We open with a dramatic representation of the winds of hell, as the artist portrays the the state of his younger soul. His conscience was always so tender, and when he did something wrong, even somthing little that most people would just brush off, he just couldn't. No consolation that "it doesn't matter," "it's no problem," or "It wasn't that bad," could ease his guilt. For he knew that the heart of man was dark. As a child, he pondered humanity's nature, finding nothing good in it. He feared how easy man could convince himself that wrong was right if it suited him.

The promises of the world, promises that sin was an illusion, that happiness could be found within the self through self-indulgence, that humans could attain perfection through moral-uprightness, all came up empty; all one has to do is take a look around at those who profess such things, at their actual lives, to know that's not true.

Faux Pas Fox tried to do better. He tried to push past his wrongs, to do only those things which God called good, but it was all in vain. In fact, the harder he tried, the further he fell, as he noticed more, deeper sins. it was as if two people lived within his flesh, one constantly ravaging the other. 

But he had one sin that stood out amoung the rest. As every person has their hardest temtptation, his grinded him down. The harder he fought to just do better, the farther he fell in it. The commandments of God weighed heavily on his soul, especially the ones speaking harshy against his secret sin. He was driven to the edge of despair. Sure, he wasn't as bad as he could have been; he didn't revel in it like some, but for the young man, even the sheer desire to commit sin weighed heavily on him. But the only thing he feared more than his own dark nature was the flames of hell. And each day, the flames of eternal death seemed to be closing in on him. Thus, with nowhere to turn, He cried out to God:

Oh, my Lord, My God in Heaven,

how I stand before You guilty.

Of my every thought and action,

drenched in sin that does offend Thee.

For I’ve tried to live devoted

to the way that’s straight and true.

But I’ve fallen from the righteous

and Your Law bears hard upon me. 

Oh, my soul does wish to love You,

but my heart, so fierce, despise You.

For my nature does abhor You,

still find my sin abhorrent.

I am tainted by the sins 

of man’s first transgressions.

I am stained by

my own filthy thoughts and actions.

Kyrie Eleison! Kyrie Eleison!

Christi Eleison! Christi Eleison!

Oh Lord have Mercy!

Oh Lord have Mercy!

Oh Christ have Mercy

on my poor and sinful soul!

But our story does not end here! Every word he said in that damning lamentation was true. He, along with every man, woman, and child was guilty before God. He was guilty of every misdeed he had done, every of every good deed he had failed to do. Down to his core, like everyone else, he was drenched in sin  and naturally hated God and hated everything God called Good. As the King David, called "a man after God's own heart" spoke in the opening of Psalm 51:

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

But that's only part. At that time, Faux Pas Fox began attending Chatechisis, essentaily formal doctrine training, at his church. He had recently began attending that church during the covid-19 pandemic. As he diligently studied, both in class and extra on his own time, he began to realize he had only internalized the Law of God.

It was true, God is a pure and holy being, completely separate from us. Evil cannot exist in His righteous presence, and everyone of us apart from God is evil, for we have broken His commandments, the standard by which righteousness is judged. But God is also a loving being, having a deep care for everyone of His creations. He wishes to see no one condemned to hell, but each, born poisoned by origional sin, deserves this by default. But it wasn't always this way.  

At the beggining of time, God's creation was perfect. All plants and animals lived in harmony, and man was able to keep God's Law, to choose righteouness, perfectly by his own volition, as sinfulness was not within him. But God didn't want to force his people to serve and obey him, so He gave blossoming humanity a choice. Within the garden that was their home existed the Tree of the Knowledge fo Good and Evil, of which they were commanded not to eat. But being tempted by Lucifer, an angel who fell in his own pride, they turned their backs on God, thinking themselves wiser, and in pride, wanting to be like God, they ate of the forbiden fruit. Thus, evil, death, and sin entered the world, poisoning it to its core.

Thus, having corrupted themselves, they were cast out into the sinful world, as in their state they could not be in the presence of God. A great separation had come between them and God, for now were they not only destined to die physically, but that day they died spritually, and passed this spiritual death to their descendants. Then after no human can willingly keep the  Law of God, for they only hate God and all that is righteous.

God could have just killed them then and there. He could have abandoned them and moved on. But God is a perfectly loving God. He doesn't want to see anyone damned to punishment and eternal separation from Him. But He is also perfectly just, and man's crimes deserved justice. So He created a solution.

