Well, let's turn now to God's Word. Let's turn to 1 Samuel, chapter 15. 1 Samuel, chapter 15. We are continuing in the series of messages that until this week had been entitled, The Nature of False Repentance. I have sort of changed it a little bit to The Anatomy. of false repentance. And the reason why I have opted for anatomy is primarily because with respect to anatomy, you are looking at different parts of a body, different parts. But at the end of the day, all those different parts end up making one body. And I think that's what we are really doing as we are looking at false repentance. We are not just looking at its nature, we are looking at different parts, the different ways in which it manifests itself. And I hope that the more we study, the more we may search ourselves, to ask ourselves, because we are all sinners, But to ask ourselves the question, have I genuinely repented? Am I a repentant sinner? When I sin against the Lord, do I genuinely repent or do I somehow cover it with some form of false repentance, which satisfies other human beings perhaps, but surely cannot satisfy God. And on the final day of judgment, I will pay for it. We're looking at this from the life of Saul in 1 Samuel 15. Initially, we saw the nature of true obedience in the way in which God commanded Saul in order for him to go and annihilate completely the Amalekites and everything about them. And he was to fulfill it completely. However, he didn't. He did a partial fulfillment of those commands. And the point we're making there is that the nature of obedience is that it must be comprehensive. You don't choose which parts of God's commands you apply to your life and then reject others. That's not obedience. But then we also went on to see the nature of true godliness with respect to sin from the way in which Samuel responded when God said to him, Saul has sinned. then we began to look now at Saul himself and the way in which he is responding this time to his own sin that we may see whether there is any similarity to that of Samuel. And last week, we noted together that the way in which Saul responded was initially by just telling lies. Well, better still, telling half-truths. So he was saying that I have obeyed, but in actual fact, He only obeyed in part. And we said that that's lying because it is not the truth. It is not the whole truth. It is not nothing but the truth. And consequently, he was lying. And if you are lying about your sin, you are not repentant. This morning we are saying that blame shifting also betrays false repentance. Blame shifting also betrays false repentance. And I want us to see this from verse 14 and verse 15 of 1 Samuel chapter 15. verse 14 and verse 15. Let's begin with verse 13, when Samuel arrived. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord." And Samuel said, what then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that are here? Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction." You can't miss the fact there that Saul engaged in blame shifting. Let's quickly look at this for a moment. To begin with, it was not that he came forth himself to share what he had done. That's not what happened. What happened instead was that God providentially blew the cover on the sin. God revealed to Samuel what had happened and that became the occasion on which the sin was now being admitted. Already that is beginning to say, question mark, on whether we are dealing with real repentance here. Now, there can be real repentance, even when providence itself reveals the sin. It's possible for a person to still say, yes, God has caught up with me, let me just own up. But often, when it is God himself who, as it were, lifts the cover or opens the wardrobe doors, and consequently the skeletons fall out, often you can be sure that that same effort of hiding sin continues, but now it just changes form. And that is exactly what happened here. Saul had been claiming obedience. I have obeyed, he was saying. But then Samuel heard animals making noise and consequently asks the question there, the question about these animals. What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear? The bottom line is that where a soul would have easily told his people, the soldiers that were with him, that they must not reveal anything of what had transpired in terms of them keeping back these animals. You can command human beings to keep quiet. But you cannot command animals to keep quiet. They don't know your language. And consequently, where they were, they simply went on life as usual, bleeding among themselves, lowing among themselves. And consequently, that was now totally beyond soul to hide. And secondly, you don't take live animals with you when you are going to war. That's already too much to hold you back. You need to be free enough to move fast when you are in battle. So here was Saul, he had taken an army to go and fight. Surely the last thing you expect among him and his people in the camp are live animals. Already that is saying something. And hence Samuel asks the question, how come