The apostle Paul tells us that everyone is guilty before the Lord because all make the choice to go against the law of God. Whether a Jew who knows the law but breaks it or the Gentiles who have it written on their conscience - all stand before the Lord guilty (Romans 1:18-3). Paul says that the law of God condemns all! But what is this law?
While volumes have been written to answer such a question the short and concise response is this: the law of God is the reflection of the character of God to man. God created us in His own image and as such He has required that all would live in accordance to that vision and reflect back to Him His glory in our conforming obedience. Everyone, regardless of their religion or worldview, everyone was created by God, in His image, with the purpose of being like Him in every way.
While the law is the standard for all it was given, more specifically, to Israel, His chosen people, in order that they might be distinct from the other nations in the land of promise. They were told that to worship Him rightly they would need to reflect Him truly and this could only be achieved by their specific obedience to His standard. In other words, the law of God became that mark - the target - by which godliness was to be understood. To not obey, then, was to miss the mark and to not conform to the standard of God. This is what David means by his third variation of sin: sin (Psalm 51:2).
What is beautiful about this description of David's action in calling it sin or missing the mark, is what it implies. You cannot miss something you are not aiming for. In other words while sin is always iniquity that is sometimes expressed in rebellion, often times sin is just aiming but falling short. It is not that I do not love Jesus or am not trying to love or serve Him. Sometimes I just miss. I am in the batter’s box and I am swinging at every pitch. I want to make contact with the ball and get on base but sometimes ... it's just "a swing and a miss."
David is acknowledging his love for God and his desire to serve God but sees in his actions the reality that he just simply messed up. Yes, it was rebellion because he knew better and certainly it was iniquity because it's just in him, but it was different from the sins of unbelievers. His was not a rebellious forgetting of God nor a desire to truly be his own God. He just missed the mark. The problem is that when I miss the mark I enter into a world that has deeper and more radical expressions of sin. David missed the mark when he failed to be at war, as it was the king's custom (2 Samuel 11:1), and because he missed that mark everything else unfolded. The same is true with us.
We love the Lord and we desire to serve him but sometimes, for many reasons, we fail and stumble. This is the truth laid bare through Paul when he says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23). This reality is not simply resigned to our lives before Christ, however, but it is the truth of us even after conversion.None of us can meet the standards of God in and of ourselves. We need a righteousness that is alien to us and still, with this righteousness, we battle with sin.
We have hearts and passions that are divided and the battle to love Jesus over the flesh is real and intense just as Paul informs us when he commands us saying,
16.But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the
desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for
these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Because of this, in our daily experience and battles, we can identify with David when he cried out to the Lord, "Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name" (Psalm 86:11). David acknowledged that his heart was divided: he loved God but he could be lured by the world. This is the reality for all of us whether we are conscious of it or not. David missed the mark in this season of his life which is why he deems his actions as sin – a failing to conform to the standard of God's law (His character and righteousness).
How have you missed the mark in any season of your life? We all have because we are all dealing with sin and divided affections. The reality is that we do not have to sin. I am not saying that we can be sinless because this is not possible. However, the scripture teaches us that we are no longer bound to the power of sin and, therefore, can make choices that are righteous in the face of temptation. The apostle John teaches us, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin ... (1st John 2:1). This is imperative because we do not need to give sin a power it does not have. Yes, we miss the mark, but this should not be seen as the normal or ordinary part of our Christian lives.
Yet, we fail and stumble. James says, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds," (James 1:2). There it is, "when you meet trials". This is a certainty. We will fall into trials and temptations because the enemy is seeking to destroy us. Yet, here is the gospel: just as David repented and received the mercy of the Lord the good news is that we can do the same. Jesus has not only died for us but he stands before God advocating on our behalf when we miss the mark. While John says that we do not have to sin he, nonetheless, reminds us of the mercy of God in Christ,
"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1st John 2:1, emphasis
added).
Seek the Lord, today, for the mercy that He has promised and provided for us in Christ's death, resurrection and ascension. He has crushed your sin!