Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
Quite often on Sunday afternoon Cathy will ask me, "What did you preach on today?" She has to ask this question because she coordinates the nursery, and when people don't show up for their ministry, she has to fill in. So, when she asks me what I preached on, I always answer her by saying, "Sin, and I was against it." Well, this morning I really am going to preach on sin, and hopefully, by the time we are finished you will see that I am against it.
We here at BBC believe in the security of the believer. Once you become a Christian by faith in Christ you can never be lost. Once you become a son of God you will always be a son of God no matter how messed up your behavior may get. Our sin does not affect our position.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Jesus Christ took our sin and bore its penalty, and he gave us his righteousness. We stand before God perfectly righteous because we are in Christ.
Ephesians 1:6 (NKJV) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.
We are as secure in our salvation as Christ is in the trinity.
What kind of life does Christ give those who put their trust in Him?
John 3:15-16 (NKJV) "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:36 (NKJV) "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
Believers receive "everlasting" life. Now, take a guess at how long "everlasting" life would last. Go ahead take a wild guess. The life of God that we receive by faith is everlasting, you can't loose it!
Now, does believing in eternal security mean that we can sin with no consequences? Or let me ask it this way; If our salvation is secure, does it matter how we live? The answers to these question are; no and yes respectively. There is a consequence to sin, and it does matter how we live.
What is Sin?
1 John 3:4 (NKJV) Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
1 John 5:17 (NKJV) All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.
Sin is disobeying God. It is violating his Holy law. God is the Creator and law giver, and any violation of his moral will is sin. How do we know God's moral will? It is revealed to us in the Bible. Any violation of God's moral will is sin, and sin has consequences.
This morning I want for us to look at a great man of God and the severe price he paid for his sin. The story of David and Bathsheba is very familiar to most Christians. But what happened to David after he repented of this sin is not that well known. Let's look at what David's sin cost him.
2 Samuel 11:1 (NKJV) It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
David was a great man of God. God said that David was a man after his own heart.
Acts 13:22 (NKJV) "And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, 'I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'
So, David was a man of God.
2 Samuel 11:1 says, "It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab...." In the spring, after the latter rains were over, and it was customary to resume military activity, David ordered Joab to launch an invasion of Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. David was the King of Israel and under the blessing of God David had become one of the great kings of the earth. Though kings usually led their armies personally, David, for reasons not given, remained in Jerusalem.
At this time, David had been the king for 17 years. He should have gone to battle with his men, but instead, he stays behind and sends Joab. Joab was David's Chief of Staff, his four star general.
Principle: When you are where you shouldn't be, you become subject to temptations that you wouldn't experience if you were where you belonged. Did you get that?
2 Samuel 11:2 (NKJV) Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
David is looking at a woman that he shouldn't be, he should be at war. David had three beautiful wives, but he was very tempted when he saw Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 11:3 (NKJV) So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
Instead of fleeing the temptation, David pursues it. He should have done what Joseph did in Genesis 39 and ran.
Genesis 39:11-12 (NKJV) But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me." But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.
This is the proper way of responding to temptation - run!
2 Samuel 11:4 (NKJV) Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
This is adultery! This great man of God violated two of the ten commandments.
Exodus 20:14 (NKJV) "You shall not commit adultery.
Exodus 20:17 (NKJV) "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
David began by coveting, and then he committed adultery.
2 Samuel 11:5 (NKJV) And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."
David's sin has gotten him in trouble. It started by David not being where he should be, then he began to covet, then he committed adultery, and now she is pregnant.
Many Christians would say that David must not have been a Christian if he did this. Can a Christian commit adultery? Yes! Apart from the grace of God, a Christian can commit any sin that an unbeliever can. Most sins that are condoned by Christians are just as bad as what David did.
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NKJV) These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.
Christians lie, slander, and cause discord, and think nothing of it.
David should have repented of his sin, but he doesn't. The longer you stay in sin, the worse it gets.
2 Samuel 11:6-7 (NKJV) Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah had come to him, David asked how Joab was doing, and how the people were doing, and how the war prospered.
The crisis brought by the pregnancy required some kind of suitable resolution, so David determined to "legitimize" the impending birth by bringing Uriah back from the Ammonite campaign, thus making it possible for him to spend time with his wife, thus covering up the adultery.
