INTRODUCTION
History is filled with stories of men who rebounded from failure to become successful.
Henry Ford went broke five times before he succeeded with the Ford Motor Company and revolutionized manufacturing.
R.H. Macy started seven businesses that failed before he succeeded with his department store.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He failed in business several times and went bankrupt before he finally succeeded.
As a child, Thomas Edison was told he was "too stupid to learn anything." He failed 1,000 times before he finally succeeded in making a functional light bulb.
The Wright brothers had many failed prototypes before they managed to get off the ground.
Abraham Lincoln failed several times in business and lost several political races before he became president.
Every Christian is also a story of success that followed failure.
Every person who becomes a Christian admits his failure. He recognizes that he is a sinner in need of a Savior. He confesses his failure and calls on the Lord for forgiveness.
By faithfully obeying the gospel of Christ, a sinner successfully obtains forgiveness of sins by the grace of God. He is then set on a course of good works in the name of Christ, bringing glory and honor to God.
To be eternally successful, every Christian must continually rebound from failures just as God directs.
Becoming a Christian does not guarantee sinless perfection henceforth. In fact, we know that there will be failures, for Scripture says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us" (1John 1:8).
Therefore, we must handle our failures properly and use them to our own benefit and to God's glory.
REBOUNDING FROM FAILURE
Failure for a Christian is sinning against God.
Sin is a transgression of God's will.
Sin may be intentional so that we knowingly and willingly defy the will of God (Heb. 10:26).
Sin may also be done in ignorance, for ignorance of God's word causes us to stumble (Ps. 56:13; Prov. 3:21-24; 116:8; John 16:1; Jude 24).
Sin also occurs when we fail to act on God's will. This is sometimes called a sin of omission, for we omit something we should have done (Matt. 23:23; Jas. 4:17).
Any sin is a failure, for it counteracts the very purpose of our being. Rather than bringing glory to God by good works (Matt. 5:16; Eph. 2:10), a Christian's sin brings reproach on himself.
The first steps in rebounding from failure are confession and repentance.
Confession incurs the mercy of God, for 1John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Likewise, repentance is necessary for forgiveness. Consider Peter's advice to Simon, who was a Christian caught in sin in Acts 8:22:
"Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you."
Without confession and repentance, it is impossible to overcome the failure of sin.
A confession is an admission of failure. Until sin is admitted, no recovery can occur.
Repentance is a changing of the mind about the sin, a cessation of the sin, and a turning away from the sin. No one can recover from a sin that they continue to commit.
Merely ceasing from sin is not enough, but rather it is necessary to replace the evil deed with a good work.
When John the baptist preached his message of repentance, he said, "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt. 3:8). He taught them to stop doing evil and start doing good (Luke 3:10-14).
Likewise, the apostle Paul preached to the Gentiles "that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance" (Acts 26:20).
When the church at Ephesus had "left their first love," Jesus said to them in Revelation 2:5, "Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place -- unless you repent."
It is a great success and brings much glory to God when a sinner turns to do good.
For example, when Saul turned from persecuting the church to preaching the faith, Christians glorified God because of him (Gal. 1:23-24).
Regardless of how great a Christian's failure may be, he can rebound into a great success. In fact, the greater the failure, the greater the rebound.
Learn from your failures so that you do not repeat them.
In Psalm 32, David described his experience with sin and forgiveness, showing that sinners should learn from such experiences.
Following his confession and forgiveness, David received this message in Psalm 32:8-9:
8I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 9Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.
David's sin was a tragedy for him, but it was also an opportunity to learn from God. He understood what he had done wrong so that he would not repeat his error.
When you have sinned and know your weaknesses, you have an opportunity to seek strength and grow in those areas. You also know to avoid situations where your weaknesses will be exposed.
Do not allow your failure to prevent you from moving forward.
Guilt is a great burden that can weigh you down, but forgiveness takes away that burden. Consider Psalm 32:1-2:
1How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! 2How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
Consider the apostle Paul, whose forgiven sins did not prevent him from serving the Lord.
Notice 1Timothy 1:12-16:
12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.
Rather than being mired in guilt, Paul accepted God's forgiveness. His past sins did not disqualify him from serving Christ, and his forgiveness became an asset to teach others.
Use your experience in sin and forgiveness to help others.
Relate your experience to others just as David did in Psalm 51:12-13:
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. 13Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You.
Strengthen your brothers just as the Lord directed Peter to do in Luke 22:31-32:
31"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
Like David, Peter, and Paul, a forgiven sinner has a great opportunity to teach those who are still trapped in sin because the path to forgiveness is the same for all.
Indeed, a Christian's experience with sin should give him sympathy for sinners just as Christ's experience with temptation gives Him sympathy for us (Heb. 4:15).
CONCLUSION
All of us fail from time to time, but the greatest failure of all is the failure to rebound properly.
Christ has made it possible to recover from sin through His gospel and become successes in God's forgiveness. Will you rebound from your failures through Christ, or will you remain marred in the guilt of sin?