you've got live animals in the camp? Often, that's how God works, isn't it? It is in providence that which is a telltale sign finally unveils that there is a sin. For instance, you might be somebody who is well-known within the context of the home for a violent temper. Outside, nobody knows it. And you've warned the children, you've warned your wife that, hey, nobody should speak like this outside the home. Until one day, you do beat up your wife, and she's swollen. Well, it's very difficult to hide it. She's got a bandage on her face. She has to go to work. She works with a church member, who then says to the elders, Mrs. So-and-so is looking rather bad. That in itself, in due season, betrays your violence. Or it could be a pregnancy from sexual misadventure that finally reveals what was happening behind closed doors in the dark. And baby grows in six to nine months. It becomes very difficult to hide that human being. Or sometimes it's just children. I remember one particular case of a man suspecting his wife in being adulterous, and her phone ran out of power, so she was charging it, and she fell asleep. So the husband finally thought, this is it. He got a hold of the phone, tried to open it, and he didn't know the pin. And it was Junior who began to laugh, saying, Daddy, you mean you don't know mum speak? Let me show you. There you are. The kid is innocent, you see. Just thinking this daddy's daft. Me have been peeping. Here you are. The cover was blown. Because the messages which were there were 100% incriminating. But friends, why should it take an act of God to reveal your sin if you are truly repentant? Why? Why should that be the case? Because honestly, if you know that you have sinned against not just God, but against your own people, you come clean. And in that way, your repentance is known. And more than that, you are helped spiritually. You are helped. Why should it be? that you are sitting on your seat, you are lying about it until it becomes completely impossible to hide anymore. Surely that is betraying the fact that there is no repentance. But here it was with Saul. God had revealed to Samuel and Samuel had now heard the bleating and the lowing of the animals, and he now says, what is that? What is that wound on your wife's face? What is that bulging tummy? What is this information on the cell phone? Sadly, once the cover is blown, when there is false repentance, the next is to shift the blame. To shift the blame. Notice whose soul passes the guilt to in his response. The people. The people. Let's quickly go back to our text. What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that are here? Saul said, they, not we, not me, they have brought them from the Amalekites. For the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen. He was very quick to pass on the blame to others. It's not me, it's them. But if we go back to verse 9, look at the way it is phrased there. Verse 9. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fattened cows, and the lambs, and all that was good. It was Saul and the people. And that makes sense. Someone listening there would have obviously been saying, come on, King Saul. You're the king. If these people were doing something wrong and you were opposed to it, you would have said it right there and then. In fact, you would have chopped off their heads knowing you. That's exactly the way Samuel would have spoken to Saul. In fact, as we shall be learning next time, he says to him, shut up. That's basically the way Samuel responds, shut up. He knew he was being taken for a ride. Shut up, Saul. Men are like that, isn't it? Remember Adam, when he sinned against God in the garden, you remember? When God came in the cool of the evening and said, Adam, what have you done? His answer was, it's Eve. It's this woman you brought into my life. So who is he blaming? Not just Eve, he's also blaming God. It's you who brought her Eve. That's what has happened. If Eve had not been created by you, oh, this wouldn't have happened. Ultimately, it is the shifting of the blame. Remember Aaron. Aaron was a helper to Moses. And when they got the people of Israel out of Egypt, and they were now around Mount Sinai, Moses went up the mountain to go and collect the law of God. the law by which Israel was going to live as a nation. Well, while he was gone, and you can't blame him for taking so long, just have to read the laws that are there in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, you realize it should have taken quite a bit of time for him to get all those commands. But be that as it may, the people became rather impatient. And they said to Aaron, come on, just let's make an idol. a golden calf and let that be the one to lead us back into Egypt. Well Aaron actually did that and God reported to Moses this is what is happening downstairs. Moses was angry just the way Samuel was and he went down and as he saw the people dancing around this golden calf. He was so upset that he even broke the tablets of stone on which especially the Ten Commandments were written. He