The Lord Has Put Away Your Sin

“And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.” – 2nd Samuel 12:13

Bathsheba - Artemisia Gentileschi, Public Doman Image

In 2nd Samuel chapter 11 David commits the grievous sin of adultery. Small sin leads to greater sin. First David defers his responsibility to go fight the Lord’s battles. While he is sitting idle he sees a beautiful woman who happens to be another man’s wife, and he covets her. They commit adultery and she becomes pregnant. To cover up his misdeeds he has her husband killed so that he can marry her. “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.” -2nd Samuel 11:27

This incident illustrates both the doctrine of eternal security and the doctrine of the Lord’s chastening. Nathan the profit goes directly to David and confronts him with his sin that he has been covering up. Moses warned the children of Israel that if they sin against the Lord, “be sure your sin will find you out.” No one can hide their sin from God. And if you are saved today the Bible says that you are blessed because the Lord will not impute sin upon your soul (Psalm 32:2), but Hebrews 12 also says that:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

So of course David, who is described as “a man after God’s own heart,” receives a severe chastening for his severe sin. Nathan tells David that “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house (2nd Samuel 12:10).” He also says in verse 14, “Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

This verse mirrors Paul’s advice to Titus to exhort his congregation, particularly women, “To be discrete, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed (Titus 2:5).”

The Prophet Nathan Rebukes King David, Eugene Siberdt, Public Domain Image

We are exhorted in scripture to be found blameless among our fellow men so that God is glorified through us. But we should not fall into the strange doctrine found among some Charismatic circles that if we sin in some way it means that we are not saved or that we have somehow lost our salvation.

If sinlessness came automatically with our salvation, there would not be so many exhortations to good works found in the scriptures because we would not need them. We could just get the gospel from Romans 10 or 1st Corinthians 15 and be done. But 1st John 5:8 clearly states: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But the good news is, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1st John 1:9).”

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The main reason that David’s punishment was so severe is because rather than confess it immediately, he covered it up. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy (Proverbs 28:13)." Bathsheba brought the child to term and gave birth, meaning that for at least nine months David left his sin unconfessed, hoping that his way would still prosper. Do not wait for your sin to find you out my friends, confess and repent immediately.

Out of this incident David gives us Psalm 51, an incredible psalm of repentance:

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of my salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

You see, in the Old Testament a permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit was not given to believers. Instead the Holy Spirit came and went as God saw fit. John 7:39 clarifies this: “(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified.)” So what David is referring to in Psalm 51 is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that made him king over Israel and a prophet of the Lord, which he could take away from David as rightly as he took it away from Saul his predecessor.

Furthermore, in verse 12 David asks for God to restore the joy of his salvation, not his salvation itself. Sin will surely take away your joy and peace, but your salvation as a free gift that wasn’t granted through works, can also not be rescinded by your works.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” - Psalm 103:12

Amen!

The Fear of Man Bringeth a Snare

Image Source: Sanofi, creative commons license

The powers that be are not finished with COVID, but there is now also a new "public health emergency of international concern" known as “monkeypox.”

The Bible is clear: the only appropriate thing to fear is God, because fear leads to obedience. If you fear men (or any “emergency” that they tell you exists), you will obey men. If you fear God you will obey God.

Jesus said in Luke 12, “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yeah, I say unto you, Fear him (4-5)."

We should view fear, paranoia, and superstition as built-in consequences of the sin of unbelief. Galatians 5:22 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” so anyone without the Holy Spirit will naturally be full of hate, misery, tumult, impatience, wrath, malice, doubt, arrogance, and excess.

In contrast to Galatians 5, notice the list of damnable traits in Revelation 21: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death (8).”

Fearful is the first trait on this list, and unbelief follows right on its heels. You will find this connection between fear and unbelief throughout scripture. We all experience fear because we all have our sinful flesh, but we should recognize fear for what it is and use it as a spur to draw us closer to God rather than let it rule our lives. We have so many promises from God that he will be our stronghold in the day of trouble, so trust him and praise him for that!

With this in mind, what are we to make of these “churches” all over America that now require proof of COVID vaccination to attend their services? I drove past an Episcopal “church” offering Covid shots in their sanctuary in a town near where I live about a month ago. There are many professing Christians who subjected themselves to this medical experiment out of fear of losing their jobs, their friends, or their church. If there’s anything we must learn from all of this, it is Proverbs 29:25:

“The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”

But I'm a Good Person

There are many decent people who have a conscience and sense of morality, but when it comes to facing the darkest aspects of humanity, how will they respond?

Will they seek the glory of God in times of battle and lead in the midst of their enemies? Or will they turn to blood-lust and unhinged revenge? The answer depends on the source of their righteousness.

The bible says "...there is none that doeth good, no, not one." Rom 3:12. We can be righteous in our own eyes and do good things by our own standards, but God ultimately requires our faith alone.

Take King Saul and young King David for example:

Saul was considered a good person, as he was anointed by the Lord to be the first king over the Israelites, but shorty after his anointing, he strays from the commandments of the Lord. He acts rashly and fails appeal to the Lord for direction when the Philistines assemble against him.

"Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart..." I Samuel 13:12-14

Enter young David, who is not yet King, but comes to Saul's defense to slay the giant Philistine, Goliath.

Saul offers David a sword and armor to get the job done, but David declines them both, having not yet proved them in battle. Instead he uses a mere sling and a stone to take down the giant.

Before launching the stone that kills Goliath, David proclaims, "...the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's..." I Samuel 17:47

From this day on, King Saul hunts David out of fear and jealousy, but even so, David never separates himself from the will of God. Even when he finds Saul in compromising positions:

"And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless? David said furthermore, As the LORD liveth, the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish." I Samuel 26:9-10

To sum this up, we have Saul, who was anointed and given great opportunity to rule, but squanders it by following his own ideas of righteousness. His kingdom is taken away.

And then there is David, a faithful warrior, who always made supplication to the Lord even in times of battle. His kingdom is established forever and eventually brings in Jesus Christ, God made flesh:

"And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever." II Samuel 7:16

This is not a story about the King of Israel being a coward, defeatist, This is a story about victory through faith and obedience to God.

There is a great difference between a good person and a faithful person. Good people don't inherit the Kingdom of God, so to speak. They simply waste away with all of the bad people they fought so hard to defeat.

Righteousness comes only through God and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."

I Samuel 15:22

The word obey means to obey God, not every antichrist person in a position of authority.

"For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."

Hosea 6:6