1 Samuel 12:20: I've Sinned; Now What?

“And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart.’”

1 Samuel 12:20

This morning, I encourage you to take some time to consider Black Saturday, this fateful day between Good Friday and Easter. Because of man's sin, Christ Jesus was crucified. The very Messiah who proclaimed that he brought salvation to the world was killed and laid in a tomb. It seemed as if all hope was lost. I encourage you to read this devotional as you consider this fateful day.

Have you ever sinned? Yeah, me too. Have you ever had a pity party for yourself after you've sinned? Yeah, me too. But is that really the correct response to our sin? When we become convicted, it is truly honoring to the Lord for us to go cry in the corner and mope for the rest of the day? Personally, I don't think so, and I don't think Samuel would think so either.

In 1 Samuel 12, we find Samuel right before his retirement from being Israel's greatest and final judge. He's already put in his two weeks, and he's about ready to start collecting his social security, but before he goes, he decides to give one last speech. He starts out by proclaiming his personal integrity before the Israelites, asking if they've ever seen him do anything wrong. The Israelites confirm that he is a righteous man, so Samuel continues by advocating for God's personal faithfulness towards the Israelites. he traces their history back to Abraham, and in a short few sentences shows how God has always been faithful. Lastly, he convicts the Israelites of their personal iniquity in asking for a king, when in fact the LORD was their king (12). In response, the Israelites feel the weight of their sin and ask Samuel to pray for them that they might not die. Samuel does commit to praying for them, but not before giving them an encouraging word:

"Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from

following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart." 1 Samuel 12:20b

Let us note a couple of things about this verse. Firstly, look at Samuel's first clause in this statement: do not be afraid. In the context of convicting* Israel, Samuel encourages them to not be afraid. This is huge. Is not the one thing that we often feel in response to our sin fear? When we are convicted, we feel guilty, which leads us to fearing a punishment. But what Samuel says is this: "Don't be afraid, [even though] you have done all this evil." How is this possible? How can we not be afraid even though we have sinned? Ultimately, because we serve a God who has sent his Son to die for our sins, that we might not have to fear the punishment that our sins rightly deserve.

Secondly, observe here how Samuel instructs the people to keep living even after they have sinned: "Yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart." Samuel doesn't encourage the Israelites to have a pity party for themselves, be mopy all day long, or clean themselves up in their own strength. Rather, he encourages them to get up and get going with obeying the Lord. Now, let me pause and state that we must always repent of our sins (1 John 1:9-10, Mark 1:15) and, in a Godly way, mourn because of our own unrighteousness (Matt. 5:4). But the Bible never leaves room for Christians to self-deprecate or be depressed in response to our conviction. When confronted with the ways in which we have erred, scripture does not beat us down. Rather, it lifts us up by encouraging us to continue to follow the Lord even after we have failed in doing so. Often, we get the picture that God is a wrathful father standing over us with a beating rod waiting for us to mess up that he might beat us down. Never! God is a loving father who desires not his children to sin, yet allows them in his own love to be convicted that they might be shown how they can live better lives and glorify himself. Do you often feel humbled after you are convicted, whether by scripture or perhaps by a godly friend? Good! NEWSFLASH: You're a sinner! And those daily, helpful convictions that God puts in your path are for the purpose of showing you how you can live more like Jesus. Don't respond to them by moping around in self-deprecation or having a depressed pity party for yourself--to do so is to not believe in the mercy-filled Gospel of Christ who has already paid for your sins on a cross. Rather, every time you're convicted, let it be a great reminder that you're a great sinner who needs a great Savior, and "serve the Lord."

So, guess what: you're a sinner. So am I. So what more would we expect than conviction? Thus, let us not be afraid, but rather be freed, knowing that God has paid the price for our sin. Stop moping around after God reveals your sin to you. Take the punch to the gut, be humbled, and use it as an opportunity to serve the Lord more now that you've been shown where you can improve. And once again, don't be afraid, because the Lord your God has covered your sin, which is the very thing we celebrate this Holy Week. Amen!

P.S. I've preached on this before, if you want to give it a listen.

*Conviction = being shown that you have sinned. Condemnation = being damned to hell because you have sinned. Romans 8:1 tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but there is always conviction for those who are in Christ Jesus, for how else would we learn to live like our Lord if we don't know how we have failed to be like him? The glory of the Gospel is that because of the blood of Jesus we are rightly convicted yet do not obtain the condemnation we deserve.