Psalm 53 is a song written by David that is meant to teach; it is meant to instruct us on the horrific nature of sin. Sin is not a popular topic in the modern church. Many church goers in the West would rather hear three practical points to fix their marriage, be a better man or woman, handle their finances better, or be encouraged to stand strong for their political party.
Why is it more desirable for many to hear practical life principles instead of hearing the actual themes and doctrines of the Bible; especially the main themes of the gospel – sin and salvation? Why do church goers in the West check out during sermons that deal with the doctrines of sin and salvation?
I think the reality is that there is an epidemic sweeping through the church in the form of Atheism. You may not be a formal atheist, but you should pay attention to when you behave like a functional atheist – someone who denies God’s existence, ignores the instructions of his Word, and lives in open rebellion against God by the very way you live as well as by the very desires you seek to satisfy in ungodly ways.
Are you a functional atheist this morning? Are you someone who grows bored with the plain preaching of the gospel; especially in regards to your sin and your need for salvation? Have you already checked out because your heart is not open to hearing another sermon about your sin, your need for salvation, and the beauty of the cross of Christ, the empty tomb, and his promise of eternity?
Look at Psalm 53 with me…
To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
4Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? 5There they are, in great terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
6Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Are you going to act like a functional atheist this morning? That is the warning of Psalm 53. Notice just the highlights of what David wants to teach us:
Verse One: You are a fool if you think you can play God and ignore his Word.
Verse Two: You cannot hide your foolishness from an all-seeing God.
Verse Three: Every one of us is guilty of acting like an atheist.
Verse Four: You act like an ignorant person when you do not call upon God.
Verse Five: God will reject wicked people who do not listen to him.
Verse Six: Only God can save you from your functional atheism.
Can you see why I would ask you if you are going to act like an atheist this morning? My hope is that the Lord would open your heart this morning so that you might feel the overwhelming joy and gladness that can only come with a cold hard look in the mirror of God’s Word where your sin in all its disgustingness and where the cross of Christ in all its beauty can be seen. Think about what David says about your sin and the beauty of salvation.
#1: WE ARE ALL GUILTY OF SIN (VV. 1 – 3)
1The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. 2God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 3They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.
You are a fool if you think you can play God and ignore his Word. You cannot hide your foolishness from an all-seeing God. Every one of us acts like an atheist sometimes. Just think about the times in your life when you chose self-pleasure over sacrifice. Or the times you took that lustful look or even worse, threw yourself into sexual sin. Or how about the times you chose not to read God’s Word but spent hours surfing the internet or your favorite social media apps instead. What about the times you lost your head on someone because they failed to meet your expectations.
Are not these all examples of being guilty of sin? Are not these the times when you tried to play God to gain control, to coerce comfort, to feel powerful, or to placate some unmet desire inside of you? Why would you and I do these things when we know that God sees everything while we act like he does not see us in our rebellion? Can you see how guilty you and I are of acting like functional atheists? Think about this too, it’s not like an atheist is a friend of God; when we act like atheists we engage in warfare against God!
#2: OUR SIN IS WARFARE AGAINST GOD (VV. 4 – 5)
4Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God? 5There they are, in great terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
You act like an ignorant person when you do not call upon God. God will reject wicked people who do not listen to him. How often do you catch yourself not calling upon God, not seeking the presence of God through Scripture study, prayer, and community? How often do you find ways to distract yourself from God’s calling on your life – through overworking, overplaying, oversleeping, overindulging, etc.?
Not making the time to be with God, not listening to the preaching of his Word, not seeking him in sacrificial worship, these are the weapons of your warfare against the God who loves you dearly. You and I are absolutely wretched people who not only sin constantly but in our sinfulness, we actually reject God in our daily habits while we claim to know him.
This is functional atheism at its best: Claiming to know God while stupidly living our lives without him. Every one of us is guilty of this. Thank God for his faithfulness to unfaithful people like us because only God holds the keys to the cabinet that holds the cure for our problem! There is no cure within us for our sin. There is no hope in anything we can do to stop our war against God. All of us are absolutely doomed to eternity apart from all that is good in our Good God, except the work of God on our behalf!
#3: ONLY GOD CAN FIX YOUR SIN PROBLEM (V. 6)
6Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Only God can save you from your functional atheism. Salvation can only come from “Zion” or the presence of God’s dwelling place. True and complete restoration can only be found in God’s presence. The fruit of salvation in your life is joy and gladness at the preaching of God’s Word.
CONCLUSION…
Do you feel the weight of your functional atheism this morning? Can you clearly see that you are guilty of waging war against God? Can you see your need for the work of Christ at that bloody cross, and that empty tomb? Is your heart so full of gladness and joy over Christ’s gracious work on your behalf that you are humbled by the promise of eternity?
Why would God want to save you and I? Why would he give his Son for you and I? There are many functional atheists living in the shadows of all the pragmatic preaching in the church today who can give you their three points to a better marriage, better finances, better time management, or encouragement to stand tall for their political party.
Atheists are more than capable of doing good things by worldly standards. Only true believers will hear the gospel of their sin and God’s work of salvation at the bloody cross, the empty tomb, and the promise of heaven, and rejoice in what they hear. Are you overjoyed at hearing the weight of your sin and the work that God did on your behalf to save you from it? That is David’s hope, it is my hope, and it will be our prayer as we close.
1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).
2 Richard, D. Phillips, Psalms 42 – 72, Reformed Expository Commentary, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2019), 98 – 108. (Much of the content of this sermon can be gleaned from this citation)