Pine Over Your Sin

As we have engaged in this series of Jonathan Edwards's advice to new converts, the next piece of advice that Edwards gives is thus:

"Pine over you sin"

What does this mean? Let's break it down and hopefully get a grasp as to how we can change and grow in our Christian walks.

The word "pine" (as a verb) means to yearn deeply; suffer with longing; long painfully. It also means to suffer grief or regret over. A synonym is "to languish."

Edwards gives advice to new believers in telling them to suffer with agonizing pain over your sin. Why would anyone need to pine over sin?

1) Yahweh God is "The Holy One" (Is 45:11) and to be holy is to be absolutely free from sin. He is righteous (Ex 9:27). Thus, God is absolutely perfect. Unable to be tainted with any form of sin. He cannot associate with sin in any way.

2) We as humans are sinners (Ps 143:2; Rom 3:23; 1 Kings 8:46; Ecc 7:20) and are unable to enter into the holy presence of the Triune God.

3) When we as sinners violate the righteous standard of this Holy God, it separates us from God as well as grieves God. Yet for the believer in Jesus Christ, there is full salvation. There is a pardon. But it is only through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our sin is why God killed his Son on the cross. There didn't have to be a sacrifice, but out of God's infinite mercy and grace, he chose to sacrifice His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in order that we - by believing in Him - may have life.

Thus when we sin, we are grieving our Lord who died for that sin.

May we as believers pine over our sin. Remember Peter, the disciple, who denied his Lord. Afterwards:

Matthew 26:75 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

The word here for "weeping bitterly" (Gk. eklausen pikros) and the verb "to weep" is common, but "bitterly" only occurs 2x in the NT and they are both in the contexts of Peter weeping after denying his Lord.

May we learn from Peter here and pine over our sin because we have violated the holy and righteous standard and will of a loving God.