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How Psalm 51 Led My Friend to Christ
A Humble Plea
Sharing the gospel can be intimidating. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that fear of rejection often leads us to conjure up all sorts of reasons to avoid gospel conversations with unbelievers. We dread the negative response. We worry about being insulted or simply dismissed. And although some of us have little trouble proclaiming the key points of the gospel—God’s holiness (Lev. 19:2), man’s sinfulness (Rom. 3:23), and Christ’s redemptive work on the cross (1 Pet. 3:18)—we likely still struggle with the final evangelistic step: calling for a response. Though we know from Mark 1:15 and other passages that salvation only comes through repentance and faith in Jesus, we still might find it intrusive, offensive, or pushy to ask if someone is ready to trust and follow Christ.
How should we then explain what it means to become a Christian? And what should we do when we’ve shared the gospel and a person expresses the desire to trust in Christ? Should we offer a Bible tract, an invitation to our church’s worship service, or an opportunity to repeat the “Sinner’s Prayer” after us? This was the very dilemma facing me three years ago as I sat across the table from my friend Pam at a local coffee shop. God provided an answer in an unexpected passage: Psalm 51.
David penned this heartfelt psalm after his sins of adultery and murder were exposed. His vivid imagery makes David’s sorrow almost tangible and highlights the physical and emotional consequences of a broken relationship with God. Many Christians use this prayer as a model for repentance, but Psalm 51 is also an ideal starting place for someone turning to God for the very first time.
Turn Your Eyes
Winfree Brisley, Sharonda Cooper
Turn Your Eyes provides a structured, step-by-step method to help readers observe, interpret, and apply the Psalms, helping us turn to God in every season and circumstance of life.
I had been reading Scripture with Pam and answering her questions about Christianity for months. She understood what it meant to be born again (John 3:3), but demonstrated no evidence of conversion; there was nothing more than mental assent. Something seemed different, though, that afternoon in the coffee shop. The questions she asked, and even the tone of her voice, indicated that God had changed her heart (Ezek. 36:26; John 6:44) and she was ready to follow Jesus. I asked her to listen while I read Psalm 51 aloud as if I were talking to God for the very first time. When I finished the final verse and looked up, the tears in her eyes said it all. She was captivated by God’s glory and his merciful gifts of repentance and saving faith.
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone (Eph. 2:8–9), and reciting a prayer saves no one (Matt. 7:21–23). So, when a person believes the gospel and is ready to turn from sin, we should not simply tell them to “ask Jesus into their heart.” This can lead to confusion about the nature of conversion. Instead, we should encourage them to repent and follow Jesus (Matt. 16:24; John 10:27–28). Though there are many ways to help someone do this, here are five reasons to consider using Psalm 51 as a guide:
Psalm 51 highlights God’s character.
Evangelism begins with God. He created man in his image to put his glory on display for the cosmos. As we join him in proclaiming the gospel to lost people, we always begin at the beginning with God who is indescribable yet makes himself known in ways humanity can grasp. David helps us understand God’s character right from the opening lines of Psalm 51. He asks for mercy (Ps. 51:1) because he knows God is merciful (Ex. 34:6). He asks for favor on account of God’s steadfast love (Ps. 51:1) because he knows God is loving (Deut. 7:9). He uses the language of cleansing (Ps. 51:2, 7, 10) because he knows God alone can forgive our sins and make us clean (Ezek. 36:25). Throughout this psalm, God’s attributes are on display so we might revel in his glory and be drawn to his heart. Psalm 51 is an ideal starting place for the Christian life because it invites repentant sinners to turn their eyes to the God of all goodness and grace.
Psalm 51 describes man’s sin problem.
The gospel is good news because sin is such bad news. In evangelism, we aim to help people understand that whether they know it or not, they have a broken relationship with the Creator of the universe who will eventually judge them. People need to know that sin is more than making a mistake or breaking a rule, and Psalm 51’s language conveys the utter depravity of man. David writes, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (v. 5). It’s not just that David has sinned but that he is a sinner. He acknowledges that his transgressions are evil and directly aimed at God (v. 4). Psalm 51 is an ideal starting place for the Christian life because it helps repentant sinners understand and articulate their sin and depravity.
The gospel is good news because sin is such bad news.
Psalm 51 provides the language of repentance.
A person who is new to Christianity may not understand the difference between penance and repentance. With penance we vow to do good things in an effort to pay for our misdeeds. Repentance, however, is turning away from one way of life to pursue another. It means we stop pursuing our own desires and turn instead to Jesus and his ways. We may struggle to explain the notion of repentance in our gospel conversations with unbelievers, but Psalm 51 can help. David’s emotional description of his condition will resonate with one who longs to be forgiven and made right with the Lord. He begins with a humble plea: “Have mercy on me, O God” (Ps. 51:1). This is the posture of one seeking an undeserved gift. Then, we almost feel the weight of his torment when we read, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Ps. 51:3). Though David has sinned against individuals in his community, he acknowledges that his primary offense is against God (Ps. 51:4). David knows that the problem isn’t just with his behavior—his heart needs cleansing and his spirit needs renewal (Ps. 51:10). In brokenness, he offers his contrite heart to the Lord, knowing that God will receive it (Ps. 51:17). Psalm 51 is an ideal starting place for the Christian life because it shows repentant sinners how to cry out to God for salvation.
Psalm 51 points to Christ’s finished work on behalf of sinners.
Jesus is not named in Psalm 51, but the necessity of his death and resurrection is implied from beginning to end. God shows mercy to sinners because Christ has shed his blood on our behalf (Rom. 5:9). The cleansing that David pleads for is the cleansing Jesus offers to all who would come to him (1 John 1:7). And though these words were penned centuries before Christ walked the earth, they speak of him and his work of redemption (Luke 24:44). When we share this psalm in gospel conversations, we can pause at verse 12 and reiterate that Christ is the source of man’s salvation (Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:24–25). We can point out that Christ is our righteousness (Ps. 51:14). And though we will never be sinless on this side of eternity, we can pursue holy living by God’s grace and with the help of his Holy Spirit (Ps. 51:11). Psalm 51 is an ideal starting place for the Christian life because it points repentant sinners to Christ as the only one who can truly wash us clean and restore our hearts to God.
Psalm 51 points the new believer to the local church for community and ongoing discipleship.
Unfortunately, many new believers are not immediately integrated into a healthy local church. Modern evangelistic methods tend to overemphasize the individualistic aspects of Christianity by asking questions like, “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” or failing to move beyond an initial profession of faith to actual involvement with a community of believers. Psalm 51 offers a better way. The request for God to “Do good to Zion” and “build up the walls of Jerusalem” in the last two verses highlights the societal ramifications of sin.1 When we are saved, we are not saved to ourselves but to God and his people. And a new convert desperately needs the discipleship found in the local church. So, although most of this psalm highlights the necessity of personal restoration to God, the final verses remind readers that sin is never a private matter. Every sinner should know that individual repentance brings good to the entire church. Psalm 51 is an ideal starting place for the Christian life because it links a repentant sinner’s conversion to new life in the family of God.
Psalm 51 is probably not the first place anyone would turn for help with evangelism, but this emotional prayer is rich with truths that demonstrate the gospel’s beauty and provides the language needed for repentance on the very first day of our walk with Christ—and on every day thereafter.
Notes:
- James M. Hamilton, Psalms. (Lexham Academic, 2021), 511.
Sharonda Cooper is coauthor with Winfree Brisley of Turn Your Eyes: A Bible Study on the Psalms.
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