Heavens Light 5-21-10 The Deadly Sin of Adultery Part 3

Folks,
 
In concluding a series of posts on the sin of Adultery, here are two posts from Desiring God on the matter. I hope and pray this will strengthen your faith and hatred of sin.
 
In Christ’s Love,
Shaan

5 Ways Sin is Serious

Posted: 09 Nov 2009 03:23 AM PST

(Author: John Piper)

In Psalm 51, as he laments and repents of his adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah, David confesses at least five ways that his sin is extremely serious.

1. He says that he can’t get the sin out of his mind.

It is blazoned on his conscience. Verse 3:

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Ever before him. The tape keeps playing. And he can’t stop it.

2. He says that his exceeding sinfulness is only against God.

Nathan had said David despised God and scorned his word. So David says in verse 4,

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.

This doesn’t mean Bathsheba and Uriah and the baby weren’t hurt. It means that what makes sin sin is that it is against God. Hurting man is bad. It is horribly bad. But that’s not the horror of sin. Sin is an attack on God—a belittling of God. David admits this in striking terms: “Against you, you only, have I sinned.”

3. He doesn’t justify himself.

David vindicates God, not himself. There is no self-justification. No defense. No escape. Verse 4:

…so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.

God is justified. God is blameless. If God casts David into hell, God will be innocent.

This is radical God-centered repentance. This is the way saved people think and feel. God would be just to damn me. And that I am still breathing is sheer mercy. And that I am forgiven is sheer blood-bought mercy. David vindicates the righteousness of God, not himself.

4. He intensifies his guilt by drawing attention to his inborn corruption.

Verse 5:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Some people use their inborn corruption to diminish their personal guilt. David does the opposite. For him the fact that he committed adultery and murdered and lied are expressions of something worse: He is by nature that way.

If God does not rescue him, he will do more and more evil.

5. He admits that he sinned not just against external law but against God’s merciful light in his heart.

Verse 6:

Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

God had been his teacher. God had made him wise. David had done so many wise things. And then sin got the upper hand. For David, this made it all the worse. “I have been blessed with so much knowledge and so much wisdom. O how deep must be my depravity that it could sin against so much light.”

So in those five ways at least David joins the prophet Nathan and God in condemning his sin and confessing the depths of his corruption.

Amazing Grace in the Wreckage of Adultery

Posted: 19 Oct 2009 04:21 AM PDT

(Author: Jon Bloom)

In staff devotions recently we were in Proverbs 6. Solomon warns his son against the devastation of adultery. In verses 32-33 he writes,

He who commits adultery lacks sense;
he who does it destroys himself.
He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away.

For Solomon, every warning against adultery must have been haunted by the memory of his father and mother, David and Bathsheba. Imagine what he must have felt. He was the product of a marriage that never should have been.

He watched the royal family, in the middle of Israel’s golden age, implode because this union that brought him into existence had come into existence. God “put away” David’s sin (2 Samuel 12:13), determining to bear its condemnation himself (Romans 3:25-26). But he did not remove from David its wounds and disgrace.

Yet, out of the wreckage that was David’s family, emerges Solomon. By choosing him, of all the sons, to assume the throne and to write holy Scripture, God is saying something stunning: he really can work all things, including devastating sin, for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

The destruction of adultery is very real. Its disgrace is lasting. It is to be avoided at all costs. But it still is not more powerful than the grace of God.

To those who, like David, have fallen, take heart. If you have repented and trust Christ, he has borne all your condemnation. And though you view with painful and appropriate regret the damage your adultery caused, keep your eyes open. It is like God to bring something unexpectedly and amazingly good from it. Because the grace of God is stronger than the sin of man.  

 

If you would like to know how to know Jesus Christ and be ransomed from your sins and enter into eternal life…..click here to find out how….. http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425
 
Or read about the Christian Gospel here:  http://www.ligonier.org/welcome_whatisthegospel.php
 
 
If you have comments or questions, please do respond to shaan@heavenslight.org
 
If you would like to be added or add someone to this email list, just reply with “sign me up” and the address you want it sent to. May the Lord bless you and keep you!
 
 
Shaan Sloan
Heritage Christian Fellowship – ABQ
505-3485092
The Lord is the Strength of My Life

 
 
 
 

Heavens Light 5-9-10 The Deadly Sin of Adultery Part 2

David’s Sin of  Adultery with Bathsheba

and the Consequences that Followed

Psalms 51:1-4

Be gracious to me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness;

According to the greatness of Thy compassion blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me.

4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done what is evil in Thy sight, So that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak,

And blameless when Thou dost judge. NASB

 

King David of Israel is one of the most beloved of all of God’s saints, he like all of us was human and had tremendous failures before the Lord. Below is an acoounting of a portion of his life of great difficulty. Although David did finally repent and was forgiven by God, his choices brought about devastating circumstances in his life and family. The effects of sin are extremely destructive and terribly painful! Hear the Word of the Lord and consider carefully your choices long before you make them! Do not be foolish, God will not be mocked, a man shall reap what he sows! If you have committed such sins, be quick, hasten to the throne of God to find mercy! Run, as the torrent of consequence follows quickly behind you! Make it right soon dear friend, lest you be swept away!

