Lessons From David's Sin.

     It is a grievous thing when a child of God allows sin in his or her life. This is what happened to King David, when he committed adultery, and murder, in taking the wife of Uriah (2 Samuel 11:1-27).
     We are shown three things that made David's sin so offensive to God.
     1. He despised the word of the Lord (2 Samuel 12:9).
     God Had been generous to David, and if that had not been enough, He would have given him even more (2 Samuel 12:7-8). By striking down Uriah, and taking his wife, David showed that he despised the word of the Lord. To despise something is to count it as nothing; it does not mean anything to you, it is unimportant. One who despises the word of the Lord does not regard it as important enough to listen to or obey. Can you imagine saying to God, "I despise your word. I do not care about it, and I will not obey it." Sounds shocking, and most of us would not dare say it to God, but when we knowingly disobey the word of the Lord, we are saying this by our actions. In our hearts, we despise the word of the Lord.

     2. David despised the Lord (2 Samuel 12:10).
     Not only did David show contempt for the word of the Lord, he also showed contempt for God, who gave that word. In disobeying the command of God, David showed that he despised God within his heart. To disregard the commands of God, is to disregard God who gave those commands. Once again, we would never dare to tell God that we despise Him, but our actions speak loudly, betraying the true state of our hearts. It is nothing but arrogant pride to rise up in disobedience to God. We are placing ourselves above Him when we do this.

   3. His sin gave occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Samuel 12:14).
     When the enemies of Christ see professed Christians living in sin, they take occasion to mock and scorn Christianity. It is a grievous thing to bring reproach to Jesus in this way. The world looks at lukewarm Christianity with contempt. They want nothing of a gospel that leaves its followers looking just like the rest of the world. They think to themselves that they are really not any different than the Christianity that they see, so why do they need it? Who can tell the damage that has been done by Christians falling into public sin; and much worse, persisting in it, without a genuine confession, and forsaking it.

     The writer of Hebrews warns us that under the new covenant we are held to a much higher standard (Hebrews 10:26-31). Notice that when we as Christians fall into unrepentant sin, we
     1. Trample underfoot the Son of God.

     2. Regard as unclean the blood of the covenant, by which we are sanctified.

     3. We insult the Spirit of grace.

     Once again, we would never say that Jesus means nothing to us, or that His blood was unclean. We would never purposely insult the Holy Spirit, or make a mockery of the grace of God, but when we deliberately sin, this is what we are doing!
     It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31), but like David, we too can find grace. However, damage has been done to the cause of Christ. Others have seen, and now have an opportunity to mock God because of our sin. Let's learn from this unfortunate event in the life of David, and strive to live a life that brings glory and honor to the Savior who gave Himself for us.