2 Samuel 11:8-11 (NKJV) And David said to Uriah, "Go down to your house and wash your feet." So Uriah departed from the king's house, and a gift of food from the king followed him. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 So when they told David, saying, "Uriah did not go down to his house," David said to Uriah, "Did you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?" 11 And Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing."
David's plan to cover his sin failed. Why should he, Uriah argued, be allowed the comforts of home and a conjugal visit while his friends in combat were deprived of them?
2 Samuel 11:13 (NKJV) Now when David called him, he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk. And at evening he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
Even after David got him drunk, Uriah's sense of loyalty to his comrades prevailed over his desire for his wife.
2 Samuel 11:15 (NKJV) And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die."
David moves from adultery to murder. Uriah wouldn't sleep with his wife, so David had him killed.
2 Samuel 11:17 (NKJV) Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
David is now a murderer. He has broken another of the ten commandments.
Exodus 20:13 (NKJV) "You shall not murder.
So, David, "a man after God's own heart", commits adultery and murder.
2 Samuel 11:26-27 (NKJV) When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
This translation is kind of week. Youngs Literal Translation says, "....and the thing which David hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah."
Not once in all of this did David confess his sin. His sin just keeps piling up. He goes from one sin to another trying to cover his sins.
Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV) He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Lest you think that David is just having a great time sinning it up, look with me at Psalm 38. This Psalm is supposed to have been composed by David after his sin with Bathsheba.
Psalms 38:1-3 (NKJV) O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure! 2 For Your arrows pierce me deeply, And Your hand presses me down. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my sin.
David feels like a human pin cushion, He is experiencing pain and loss of health.
Psalms 38:5-12 (NKJV) My wounds are foul and festering Because of my foolishness. 6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. 7 For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. 8 I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, And my relatives stand afar off. 12 Those also who seek my life lay snares for me; Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction, And plan deception all the day long.
Psalms 38:17-18 (NKJV) For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. 18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
Finally, David has had enough, and he confesses his sin. Believer, the sooner you come to this point, the better off you will be. When you sin, don't try to cover it up, but confess it.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This promise states that if we confess our sin, God will forgive us and cleanse us.
Let's continue on with David's story. God sent a preacher to David to confront him in his sin.
2 Samuel 12:1-5 (NKJV) Then the LORD sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: "There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2 "The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3 "But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom; and it was like a daughter to him. 4 "And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the wayfaring man who had come to him; but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him." 5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As the LORD lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!
What a hypocrite! It's interesting how easily we can see the sin of somebody else but don't see it in our own lives. David just pronounced judgment on himself.
James 2:13 (NKJV) For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
David showed no mercy, but insisted that the man must die.
2 Samuel 12:6 (NKJV) "And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
Please remember this verse - "he shall restore fourfold."
2 Samuel 12:7 (NKJV) Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
Nathan tells David that the parable is all about him. Then God reviews the grace that He has demonstrated toward David. God had given David everything, but he wasn't satisfied.
2 Samuel 12:8-10 (NKJV) 'I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! 9 'Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 'Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'
Now, notice carefully what verse 11 says:
2 Samuel 12:11 (NKJV) "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
"From your own house" - keep this in mind along with verse 6, "he shall restore fourfold."
Now, finally David repents.
2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV) 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.
This is where we pick up Psalm 38:18, "I have sinned." David confess his sin, and God forgives him.
1 John 1:9 (NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Notice what Nathan says in response to David's confession - "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." When we confess our sin, God forgives us, and we are restored to His fellowship.
Now, someone is bound to say, "Boy, David sure got away with a lot. He got to enjoy the pleasures of sin, and then upon confession, God forgave him." If you think that, first of all you are forgetting about Psalm 38 and how miserable David was while in sin. And secondly, you are forgetting:
Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
The law of the harvest is that you reap what you sow. When David confessed his sin, God forgave him and restored him to fellowship, but this did not remove the consequences of his sin.
Let's say that you go out and get involved in fornication, sex outside of marriage, and because of this sin, you contract AIDS. Then you confess your sin, and God restores you to his fellowship. Does God automatically heal you of AIDS? He could! But the chances are good that you will die of AIDS even though God had forgiven you. You do reap what you sow. David paid way beyond what he experienced in Psalm 38. David was disciplined "four fold" (verse 6) "out of his own house" (verse 11). Let's look at what happened to David because of his sin.