 

Please get your bible out and read through this tragic story!

 

2 Samuel Chapter 11:1 – 1 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. (NKJV)

A.     Matthew Henry writes – 1-5 Observe the occasions of David’s sin; what led to

it. 1. Neglect of his business. He tarried at Jerusalem. When we are out of the way of our duty, we are in temptation. 2. Love of ease: idleness gives great advantage to the tempter. 3. A wandering eye. He had not, like Job, made a covenant with his eyes, or, at this time, he had forgotten it. And observe the steps of the sin. See how the way of sin is down-hill; when men begin to do evil, they cannot soon stop. Observe the aggravations of the sin.

2 Samuel Chapter 11:2 – 2 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. (NKJV)

A.    he saw – David saw. The lust of the eyes swept this man’s life and his family into misery for many years to come. This one temptation, which could have been easily overcome by the way which the Lord afforded to escape it, was the shame of the throne of Israel as well as the following:

1.      The offense against God and His love and anointing of David’s crown

2.      The shame of Bathsheba

3.      The heartbreak and betrayal of Bathsheba at the death of Uriah

4.      The betrayal of one of David’s “30 mighty men,” and dear friend,  Uriah the Hittite

5.      The death of Uriah the Hittite v-2:17

6.      The death of the men that fought at Uriah’s side v-2:17

7.      The death of Bathsheba and David’s firstborn son

8.      The shame of Tamar, David’s daughter, at Amnon’s rape

9.      The death of Amnon, son of David, murdered by his brother Absalom

10.  The shame of David’s crown, when Absalom lay with David’s wives

11.  The shame of David’s deposal from the throne in Absalom’s rebellion

12.  The death of Absalom

13.  No doubt countless other sins in the implementation of the above

All of these were either a direct or indirect result of David’s adultery and subsequent murder of Uriah, his valiant friend. They came to pass by the hand of the Lord at the prophecy of Nathan, 2 Sam 12:10-12. These great tragedies could have been avoided by the simple putting to death of the lust of the eyes toward Bathsheba. One sin reaps a whirlwind of death and misery. The way of adulteress leads down the paths of death!

2 Samuel Chapter 11:1-27 – Read this section.

A.    The progression of sins in this section is tragic and profound. It is a lesson to us all of the tremendous danger and impact of sins. Sin reaps sour wages, every time! It promises something pleasing for the moment, but steals and kills and destroys in the end. It can lead to very great and terrible destruction if it is not stopped.

B.     Her we see that even a great man of God can fall under the spell of sin and

temptation. Here we learn to flee from sin, as fast as we can run, and never

ever afford it an opportunity in our lives. Even the strongest and most valiant

men of God can be destroyed, even their families torn by savage wolves as a

result. Sin has deluged the entire human race, let us now flee from it, trusting

God for power, strength and a refuge!

2 Samuel Chapter 12:1-6 – Read this section.

A.    It is notable that David’s anger burned against the man in the story, being

seemingly oblivious to his own sin. Oh how we are blinded by sin! We stand

with planks in our eyes critically punishing those around us because of the

specks in their eyes. David’s anger burned, but HE WAS THE MAN!

Oh God grant us humility! Let us cast off foolish judgment and render

according to righteousness.

2 Samuel Chapter 12:7-15 – Read this section.

A.    Nathan’s mouth was God’s sword to cut David to bits. The woe of the prophets is a fearful dread! May we find ourselves blameless that we may escape it!

B.     Although God did not take David’s sin to his eternal account v-12:13, (because of Christ), David suffered earthly consequences which were far reaching. His sins were wretched and reprehensible. Just how vile were they? This can be estimated in the consequences that followed.

2 Samuel Chapter 12:15-23 – Read this section.

A.    The second death in a long list of them, David’s son.

Prov 5:3-5 – For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, And smoother than oil is her speech; 4 But in the end she is bitter as wormwood,  Sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of Sheol.

2 Samuel Chapter 13 – Read this section.

A.    Amnon rapes Tamar, Absalom kills Amnon. Shame and disgrace, the jewels

on the crown of death! Let us take heed here, lest we fall!

2 Samuel Chapters 14-17 – Read this section.

A.    David is deposed from the throne by his own son’s rebellion. And then his son lays with his wives in broad daylight in fulfillment of Nathan’s prophecy v-16:22. Then to top it off, Absalom seeks David’s life. Oh what sorrow and shame must have pierced David’s heart! Here we see the far reaching affects of what began as one simple sin of idleness. Here we may estimate the power of our great enemy SIN!

 

 
If you would like to know how to know Jesus Christ and be ransomed from your sins and enter into eternal life…..click here to find out how….. http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/2425
 
Or read about the Christian Gospel here:  http://www.ligonier.org/welcome_whatisthegospel.php
 
 
If you have comments or questions, please do respond to shaan@heavenslight.org
 
If you would like to be added or add someone to this email list, just reply with “sign me up” and the address you want it sent to. May the Lord bless you and keep you!
 
 
Shaan Sloan
Heritage Christian Fellowship – ABQ
505-3485092
The Lord is the Strength of My Life