By Pastor Greg...
A wife asked her husband to run to the
grocery store and pick up a few things for their afternoon party. She “also” suggested he take their son
along. So, off they went; father and son
on an errand for the lady of the house.
The wife stood in the doorway, beaming that this father would take the
time to teach their son about what it means to be a loving husband.
When they arrived, the son grabbed a grocery cart, and the father pulled out his list. But, before they ventured down the aisles, dad
pulled his son aside. With a serious
look on his face, he said, “Son, I want you to listen to me; what I am about to
say is something only a real man will understand. This is something special that should only be
shared with other men. Do you understand
this?” Nodding, the boy said yes. With a look of seriousness on his face, the
father said, “Son, if we really mess this up, we'll never have to do it
again."
Okay, just for the record: ladies, this is a “joke.” Things like this don’t really happen… at
least not on purpose. Men are not this
stupid; a real man knows that a woman will eventually discover the truth. You simply
cannot do something like this and get away with it… something King David
learned the hard way.
King David once wrote a confession where he had to humbly
admit he was wrong. And in that
confession, David asks for mercy… not from his wife, mind you, but from God. Psalm 51 says, 1 “Have mercy on me, O
God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out
the stain of my sins. 2 Wash
me clean from my guilt. Purify me from
my sin.” [1]
King David was pleading for mercy from God because of an
affair he had with a woman named Bathsheba; she was the wife of one of his
trusted soldiers. Through their sexual
encounter, Bathsheba conceived a child and, when she told David, he tried
desperately to cover his sin. He brought
her husband, Uriah, home from battle hoping he would sleep with his wife during
his R&R. However, Uriah was a man of
integrity. He could not relax while his
fellow soldiers were on the front line.
So, David sent Uriah back to the battle, arraigning to have him killed by
the enemy. And then, when Bathsheba
finished mourning Uriah’s death, David brought her to the palace and took her
as one of his wives.
In David’s eyes, he had covered his tracks. No one would know of his sins. At least that’s what he had thought.
However, a man of God named Nathan confronts David and reveals to the
King that the LORD knew his sin. The
LORD was displeased with what David had done (2 Samuel 11:27). And Psalm 51 is David’s response to God. David comes to God and asks for mercy.
While Grace is getting from God what we do not earn,
Mercy is not receiving from God the
punishment we deserve. And, as King
David rightly admits, we all deserve to be punished. “Indeed, I was guilty when I was born,” writes David; “I was sinful when my mother conceived me,”
he says.[2] He
admits that God desires truth and sincerity
and that the LORD would reveal this deep within his heart (Psalm 51:5-6). This is why David pleads to God for mercy; he
knew he had sinned against God. Turning
to God, David begs, “Purify me from my
sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” [3] (Psalm 51:7).
Through his actions with Uriah and Bathsheba, David had sinned
against God, and when confronted he admitted to this sin. He didn’t argue against his guilt, he simply asks for mercy. David did not want to receive the punishment
he deserved; this is what it means to seek the mercy
of God.
You know, I think the admission of guilt is missing in
the world today. Rather than admit
guilt, many people come to God and argue for their innocence. There is a trend in some Christian circles to
rewrite God’s list of sins – things a person might do or say that are contrary to God’s ethical boundaries. God has established a way of living that He
considers holy. Jesus reconfirms these
boundaries in His teachings. Even the
Apostles reconfirm these sins. Read Galatians
5, for example. In that chapter, Paul
has separated immoral behavior from godly
behavior… indicating that the “fruit of the world” is condemned by God but the
“fruit of the Spirit” is acceptable to God.
And what this means is that whether we want to admit it or not, there is
a way of living that God considers sinful.
And when caught in one of those sins, we deserve to be punished.
I know this isn’t a popular
topic; a person will not be invited to appear on talk shows if they insist
people are guilty of sin, but the truth
is truth whether we admit it or not. We simply cannot live according to God’s standard
of excellence all the time. We will sin. We will lose our temper. We will think lustful thoughts. We will covet what someone else owns. Sure, we may not murder, but, according to
Jesus, we sin even if we call someone an idiot (see Matthew 5:22). And, this is the crucial part, we cannot hide these sins from God; we are not able
to keep them a secret.
I know; this is a tough message. Like I said, the world will not beat a path
to hear a person preach about sin.
Preach about certain sins today, and
it is the police who are liable to beat down your door. So, how are we to respond to this? What should we do when we sin? We need to respond
like David. In his brokenness, David
confesses “16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do
not want a burnt offering. 17 The
sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” [4] (Psalm 51:16-17).
When confronted by our sin, the proper response is to
admit your guilt; don’t try to lie about your sin,
and don’t argue for your innocence.
Admit your guilt to God… and ask Him for mercy, for mercy is what God
has promised to show us IF we admit
our guilt.
God is not a god who drives people away; the Lord God is
seeking to draw us near. According to
the Apostle Paul, God chooses to show us mercy so we might become an example to
others; others who sin might be encouraged to seek the Lord and find mercy just as we did. Paul writes, “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone
should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’—and I am
the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that
Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even
the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him
and receive eternal life” [5] (1
Timothy 1:15-16).
David received mercy: so did Paul. They did not receive the punishment they
deserved. Neither did I, and neither will you. God gives mercy; it is what He desires to do.
[1]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ps 51:1–2). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2]
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version.
(2009). (Ps 51:5). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ps 51:7). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ps 51:16–17). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[5]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(1 Ti 1:15–16). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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