Five Facts About Sin Series

Psalm 51

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. Psalms 51:1-19 (NKJV)

Five Facts About Sin

(Fallen But Forgiven)

Have you ever wondered if you could sin – so much or so badly – that God could not forgive you? Do you think that there could be sins out of reach of God’s forgiveness?

I wonder what those sins would look like. Would they be the self-centered sins – such as pride – arrogance – selfishness? Would they be sins of position – where you take advantage of someone – because you have such a great desire to get ahead or because you have a need to be in control? Would they be sins of emotion – where there is a display of anger – followed by brutality and perhaps even murder?

I think all sins are self-centered and of course they are out of God’s will for our lives. The Bible tells us:

“For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 John 2:16 (NKJV)

Sin basically comes down to disobedience of God. Our text for today can be found in Second Samuel. Follow along with me as I read:

So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." 2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV)

I think most of you remember the story of David and Bathsheba – but if you don’t let me refresh your memory – it is found in Second Samuel chapter eleven.

It happened at the time of the year when most kings went out to the battlefield to wage war. David, however, had decided to stay at home that year. One evening David could not sleep so he got up and went out on the roof to get some fresh air. From his vantage point he could see a beautiful woman by the name of Bathsheba taking a bath. He found out that she was the wife of Uriah who just happened to be off at war at the time. So David took advantage of the situation and invited Bathsheba over to his place. Well one thing led to another and she ended up getting pregnant. So David decided he needed to cover up his affair with Bathsheba and he sent for Uriah to come home and report how the war was going. After Uriah gave the report – King David made a suggestion.

He said, “Why don’t you go home – rest and relax – and take it easy before you go back to the battle?”

David figured that Uriah would go home – sleep with his wife and no one would know that he had had an affair with Bathsheba. But things did not work out as David had planned. Instead of going in the house – Uriah slept outside. Now David had a real mess. So he called for Uriah again.