Who Can be in Fellowship with God?

Introduction

Read Psalm 15

Psalm 15 (ESV)

A Psalm of David.

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

who does not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

who does not put out his money at interest

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

I. Seeking God’s Presence (v. 1)

Psalm 15:1 ESV

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

First, we see that David wants to dwell in God’s presence. While he was king over Israel, he was not a priest and thus could not go into God’s presence the way the priests were able.

To dwell means to live and have a permanent residence in a specific place. David didn’t just want to be a visitor in God’s house. He wanted to be a permanent resident.

The holy hill was Mount Zion, where Jerusalem was and where David had moved God’s tabernacle to. For us, we look forward to dwelling with God in the New Jerusalem. This should be our question as well to ask how we can dwell in God’s presence.

We ought to see that what follows is not a description of how to be saved, but what it looks like to live as God’s redeemed people.

II. Obeying God’s Precepts (v.2-5b)

A. Integrity - blameless character (v. 2a, 4a, 4b)

First, we see that David says “he who walks blamelessly.” This refers to the inward character. Who we are determines what we do and what we say.

This does not mean sinless. Many men in the bible were considered blameless, yet we know that all have sinned. They were blameless because of the changed character that came from placing trust in God (Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, etc.).

A man who is blameless loves what is good and right and hates sin and what is wrong. v. 4a-4b “in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD.”

A man who is blameless will honor others who have integrity and who fear the LORD and will not be deceived by flatterers or enticed by sinners. We will also seek to support those of upright and blameless character.

B. Honesty - righteous conduct (vv. 2b, 5a, 5b)

v. 2b “who does what is right” 5a-5b “who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent.”

A person who has been saved by Christ will live an honest life in how he obeys and behaves. They will work righteousness in their own dealings and in their seeking for true justice.

They will do what is right even when it costs them. They will also not take advantage of people or seek to help others to their own personal benefit.

C. Sincerity - Truthful conversation (vv. 2c, 3-4c)

2c - speaks truth in his heart; 3 - does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor nor takes up a reproach against his friend, 4c - who swears to his own hurt and does not change.

Finally, a man of God will be sincere and honest in what they say. We must love the truth because our God is Truth Himself. We must be honest with our words and live up to what we promise. We must seek not to tear others down with slander, even if it means accepting hurt to ourselves. Someone may be attacking us, but we choose not to lie about someone simply to protect ourselves. We will not give into gossip and slander in order to gain an upper hand. We swear to our own hurt and will not change.

III. Trusting God’s Promise (v. 5c)

“He who does these things shall never be moved.”

In order to live these things out, we must place our trust in something other than ourselves.

This is what it looks like to live by faith in God knowing that He will take care of us, even when it seems like the world is against us. We will not take our own justice or protection in our own hands because we know God will be with us and cover us, so we trust Him in live in obedience to Him, even at cost to ourselves. We know that those who live by faith in Christ will get to live with Him on His holy hill. And this is what it looks like to live by faith.