I Have Not Sinned….BUT….

I have not sinned, but I have.  I have obeyed, but I have not.

We want to be so critical of Saul, but he’s typical of our nature. One of our most difficult tasks is admitting our own sin.  We look at society in general and say “they’re lost and why in the world can’t they see their sin?”  We look at ourselves and don’t see it. There are a 1,000 ways we can sin, but there is only one remedy.  Remember Saul was anointed king, but he did wrong.  Also remember that God views the sin of a believer and that of an unsaved person in like manner because sin is sin. Admit it. Don’t be like Saul. He argued that he had not sinned. God help us all to see we need to confess, not to each other or to the preacher, but to God. That’s the only way to find his mercy and our forgiveness.

I Samuel 15:19 “Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. 22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD.”

I have not sinned, but I have.  I have not disobeyed, but I have.  Now, which is it? The only one who can tell us is God. We cannot set our own definition. We must go to the one who knows how we act. The most dangerous thing in existence is sin. Even as a Christian we have a tendency to sin. It may not be consciously.  It could be our words, our decisions, or our behavior. If we’re not careful,  if we relax, we’ll find ourselves just like Saul repeating phrases like “now, I’m not perfect.”  There is no latitude. This is not performed by man’s ways but God’s. We claim we’re right with the Lord; either we are or we’re not. We sin every day, but do we deal with them?

The commandment of God to Saul was loud and clear.  “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.” (v3) Saul knew the blessing would come from obeying it. He didn’t have to understand it; he didn’t have to approve of it. God knows how the devil works and the many subtle ways he uses. The only way any of us can make it is to trust the Lord. The sinfulness of the nation of Israel depended on how they carried this out. Death was the remedy. The only one to trust for what is right and what’s wrong is the Lord.

We may look at each other and see those who act like us. We do and/or say the same type of things. They’re okay. I’m okay. As long as we listen to public opinion or what others generally believe is correct, we’ll find ourselves like Saul. We’ll partially obey and say we’re not sinning at all. Saul was told to destroy all of it, not hang on to some of it.  Saul believed that because he was going to offer it as a sacrifice it was all right, but that’s not what God told him to do. Partial obedience is actually no obedience at all.

Saul already had one message from the Lord.   He should have learned. God forgave him that time and left him in as king. This time Saul said he had done enough of what the Lord commanded and was keeping what God said destroy for other purposes.  We cannot change how God wants things. Now is the time to keep ourselves right with God.  Sin is so masqueraded that even the elect can be deceived.  Never say never. You just may.  You may do pretty well keeping up with society, but when what others do goes against the Word, it’s the Word that determines things no matter what everyone else thinks.  Once rock-solid churches are doing what they said they’d never do. It seems good. Saul felt good. All the people felt good.  He led his people away from the truth….until Samuel came.

Samuel didn’t have to say a whole lot to Saul’s story. He told Samuel “I have performed the commandment of the LORD.”  All Samuel had to say was “what meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?”  In other words if you destroyed everything then what’s that I hear? When we look at how much we’ve done right, does the Lord hear “cattle and sheep?” We may say we’ve not sinned, but it can’t be hidden from the Lord.  Saul couldn’t keep those animals quiet. We can’t stop ours either. No matter what story we come up with in our own defense, it doesn’t matter. Don’t go by what others say.  Let’s face our Samuel. Face the Lord.

Saul tried to convince Samuel it was all right.  In verse 19 Samuel asked Saul how he could look him in the face and ask when hadn’t he obeyed the Lord?  Saul told Samuel what all he had done, which was right, but he started telling what all he hung on to that he should have destroyed. Hmm.  Maybe it’s a loose tongue we won’t let go of or an evil attitude or wrong spirit. It’s more than we think. We can’t spout another of our famous phrases. “I’m doing the best I can.” If we ever need a Samuel, we do now. We need to hear the voice of the Lord. Too often people want preachers to shut up. The Bible is taken lightly. Sin is made fun of and taken casually by society, by the government and so forth. I can talk about the world’s sin all day long, but not recognizing or forsaking personal sins is the message. When we do one thing wrong and don’t repent or don’t do something we should and don’t repent, it’s easier the next time. “Can I get in that shape?”  YOU CAN and sometimes not even realize it. It is because one’s heart can quickly grow harder.  Samuel reminded Saul what God commanded.

We need to recognize it and stop holding the mouths of the sheep and bring them to the Lord. Saul saw himself in God’s mirror when Samuel held it up. God is revealing his definition of sin, first Saul’s and now ours. Saul admitted his disobedience too late.  You’re here. It’s not too late.

I’m not standing up here saying we’re all a bunch of sinners. God is saying that he looks at our sins just as he does the murderer on the street or the gambler in the casino.  We all need to confess.

If you went to the doctor today, and he ran some tests and said you have a serious illness and need to go to the hospital right away or you’ll die, would you go? If you decide to make your own rules about it and go home and take an aspirin, guess what?  You’ll die. It’s time to stop making our own rules and listen to God.

What about it? Will you say “I’ve not disobeyed?”  Saul told Samuel he was going to offer the animals as a sacrifice, all a part of Jewish rituals.  Samuel told Saul “Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Look here. Obedience is the key. If we don’t put ourselves fully in God’s will, then Lord, help us.

I have not, but I have.  Which is it?