The Way Back To God - A Review

We've been doing a study of Psalm 51 in Sunday School over the past 13 weeks. This study is entitled The Way Back to God, and the study material was written by Pastor Clarence Sexton. You can find the book here. I would like to briefly tell you what this study has meant to me.

I will tell you a little bit of my story without getting into too much detail. I think that when people give testimonies, they often glorify their sin in the process. I actually heard someone on the radio the other day say that they had "built their testimony" as a young person before they got saved. They meant by that that they'd done a lot of bad things in life, and that Christ had rescued them from it. That's good that they are now saved, but they didn't build their testimony by being a sinner. We all have the same testimony which is that Christ saved us when we were sinners through his death, burial, and resurrection.

When I was in junior high school, I became filled with rebellion in my heart as many young men do. I became puffed up in pride and thought that I could handle sin rather than it handle me. I found that I was wrong. It took me getting caught and the intervention of my parents and my youth leader to get me back on track. Most importantly, it took the forgiveness of God being felt in my own heart. I was already a Christian, but I'd lost my way. Psalm 51 is the sinner's guide back to God. Pastor Clarence Sexton wrote this book to help people break down and digest what David penned in his own prayer to God.

Pastor Sexton goes systematically through Psalm 51 verse by verse and explains what each part of David's prayer means and how it applies to every Christian. You don't have to be involved in horrible sin to be away from God. I would venture to say that most American Christians are away from God simply because they aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing. They are committing sins of omission rather than sins of commission. This book is a refresher course on what your relationship with God is supposed to be like. It's a measuring stick to help you see where you are in your own personal relationship with Him. Only you can know if you are closer to God today than you have ever been.

The truth is the way back to God isn't a secret. It's always been the same, but it comes down to our own willingness to see our sin for what it is, confess it to Christ, and allow Him to cleanse us. I strongly urge anyone who hasn't read this book to get it and study it! It will help you no matter where you are in life.


Your friend,
Simeon Brazzell
I Tim 1:12