II Samuel 12:13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

    David had had one string of victories after another. When other kings would have sought out the families of their rivals, it would have been to eliminate them as a threat or to enact vengeance. David sought them to do good to them. He expanded the search to families of those who had done some good to him in the past that he might do some good for them. It seemed he daily provided a godly example of behavior. But then, he turned his attention inward. He decided to focus on himself and his own desires for awhile. 

    It didn’t take long. In a terrible reversal he provided an awful example for those around him. Worse, he involved them in his scheming. He compelled his servants to bring Bathsheba. He used his power and position to take advantage of her. He lied to Uriah. He involved Joab and the army in Uriah’s death. Yet, when Nathan finally confronted David, David got a clear picture of what had happened: he had sinned against God. Yes, he had wronged all of those people, but he had sinned against God. And after all God had done for David! David had sinned against Him. David deserved death! Yet, when he confessed his sin, Nathan told him that God had forgiven him!

    God had earlier told Adam and Eve, “If you sin, you will die.” They did sin, but they didn’t drop dead. God was speaking of spiritual death. The death of relationship with Him. Sin separates us from a Holy God. Our sin stands as a barrier to Him. The effects our sin has on the people around us is terrible, but at its essence, our sin is against God. 

    God hates sin. But God loves us! He knew that we were unable to deal with the sin problem so He sent Jesus to live a perfect life and die a sinner’s death. When He died on the cross, His death was the payment for our sin. His resurrection confirmed to the world that what He said, was true! But we must confess. We must have our moment, like David, where we come face to face with the awfulness of our sin. We must have our moment when we own it like David did and admit that we have sinned against God. No justification. No rationaliza-tion. When we do, God will forgive us and the healing can begin. There will likely be conse-quences, scars, from our actions. David had to live with those for the rest of his life. But he had peace in his heart, knowing that God had forgiven him when he didn’t deserve it!

    David would write in Psalm 139, “Search me, oh God, … and see if there be any wicked way in me.” That’s a prayer we all should pray. That’s a prayer that God will answer. He wants us to have a clean heart and an unbroken relationship with Him. He wants it so badly, He died for it! He’ll show you if there’s something in the way. If there is, own it like David did, confess it to God, and know that He forgives you! You can have relationship with God!

 

Blessings,     

Pastor Russ