1. DAVID'S FOUR MONTH OLD CHILD DIES.
2 Samuel 12:14-15 (NKJV) "However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.
2 Samuel 12:18 (NKJV) Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died....
David's four month old child of Bathsheba dies because of David's sin. Think about this, parents. Can you imagine how you would feel if your child died as a result of your sin?
Believers, this is something we must all understand - our sin affects others. Let's say that your sin is drunkenness. Will it affect others in your home? It sure will, you may be verbally or physically abusive to your family because of it; you may lose your job because of it, and thus not be able to provide for your family; you may drive drunk, and actually end up killing some or all of your family. Our sin affects others. What if you commit the sin of adultery, will it affect your family? It sure will! You can bring an incurable disease home to your spouse; you could end up in a divorce because of it. Our sin affects others, and David's sin destroyed his family. Remember "four fold" and "out of your own house."
2. AMNON RAPES TAMAR.
2 Samuel 13:1 (NKJV) After this Absalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.
2 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV) However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.
2 Samuel 13:21-22 (NKJV) But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. 22 And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
David's son, Amnon, raped his half sister, Tamar. David knew that he was the cause of Tamars pain. So, we see death and sexual sin in David's household. David reaps what he has sown.
3. AMNON IS MURDERED BY ABSOLOM.
2 Samuel 13:23a and 28-30 (NKJV) And it came to pass, after two full years....
28 Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, "Watch now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, 'Strike Amnon!' then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant." 29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled. 30 And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, "Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and not one of them is left!"
David's discipline is severe, we can only imagine his great pain as his family is being destroyed.
2 Samuel 13:36-39 (NKJV) So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that the king's sons indeed came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept very bitterly. 37 But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38 So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39 And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he was dead.
David was mourning not only because of the death of Amnon, but because of his separation from Absalom.
4. ABSALOM IS KILLED.
Absalom had been working on winning the support of the people. He had been weaning the people away from David. Absalom affected a coup, and David fled the city, running for his life from his own son. But no matter what Absalom did to David, David still loved him very much. David asks his men to deal gently with Absalom in battle.
2 Samuel 18:5 (NKJV) Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, "Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom." And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.
2 Samuel 18:9-10 (NKJV) Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule. The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth. And the mule which was under him went on. 10 Now a certain man saw it and told Joab, and said, "I just saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree!"
2 Samuel 18:14-15 (NKJV) Then Joab said, "I cannot linger with you." And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through Absalom's heart, while he was still alive in the midst of the terebinth tree. 15 And ten young men who bore Joab's armor surrounded Absalom, and struck and killed him.
2 Samuel 18:29 (NKJV) The king said, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" Ahimaaz answered, "When Joab sent the king's servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about."
2 Samuel 18:32-33 (NKJV) And the king said to the Cushite, "Is the young man Absalom safe?" So the Cushite answered, "May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!" 33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: "O my son Absalom; my son, my son Absalom; if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!"
I think that David is wishing that God would have killed him for his sin.
2 Samuel 19:1-4 (NKJV) And Joab was told, "Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom." 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people. For the people heard it said that day, "The king is grieved for his son." 3 And the people stole back into the city that day, as people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"
What could be more painful for a parent than years of pain watching their family destroyed because of their sin. David knew that the pain was his own fault. David paid "four fold, out of his own house" because of his sin. David was held to a high standard because he was the king. His chastening was severe because his sin was severe. God had a purpose in the discipline, He wasn't just punishing David, but teaching him not to sin, and helping him to grow and mature.
Hebrews 12:5-6 (NKJV) And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives."
Believer mark this down, sin brings discipline; sin causes pain; sin is destructive. Don't ever take sin lightly, sin is an affront to God, and it will always cost us. Our salvation is secure, but God will chasten us in this life if we fail to walk in obedience to Him.
Some of you may be thinking, "Pastor, this is not a very uplifting, 'feel good' type of message." That is where you are wrong - if you realize the high cost of sin, and therefore, turn from it, and live a life of obedience to God, you will feel good; you'll feel great! There is no joy like the joy of obedience. Sin brings discipline, but obedience brings blessings.
Psalms 16:11 (NKJV) You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalms 1:1-3 (NKJV) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
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