He sent His Son, the very God-Man, to His creation, incarnate as the man Jesus the Christ, the Savior. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, the very one we could not. By his life of keeping the law perfectly, perfectly loving both God and men, He earned righteousness for us. Then, when the time had come, He willingly gave His life as a sacrifice for us. Being crucified by the very beings he created, He suffered the very punishment we all deserve, even the full torment of hell. He who knew no sin became sin for us. After three days of resting in the tomb, He rose again from the dead, and in his resurection, He defeated death once and for all. For anyone who has faith in the sacrifice of Christ, their sin is forgiven; the free gift of the blood of Christ cleanses us, and His righteousness is imparted on us, so when God sees us, He sees not our filth, but the pure, righteousness of Christ. And Faux Pas Fox, understanding the faith for the first time in His life, prayed once again:

Oh, my Lord, my God in Heaven,

How I stand before You guilty

Of my every thought and action,

Drenched in sin, that does offend Thee.

For I’ve tried to live devoted

To the way that’s straight and true.

But I’ve fallen from the righteous

And your Law bears hard upon me.

Though I be such retched creature

With my heart so hard against You,

You took pity on my state

And left the brilliance of Heaven.

Taking meager mortal flesh

You lived the life of lowest servants.

But though tempted much as any

Not a deed of sin committed.

Oh, such perfect spotless life,

The one no man could ever offer,

He was slain and mocked and suffered

God’s full wraith, which man had earned.

Now I am free, not by my sake,

But by the precious blood of Christ!

My conscience free! My debt is paid!

Christ’s righteousness imparts on me.

Through His death my Savior slew death,

And He rose in victory.

I’ve been crucified with Christ,

And now I live just as He rose.

Death itself has been defeated,

Shaken to the gates of hell.

When I fall to sin’s temptations,

Christ’s redemption covers me.

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise to Father, Spirit, Son

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Christ has shown me such great mercy!

For the first time in the young man's life, he felt peace, true peace. yes, he was sinful and could never be good enough despite his greatest efforts, but his God knew that, and in love, payed that price for him. Discussing this with his pastor, he confessed the great sin that had plagued him like a sickness since his child hood, and upon hearing his sin declared forgiven, a great burden fell from his shoulders, as if a physical weight had fallen, and cried, but not bitter tears of despair like he had done so often in the past, but this time tears of joy. For only now can the entirety of Psalm 51 be understood:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
 Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
 Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge.
 Surely I was sinful at birth,
    sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
    you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
 Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    so that sinners will turn back to you.
 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
    you who are God my Savior,
    and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
 Open my lips, Lord,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
    you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

 May it please you to prosper Zion,
    to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
    in burnt offerings offered whole;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Though, this is not the end. For the Christian, while they may be saved, while they live in this world, their sinful nature still resides within them. The Christian life is a constant battle, as the new creation is in constant, active opposition to the old man. Not just this, but before they a person was a Christian, the world still embraced them as one of its own and the powers of darkness ignored them; they were in opposition to neither. Now, as one held in the truth, they must contend with the world, the devil, and their own sinful flesh. The world will hate them, as the world hates the One who holds them. The dark powers of the devil will do anything to win the saved soul back in their quest to take as many as possible with them to hell. The Christian life is not an easy one, as it goes in direct defiance to this fallen world, but God gives the Christian the strength and the grace to go through it; for though the Christian is week and falls often, Christ's grace is sufficient for them.

Thus, we come to sanctification, the last song for the album, but the next part of the Christian's life. Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness and wisdom. While salvation is instant, sanctification is a process that lasts the believer's entire life until they pass through the doorway of death into eternal life. As Faux Pas Fox states in the last moments of the album:

I’ve learned a lot over these years. 

All I wanted was righteousness, but righteousness is unattainable for man on his own. Because humanity is under the curse of sin and the weight of God’s law. 

But there is hope. Jesus Christ has had mercy on us. 

By His death he took the punishment for man’s sins and took away our debt. 

By his perfect life, He credited His righteousness to our bankrupt account. 

And by His resurrection, he defeated sin and eternal death. 

And it’s true, we will still sin and will always continue to sin until our earthly death. That’s why we must daily put off the old self and remember the promise of salvation, and Christ gives us the strength to grow in faith and in sanctification. 

Amen.