Sermons and Outlines

Psa. 51:1-19      HOW TO COME BACK WHEN YOU ARE DOWN

Intro:  This Psalm came about as a result of David's sin with Bathsheba.  He 

committed adultery, then in a effort to cover that up, he committed murder.  After a 

while, David was confronted about his sin by Nathan the prophet.  It was only after 

his sins were made public that David chooses to repent/  It was during this time of 

repentance and soul searching that David penned this Psalm.  In these verses, he 

expresses the heartfelt need of a believer to be right with God.

	To make this personal, let me say that Satan tempts us to sin by telling us, 

“You can get by with it!”; or “No one will ever know about it!”  Then, when you 

give in to him and sin, he says, “You'll never get away with it, everyone is going to 

find out!”  If you are saved, the devil knows that he cannot have your soul, but he 

does seek to get you down, discouraged and defeated.  He delights in leading 

Christians into a backslidden condition and then convincing them that they will 

never be able to get back up again.

	Thank God, the devil is a liar!  I know I am speaking to people who are 

down spiritually.  You used to faithfully serve God, but now your service is limited 

to 1 hour a week.  You have believed the lie and now you are down. In fact, it 

would be safe to say that you area backslider.  Now, Satan tells you that you have 

thrown it all away and can never get back what you have lost.  He is a liar!  The 

Bible plainly teaches us that we can come back when we are down.  It tells us how 

and we need to look at that today.  I trust that you will be able to get back up today.  

Allow me to share with you “How to come back when you are down.”



  I.			THE CAPACITY FOR SIN IN THE SAINT

    A.  Salvation saves the sinner, but does not take away his ability to sin, Ill. Rom. 

	6:14; 1 Cor. 10:13

    B.  Any saint who claims total sinless perfection is in a terrible state of self-

	deception - 1 John 1:8-10.

    C.  Sin cannot take away our salvation, but it does tear us down spiritually and 

	emotionally.  As long as we occupy these bodies, there will the capacity for 

	sin - Ill. Even David - Acts 13:22.



 II.                     THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN FOR THE SAINT

    (Ill. Psalm 51 was written by a sinning saint.  He knew full well the 

      consequences and he begins with a plea for mercy.  Never, never be deceived, 

      sin carries its own club - Pro. 13:22.)  Notice these certain consequences of sin.

    A.  v. 2  Sin Soils The Saint - (Ill. David seeks cleansing)

	Sin will make the saint feel dirty.  The non-Christian will have no difficulty 

	with sin, (Ill. The Pig - 2 Pet. 2:22.)  The saint will not be able to sin a get by 

	with it!

    B.  v. 3  Sin Saturates The Mind - (Ill. David’s sin was always on his mind!)  

	An unbeliever can sin and forget it, but the Christian will have that sin on his 

	mind until it is dealt with!  The Holy Ghost in our hearts will not allow us to 

	forget it.  (Ill. 2 major wounds to the mind - guilt and sorrow.  Sorrow will 

	heal, because it is a clean wound.  Guilt festers and infects the whole of life, 

	until it is dealt with.  (Ill. Manifests itself in: temper, lack of concentration, 

	irritability, no prayer life, lack of appetite for spiritual things etc.)  (Ill. Psa. 

	34:4)  Guilt will eat you up.  But, it doesn’t have to!  Jesus offers cleansing 

	and forgiveness!

    C.  v. 4  Sin Stings The Conscience - (Ill. David hurt a lot of people in his fall, 

	but ultimately, his evil was against a Holy God!)  Ill. David was broken 

	because he had hurt God!  This is the difference between a slave and a son!  

	The slave fears the Master’s whip, but the son fears the Father’s displeasure.  

	If you fear only the punishment of sin, you had better check your salvation.  

	A true Christian weeps not over the consequences of his actions, but he 

	weeps because he has offended and disgraced his Heavenly Father!  (Ill. 

	When we sin, we are attacking the Father’s right to be God in our lives - Ill. 

	Satan - Isa. 14!)