confronted Aaron and said, Aaron, what have you done? Aaron was very quick. It's the people. It's the people. You know, they were taking off their earrings and other rings and whatever they had and they were throwing them into the fire and pop, out came this thing. Just popped out of the fire. You try it. You throw your rings and whatever it is into the fire, let's see what will pop out. Definitely not a magnificent image of a cow standing on marble. There was a lot of effort put into it. He had to get tradesmen to put that thing together. to start claiming that, you know, it just happened. Other people did everything else and then pop, there, there it was, is a sign of lack of repentance. Friends, that's exactly what you find when you're listening to people, this blame shifting. You've, you've, beating your wife so badly, how could you do this? No, no, no. You know, she was always hitting me, hitting me, hitting me, and then I just turned around. That's all, I just turned around and she fell and hurt herself. I just turned around. But she was really the one who was doing all the beating and beating and beating. Even when the wife is saying, yeah, you are lying, you are lying. Everybody knows. You don't end up with that kind of wound just turning around. It's the same with sexual morality, isn't it? You know the way people excuse pornography on their phones? I don't know. It just, you know, it must have been my friends. I just checked and pop. It was like the golden calf. Pop. You know, it just, yeah, I don't know. It's my friends. You know, I give my friend the phone. I think it must be my friend. Oh, he forced himself on me. He forced himself on me. Now, let's follow the story a little bit. He asked you to go and visit him at his apartment. Yes. And you knew you'd be the two of you together. Yes. And he's been taking you out for dinners. Yes. And you began to neck and kiss. Okay, yes. And now he just forced himself on you. That again is blame shifting. You are not dealt. You knew that this was a relationship that was growing. You knew that the two of you together in that apartment is setting yourselves up. You knew you are an adult. Don't start talking like a six-year-old. It's the same with fraud, isn't it? Basically the same thing. It's no, you know, it was my friends. They're the ones who, you know, did all this. Me, they just said, sign here. And, you know, I didn't look very closely. I just signed. Well, how come some of that money is now in your account? Oh, it's my friends. You know, they're the ones who just put that money there. It's my friends. How come you didn't report it? You know, I was afraid because they're my friends. Blaming it on everybody else. You, you just... put your pen on paper and poof, the money was in your account. That's all. Everything else, it's them, completely it's them. We do the same on the internet as we are sharing stories, sharing stories. And always when you are now told, but isn't this a lie? It's my friends. It's always other people. You, you just clicked. Click, that's all. But it's other people who engineered all the gossip and all the slander and all the mudslinging and everything. It is other people. and not you. Friends, we can cheat other people, but we can't cheat God. We can't cheat God because God knows exactly what is happening, not just on the outside. He knows exactly what is happening in our brains. He knows. So while you are saying, there, there, there, there, God is saying, come on, shut up. You were a knowing accomplice in this sin. And especially with Saul. I mean, he was the king. He would have easily slaughtered those animals. He would have easily slaughtered Agag. He would have easily slaughtered even those same people. Assuming they were the ones to blame for bringing these animals this way. But the Bible is clear. Saul and the people. Saul and the people. You and them. have sinned together against the Lord. The sooner you own it, the better. Number three. What makes false repentance a greater insult is how the person wants to still be righteous. Anyway, still wanting to be righteous in the midst of the sin. So what does he say? What does Saul say to, as it were, justify all this? Listen to his narration, back to our text. Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, listen to this, to sacrifice to the Lord your God. to sacrifice the Lord your God. And then he brings himself into the picture. Very clever, look at the way he brings himself into the picture. He says there, and the rest we have devoted to destruction. That's when he brings himself in now. We have brought this to destruction. The people, they did this, but we have ensured that it ends up being for your for your glory, for God's glory. And then my involvement was a positive one. My involvement was a positive one. In other words, first of all, the righteousness is in terms of this was meant for a holy purpose. Whatever it is that may have gone wrong, the purpose is holy. It's amazing, you know, I've been a Christian for over 40 years and a pastor for most of that