Finding Forgiveness (Let Go Of Guilt)

Questions This Sermon Answers:

1. What is Psalm 32 about?

Psalm 32 is David's testimony of the blessedness of forgiveness. It opens, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1), describes the misery of unconfessed sin, and then records how God pardoned David the very moment he confessed. The psalm teaches that forgiveness comes not by weighing our good against our bad, but by God not imputing iniquity to those who turn to Him.

2. Who wrote Psalm 32, and why does it matter?

Psalm 32 was written by David, the king Scripture calls a man after God's own heart, who nonetheless committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband Uriah. As Dr. Holt notes, David "killed a man so he could steal his wife." It matters because if a man so beloved in Scripture broke God's law so gravely and still found mercy, then there is hope of forgiveness for the worst of sinners.

3. What does it mean that God does not impute iniquity?

To "impute" is to credit something to a person's account. Psalm 32:2 says, "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity." God does not charge the believer's sin against him because that sin has been charged to Christ instead. Paul quotes this very verse in Romans 4:7-8 to prove justification by faith, and the Westminster Confession (11.1) teaches that God justifies by imputing Christ's righteousness, not by anything in us.

4. Can I earn God's forgiveness by doing more good than bad?

No. Dr. Holt warns against imagining God as "a senile old fuddy-duddy in the clouds" who simply weighs our good deeds against our bad. David did much good, yet knew that "not one of his best deeds could pay off the least of his sins." If we could buy heaven with credits, then, as Dr. Holt asks, "who needs Jesus? Who needs the cross?" Forgiveness is received by confession and grace, never purchased by merit.

5. If God is just, how can He simply forgive sin?

God does not merely overlook sin. Dr. Holt illustrates: if a county judge let a guilty murderer walk free with no consequence, we would rightly call it an abdication of justice. So our sin must have consequences, or God is not a just Judge. The gospel answer is that "God's wrath for our sin comes down — but on Someone other than ourselves." At the cross the penalty fell on Christ, so God remains "just and the justifier" of the one who believes (Romans 3:26).

6. What does Isaiah 53 have to do with forgiveness in Psalm 32?

Psalm 32 anticipates the Messiah whom Isaiah 53 describes. Isaiah says "it pleased the LORD to bruise Him," which Dr. Holt calls one of the most challenging verses in the Bible — the Father was pleased to crush the Son because, seeing our sin, His holiness required that it be dealt with. As Isaiah 53:5 says, "by His stripes we are healed." Christ "lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died," securing the forgiveness David celebrates.

7. Why did David feel physically sick when he kept silent about his sin?

David found that keeping silent was not the answer; his unconfessed sin weighed on body, mind, and spirit. "When I kept silent, my bones grew old... my vitality was turned into the drought of summer" (Psalm 32:3-4). Proverbs 17:22 agrees: "A broken spirit dries the bones." Dr. Holt is careful to say this does not mean every illness comes from a specific sin, but unrepented guilt can manifest in symptoms no medical chart will ever explain.

8. How do I find forgiveness for a sin I have buried for years?

You do what David did and unburden your heart before God. David said, "I acknowledged my sin to You... and You forgave the iniquity of my sin" (Psalm 32:5). Dr. Holt marvels at how quickly God responded — no gap, no waiting, no purgatory. The promise of 1 John 1:9 stands: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us." If something still weighs on your spirit, nothing need stop you from bringing it to the Lord today.

9. What does Selah mean at the end of Psalm 32:5?

Selah is an untranslated Hebrew word generally understood as a call to pause and consider. Dr. Holt urges that we not keep this psalm at arm's length as an issue for someone else, but ask, "What about me?" We should consider two things: our own need, since "the wages of sin is death" and even King David fell under this text, and the singular remedy, the person and work of Jesus Christ.

10. How does Psalm 32 point to Jesus Christ?

Psalm 32 celebrates a forgiveness it could not yet fully explain, and the explanation is Christ. The non-imputation of sin in verse 2 is possible only because our iniquity was imputed to Jesus at Calvary, where the Father poured out the wrath our sin deserved. Jesus said, "I am the way... no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6), and "the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). David's blessedness is ours through the cross.