ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 MONITE MA’ASI 30, 2026

1 SAMIUELA 13-14; SAAME 51:1-19

When you sin, you have only two choices: either you confess your sin to God or you create excuses that make that sin acceptable to your conscience.

‘I he taimi ‘oku fai angahala ai, ‘oku ua pe ho’o me’a ‘e fai: ko ho’o vete ho’o angahala ki he ‘Otua, pea ko ho’o kumi tonuhia ke ngali lelei ki ho konisenisi.

"I forgot."

"I didn't understand you."

"He distracted me."

"I thought you meant later."

"I was gonna do it."

"Why didn't she have to do it too?"

"I ran out of time."

"Mom asked me to do something else first."

I could fill pages with the excuses my children gave when they failed to obey me. Now, don't be too hard on your children. If you're honest, you have to admit that sometimes you do the same thing. When you sin, you have two choices. The better choice is to admit that you have sinned, confess it to God, and rest in his forgiving grace. But often we opt for the second choice. We erect arguments that make our sins look not so sinful after all, and those sins then become acceptable to our hearts. Instead of confessing our sins, we argue for our righteousness with a litany of excuses meant to get us off the moral hook. We blame a bad attitude on not feeling well. We say our irritability and impatience are the result of busyness. We say our lust isn't sexual but just an enjoyment of beauty. We rationalize yelling at our children as righteous anger. The problem is that you and I can't minimize our sin without devaluing the gift of God's grace. The more you preach your own righteousness to yourself, the less you'll seek and celebrate God's grace.

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul is waiting for the prophet Samuel and, as he waits, he does something that God had forbidden him to do. He offers a sacrifice. In his law, God had forbidden anyone to independently make a sacrifice to him. He had appointed and set apart priests to offer sacrifices on behalf of his people. When Samuel confronts Saul with his sin, listen to where Saul's heart goes and what he then says:

Samuel said, "What have you done?" And Saul said, "When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD. So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering" (1 Sam. 13:11-12)

In the face of his sin being exposed, Saul does two things: he blames Samuel for being late, and he sanctifies his sin by saying he was seeking the favor of the Lord. The kicker in Saul's system of self-excuse comes when he says, "So I forced myself…”

It is always biblical/gospel insanity to deny, minimize, or excuse your sin. Why? Because God reveals himself again and again as patient, kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. He never turns his back on sinners who come to him in humble confession and with repentant hearts. Excusing sin never goes anywhere good; confessing sin always produces good fruit. So run to God in humble confession; he will greet you with mercy and bless you with his redeeming love.