthians 13:5
3. Refusing to punish. Vindication is God’s prerogative alone.
Deuteronomy 32:35
4. Not telling what they did.
5. Being merciful.
Matthew 5:7
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
6. Graciousness – gentleness and generosity.
7. It is an inner condition. (takes place in your heart)
8. It is the absence of bitterness.
9. Forgiving God.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

9. Total Forgiveness
• You may (will) have to repeat this process over and over many times with
the same person.
• Matthew 18:21-22
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to
him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times."
Closing Thoughts – Read First and Last Verses of Psalm 32 as bookends for
forgiveness.
Psalm 32:1-2
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts
no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Psalm 32:10-11
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Next Sunday
Psalm 141:1-10
“The Protector”
August 20, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

10. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7
7 "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

11. Romans 10:13
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Have questions or would like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/