BUILT NOT BORN

Psalm 51

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5, NASB).

At the gym this morning I see Michael. It has been several months since I last saw Michael. I go over and greet him. Michael is a dear gym friend. I tell Michael that I had been thinking about him since I had been looking though my archives and seen the article that he had inspired. Michael remembers the article “ALWAYS REPPEN” that appears in the archive section May 10, 2017. We continue on our workout routines. Michael walks by, and he has on a shirt with the inscription, BUILT NOT BORN. I say to Michael, “I think I have another article. We are not born righteous, we become righteous though faith in Jesus” Michael replies, “You know David says, “I was sharpened in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me,” quoting the King James Version of Psalm 51:5. This is the genesis of this article. Remember, we are in a gym exercising our bodies.

In the gym setting, the inscription BUILT NOT BORN speaks to the fact that we have to work to build a strong and healthy body. Regardless of our apgar score at birth we will have to work to build our bodies into strong and healthy ones. Some people are born with the potential to have big strong rippling muscles. We see these body types on body builders. Some people are smaller with well trimmed and well defined muscles. This person may be a swimmer or a distance runner.

Most of the people that I talk to are not trying to be a super athlete. Rather, they are there simply because of the benefits of having a well conditioned body. Exercise makes them feel better. Exercise to control medical conditions. For example, exercise helps the body to utilize insulin, thus reducing blood sugar. Exercise aids in cardiovascular conditioning. It reduces stress and anxiety. Regardless, the body that we see now, it is not the body that this person was born with. It was built through diligent hard work. The same is true for our spiritual life. We must build our relationship with the Lord. We are not born with righteous character. Regardless to our position in the church, whether in a leadership position or simply a regular church member, we must build our relationship to God. We must discipline ourselves through spiritual exercising.

In the book of Genesis we read that God creates human being in His image and likeness. Since God is a spirit, we can conclude that God creates mankind to reflex His holiness and His righteous character. However, a dramatic event takes place in the garden. The man and the woman disobey God. Their sin leads to the human condition of being sinners; no longer being born into the world with God’s holiness and righteous character. Instead, mankind is born with an affinity to sin. The story of King David gives us an illustration of why we must be built since we are not born righteous.

Psalm 51 is a prayer of David the king of Israel. Now, when I was growing up I do not remember reading in the Bible Story books in our home about the sins of David. The stories tell us how David plays the harp to make the king, Saul, feel better when the king feels bad. David takes a sling shot and some stones and kills the great big giant. David leads God’s army to victory against the enemies. David becomes the king, and David is a good king. I do not remember one story about the sins of David. This may be a good thing and I suppose that this is subject to discussion and debate and reflection. The truth is this. David sins and Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession and contrition. Psalm 51 gives us a picture of David building his relationship with God. It shows us that being righteous is not something that we are born with. We grow in grace and the knowledge of God, and this requires us to work. So, what is David praying about? What is the reason that David is contrite?

We read about David’s sin in 2 Samuel 11. David sees a married woman as he walks on the rooftop of his house. He uses his power as king to summon the woman to his room. He has sexual intercourse with the woman, and she gets pregnant. David tries to cover his sin. He sends for her husband Uriah who is a soldier in the army. Uriah comes back to Jerusalem. David gets Uriah drunk and tells him to go home to his wife. However, Uriah does not go home to his wife; David sends him back to the battlefield with a letter that instructs Joab to place Uriah at the front of the line so that Uriah will be killed. The plan is a success, but David does not cover his tracks. The omniscient God sees all, and God knows all things.

In 2 Samuel 12 Nathan the prophet of God confronts David and leads David to acknowledge his sin. Psalm 51 is David’s prayer of confession, and his plea for God’s mercy. David has proven himself to be a great warrior in battle. He has faith in God, so much so that he bravely faces the well trained, Superior equipped giant with years of experience in battle. David is a good king. He desires to build the Lord a house. In spite of all the good that David does, David still needs to grow in his relationship to God. His good works do not make him righteous in the eyes of the Lord. David expresses his insight into this reality in Psalm 51. Let us take a look at some of the things that David says.

David begins by confessing his need for God’s grace and compassion so that God will show love toward him by blotting out his transgressions. The English word “blot out” is translated from the Hebrew word “machah.” It means to rub out and abolish, leaving no trace. This mark must be totally erased before righteousness can replace it. David expresses this process through the idea of washing. If God does not remove this mark, it will always be a reminder that keeps David from moving forward in his relationship with God. In verse five David recognizes what is the root of his problem.

David confesses that he was brought forth in iniquity and in sin his mother conceives him. Davis confesses that his birth is the result of iniquity and sin. Thus, he too is a sinner in need of purification. As we read through this Psalm we discover that David uses several metaphorical expressions to confess his own inability to undo his sin. The Lord alone is able to create in him a clean heart and deliver him from his bloodguiltness. God alone is able to forgive us our sins and declare us righteous.

You may be asking, If God alone can cleanse us and declare us righteous, why do you say that righteousness is built? How does this relate to our exercising ourselves in spiritual disciplines? When I go to the gym I exercise my body. My exercising is a matter of knowledge of how the body works. However, I also exercise because I have faith that the process that God ordains will work. You see, exercising the body is an exercise in faith. You really don’t have to know anything about how the body works to get the benefits of exercise. If you believe and do the work, you will get the results.

In Psalm 51 David is working. How so, you might ask? David exercises confession. David exercises belief that God can and will cleanse him from his transgression and sin. He exercises trust that God will show forth His love by having compassion on him. David believes that these exercises will lead to him having wisdom, a steadfast spirit, joy, purity, and offering that are righteous sacrifices.

In conclusion the words of this song hold the key to our building our relationship with God. In part it says: “Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand. In a world where things are constantly changing and we are continually being tested and tried, we can build our relationship to God if we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ and hold to His hand.