[Biblemat] S) SIN'S MOST SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  Here is a study from my
files.  Use  to the glory of God.

SIN'S MOST SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE

     Job Called Adultery "A heinous crime."   1 Cor. 6 teaches
that the consequences of adultery are even more serious than those of other 
sins.  After any sin, however, the most
serious consequence is the rupture of our relationship with
God.

     The story of David's adultery and murderous attempt to 
cover it are all too familiar to need repeating here.  And the
Prophet Nathan's forthright rebuke and courageous "Thou
art the man" are equally well known.  David's attempted cover
up was now uncovered and his guilt was publicly exposed.

     The first thing that David had to worry about was the legal
requirement that both he and Bathsheba be put to death (Lev.
20:10).  What a relief it must have been when Nathan said,
"The Lord also has put away your sin: you shall not die" (2
Sam. 12:13)!  One would suppose that David could now put it
all behind him -- he was forgiven and reprieved.  But  was this
the case?  Psa. 51 shows otherwise.

     Psa. 51 is a window to the heart of David.  His primary con-
cern was not what he had done to Uriah, Bathsheba, the baby, or to the rest 
of his family.  Nor was it the sullying of 
his reputation or the effect on his reign.  These things must
have been on his mind to some degree, but his heart was 
broken by what he had one to his very best friend -- God.
Hear his confession: "I acknowledge my transgressions, and
my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I
sinned, and don this evil in Your sight" (vss. 3,4).  Hear his
plea: "Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not
take Your Holy Spirit from me" (vs. 11).  Forgiven?  Yes, but
that was not enough.

     Unlike many modern adulterers, David realized the serious-
ness of his sin.  Regardless of all else, it had interfered with
his friendship with God.  That constant reverent awareness of God, reflected 
in so many of his Psalms, was allowed to 
lapse -- else he would never have done what he did.  David's
longing for God was replaced with lust for sin.  Now God 
speaks through Nathan, "Why have you despised the comm-
and of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? ... You have despised
Me" (2 Sam. 12:9,10).  Once David is again aware of God, he
despised himself and longed to have once more the joy of
God's salvation and the support of His generous Spirit (Psa.
51:12).

     David has no complaint against God; he makes confession
"that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless
when You judge" (Psa. 51:4b).  He makes no excuses.  Not
Bathsheba, but his corrupt heart had caused his sin; now he
pleads for a clean one.  Even more than a change of conduct
he needs a change of heart.

     What more could David do?  There were sacrifices for sins
of ignorance, but none for presumptuous sin (Deut. 7:12; Heb
10:26).  "You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering" (Psa. 51:16).  His only
hope lay in his confidence that "the sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart -- These, O God, 
You will not despise" (Psa. 51:17).

Lessons For Us: -- All of us are tempted, and anything that
prevents sin is good, but some considerations are better than 
others.  Concern for reputation is good, but concern for char-
acter is better.  Fear of grieving loved ones is proper, but un-
willingness to grieve the Spirit (Gal. 4:30) is nobler.  Fear of
losing the fellowship of the church is intended as a deterrent
to sin, but fear of losing our relationship with God should be
even greater.  That was Joseph's concern: "How then can I
do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:9).
Our true concerns in dealing with sin are a window to our own hearts.  
Whether we succumb to temptation or resist it,
our greatest need may be a clean heart -- true repentance.

     When we have sinned, we have even more reason than
David to weep over what we have done to God.  We have seen the cross -- the 
great sacrifice God and His Son had to
make in order to say to us "The Lord also has put away your
sin: you shall not die."  Consider the words of John S. B. Mon-
sell:

My sins, my sins, my Savior,
Their guilt I never knew,

Till with Thee in the desert,
I near Thy passion drew;

Till with Thee in the garden,
I heart Thy pleading prayer,

And saw Thy blood-sweat falling
That told Thy sorrow there.

My sins, my sins, my Savior!
How sad on Thee they fall!

Seen through Thy gentle patience,
I tenfold feel them all.

I know they are forgiven,
But still their pain to me

Is all the grief and anguish they laid,
My Lord, on Thee.

---------- Sewell Hall in Biblical Insights, Vol. 7, No. 2, Feb. 2007.   </HTML>
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