The Word “I Have Sinned” Between Truth and Falsehood
The Word “I Have Sinned” Between Truth and Falsehood
The word “I have sinned” is often said out of a sincere, contrite heart, thus indicating repentance and obtaining forgiveness from God.
Such was the prodigal son, when he said to his father, “I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:18). He received forgiveness, and the fatted calf was slaughtered.
Another example is David’s saying in Psalm 50, “Against You only have I sinned, and done evil before You.” And we repeat this phrase in every one of the seven prayers of the day.
However, there are other occasions on which the phrase “I have sinned” was said, but it did not indicate repentance (and God did not accept it).
Pharaoh repeated this phrase politically, more than once, out of fear, so that the Lord might remove the punishment from him. And as soon as the plague was lifted from him, he returned to the hardness of his heart as before!!
During the plague of hail, Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the Lord, that there may be no more mighty thundering and hail, and I will let you go” (Exodus 9:27). And when the plague was lifted, he returned to his hardness.
During the plague of locusts, he said to them, “I have sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that He may take away from me this death only” (Exodus 10:16).
Many, like Pharaoh, say, “I have sinned,” and then return as he returned.
Balaam, concerning whose error Scripture spoke, said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned” (Numbers 22:34). And he returned and disobeyed.
King Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned,” and repeated it twice, not out of repentance, but so that the prophet might honor him before the people (1 Samuel 15:24–30). Saul perished, and the Lord rejected him.
Achan the son of Carmi said to Joshua, “I have sinned against the Lord” (Joshua 7:20). And he perished, just as Balaam had perished before him, and just as King Saul perished afterward, despite the phrase “I have sinned.”
Shimei the son of Gera also said to King David the phrase “I have sinned” (2 Samuel 19:20). Perhaps he said it out of a kind of fear or flattery, and it was not accepted from him, and Shimei the son of Gera perished.
And what shall I say? Judas the betrayer himself said, “I have sinned.” He said it in despair to the chief priests and elders, after the opportunity had been lost: “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:4). Then he went away and hanged himself, and Judas perished after saying, “I have sinned.”
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