    D.  v. 8, 12  Sin Saddens The Heart - (Ill. David has lost his joy and wants it 

	back!)  Ill. If you are saved, sin will make you the most miserable person on 

	the face of the earth.  You cannot live in a backslidden condition and expect 

	to have happiness.  Joy is the by-product of a right relationship with God!  

	(Ill. You can tell a backslider by his/her lack of joy.  True abiding joy is not 

	affected by circumstance or difficulty. It is, however, affected by sin.  If true 

	joy is missing in your life, it is because something has gotten between you 

	and God!

    E.  v. 8  Sin Sickens The Body - (Ill. David’s sin has begun to take a physical 

	toll on him.)  Sin does this!  It can damage your health - Ill. Paul’s warning 

	to the Corinthians - 1 Cor. 11:30.  Because sin replaces joy and peace with 

	worry and fear, it has an impact on our ability to be well.  (Ill. God never 

	casts us off when we sin, He just squeezes us closer to Himself.  Often, this 

	crushing results in broken health.)

    F.  v. 10  Sin Sours The Spirit - (Ill. David had a wrong spirit - 2 Sam. 12:1-7)  

	Sin does this to a saint.  The backslider will be cantankerous, critical, sour 

	and judgmental.  The saint in sin is impossible to satisfy and quick to attack 

	others to make themselves look better.  (Ill. They have spiritual 

	indigestion!)They feel so miserable, they attempt to compensate by pushing 

	their pain off on others.  There is only one solution for the sour saint - 

	REPENT!

    G.  v. 13-15  Sin Seals The Lips - (Ill. All the things David says that he will do 

	when he gets right with God)  Sin will take away your shout, your song and 

	your statement of testimony.  You can shout - there’s no presence of God.  

	You can’t sing - there’s no joy.  You can’t testify - there’s no reality in your 

	life.   All the while, Satan in pointing at you laughing, and accusing you 

	trying to keep you down.

    H.  Some of you are right there today!  Not where you used to be with the Lord.  

	Not where you know you ought to be.  Not where you could be.  Just where 

	you are, clod, indifferent, backslidden.  Thank God!  Things do not have to 

	remain the way they are!



III.		THE COMEBACK FROM SIN FOR THE SAINT

    (Ill. Even though you can, or perhaps have, fallen into sin you can come back!  

     Notice how:)

    A.  Have The Confidence That God Still Loves You - (Ill. David - He knew 

	that even with all the sin he was guilty of, God still loved him.)  (Ill. Satan 

	will tell you that God doesn’t care, that He doesn’t love you, or is through 

	with you.  Remember, Satan is a liar! John 8:44.)  No matter what you’ve 

	done, or how far you’ve fallen, God still loves you and wants to be in a right 

	relationship with you.  For great sin, there is great grace - Rom. 5:20.

    B.  Confess Your Sins To God - (Ill. David confessed his sins and God’s right 

	to judge, v. 4)  God is not looking for excuses or alibis, He is looking for 

	honesty.  (Ill. Confess = To agree, say the same thing)  If you want to be 

	right with God, you must come clean - 1 John 1:9.

    C.  Allow God To Cleanse You - v. 7 - (Ill. David requested cleansing)  When 

	we allow God to cleanse us, great things take place.  The mountain of our 

	guilt is removed, our condemnation is taken away, we are freed from the 

	voice of the Accuser, our sin is buried in the grave of forgetfulness, He 

	removes the penalty and pollution of our sin, He restores our joy and 

	receives us back into close fellowship with Himself.  Don’t you want that for 

	yourself?  You can have it right now.



Conc:  Where are you today?  Far from God floundering in a sea of sin?  Drowning 

in guilt and shame?  No peace and no joy within?  Please, come back to the Father 

and walk with him like you used to.  Please do not spend another hour in the far 

country feeding among the swine.  Come back to the Father’s house and enjoy His 

fellowship and blessing once more.  Will you come home?  The Father is waiting 

for you.
(Thanks to Adrian Rogers for some of the material for this outline.)