part, and it's amazing how when you confront a person, because you've heard that there's been this anechoic, and you confront them, The excuse they always give is, you know, it's to evangelize him. Because, you know, if I part away from him, how will he be evangelized? What kind of elder or pastor are you that you want a soul to just perish? So it's for a holy purpose. It's for a holy person. And it's year after year after year. It's not that I want him to be my husband. That's not the point. It's I want him to be evangelized. And that's what I'm doing in this relationship. And then it just happened that, you know, end up being pregnant. It just happened. But actually, the purpose was a holy purpose that he might be evangelized. But as I also said, it's this aspect of I did my best in the circumstances to sort out the mess. How is it? Well, it's the kind of statement that says something like, yes, you know, when I saw she's hurt, I rushed her to the hospital. Remember the example I gave earlier. You know, I turned around and, you know, accidentally I hit into her. She fell over the table, hurt herself. But, you know, she was a little reluctant to go to the hospital, but I insisted. We need to go to the hospital. We need to go to the hospital. You see? That's how much I care for her. So, I've turned the whole thing around. I'm not this... Guy who has this bad temper that therefore erupts and destroys. I'm a loving husband. I've taken her to the hospital. Oh, here's another one. When he knew that I was pregnant, he said you should abort. I refused to abort. I refused. You see? There's no way I can sin against God like that. I refused. So now we're supposed to be going, hey, well done, well done. You know, there's an act of righteousness there. Now, it may be true you took her to the hospital. It may be true that you refused to abort. All that is true. But you are shifting the goalposts. That's not where the issue is. The issue is that you have a violent temper that needs to be arrested and Jesus can help you but he can only help you if you come clean if you own it as sin and consequently the Lord helps you the issue is not that you refuse to abort. That's not the issue. Yes, it's good you refuse to abort. But it's the sexual sin that led to that. That's the issue. That's what needs to be repented of. And you need to own the fact. that you were a willing participant in sexual sin. You need to own it. Jesus' blood will wash away that sin completely. But it is when you come without an excuse. Without an excuse. Are you willing to do that? Are you? So, there was a responsibility prior to the one you are now bringing up that you should have taken to even stop the sin from happening. And what was that? To follow God's clear command. God's clear command is this. Wipe out that entire nation. wipe it out. It was the command. And you were there as a knowledgeable person because you knew what God had said. And in that moment of temptation, when you saw something of the value of the best of the sheep and the best of the oxen and the fattened cows and the lambs, In that moment of temptation, you threw God's clear command out of the window to do what you wanted to do. So, that's where your sin is. It's not how you managed to do your best in the circumstances to sort out this mess and consequently the rest you devoted to destruction. Well friends, let's hurry on to close. I hope you've noticed how Saul cleverly shifted the blame. and tried to, as it were, clean the wrong. I hope you've noticed that. I made the statement, and I want to repeat, that blame shifting betrays false repentance. That's what it does. It simply shows that you are not admitting that you have done wrong. That you have done wrong. And often I want to repeat, it begins by the fact that now the sin can no longer be hidden. It can no longer be hidden. So your brain goes quickly into a phase. Damage control. That's the way you think now. Damage control. What should I do? Damage control. And in damage control, it's them. It's circumstances that really overwhelmed that moment. And then your role was a religious role. That's what kept you allowing that situation to happen. And then afterwards, your role was cleaning up the mess, to do what you can in the circumstances. I'm saying if that's the way your brain begins to think, just know in that moment, I am not repentant. Period. I am not repentant. And do not even try to start justifying your actions by trying to show good motives. Sin is sin. Sin is evil. Going against God's clear command is wicked. Human beings may not appreciate that, but God does. And ultimately, it's before God you will need to stand. Oh, that each one of us would learn to go before God and say, Lord, search me. Search me. so that I don't end up on the judgment day being thrown away from you because of blame shifting, blame shifting and discovering on that day that I never really had a repentant heart. A repentant heart. May God help us to pray that way and to give each one of us a heart that genuinely repents in a time of sin. Amen.