CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL (Outline)
August 29, 2021 - Pentecost 14 - 2 SAMUEL 12:1-13
INTRO.: Sin is serious. Deadly serious. Dangerous. Sin is soul-destroying. Our Savior Jesus is soul-restoring. Do not be deceived by the devil. Misled by the world. Or fooled by our own sinful nature. Sin is still sin. “But each person is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desire. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” (JAMES 1:14, 15) We have sinful desires. Our desires give birth to sin. Sin to death. Every soul that sins is the soul that dies. We all sin. We all die. Thankfully we have a Savior. CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL. I. Recognize wretchedness. II. Forgiveness, full and free.
I. RECOGNIZE OUR WRETCHEDNESS
A. Verse 1a. “So the Lord sent Nathan to David.” Unpleasant task. Necessary and needed truth.
1. Verses 1b-3a. Rich man had everything. Poor man had one little ewe lamb.
2. Verse 3b. Lamb was treasured possession. Treated like family. Very special.
B. Verse 4. Traveler came. Rich man - selfish. Stole ewe lamb from poor man. Despicable.
1. Verses 5, 6. David angry. Condemned the rich man. Demanded four-fold repayment.
2. Verse 7a. “You are the man.” This was the Lord’s message to David. Wretched sinner.
C. Verses 7b, 8. Lord made David king. Saved from Saul. Gave him Israel and Judah to rule.
1. David had everything. Not enough? Lord would have given David even more.
2. Verse 9. “Why have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in his eyes?”
a. David had Uriah the Hittite killed (friend). b. Stole Uriah’s wife (Bathsheba)
D. Once a shepherd. Now king. The Lord had done all this for David. What more could anyone ask for? But it was not enough. What about us? Are any one of us lacking anything? Sure, there may be lots of things we want. Do we really, truly need all those things we want? Our sinful nature says, “More. Bigger. Better. Newer.” We live in a land blessed with more than enough stuff. Some small towns have built more storage units than dwellings. Advertising appeals to our sinful nature. Sinful desires. Godliness and contentment is our greatest gain. Stinging words: “You are the man (or person).” We are greedy. Guilty. Wretched sinners. “Then he said to them, ‘Watch out and be on guard against all greed, because a man’s life is not measured by how many possessions he has.’” (LUKE 12:15)
E. Our sinful world is very dangerous. The worldly constantly oppose the truth of God. The truth of God’s word. Experts warn us about climate change. Man has destroyed the world. The Lord God created this world. Still preserves the world to this day. People think they can change the atmosphere. All too many even think and teach that genders can be changed after being born. Emotions rule. Feelings prevail over truth. All this sinfulness and deception is simply putting mankind first. The Lord second. “Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie, worshiping and serving the creation rather than the Creator, who is worthy of praise forever. Amen." (ROMANS 1:25)
F. Pride is a powerful delusion. Adam and Eve gave in to pride. They sinned because they want-ed to become like God. The man who harvested much built bigger barns. His soul was demanded from him that night. What do we bring before the Lord? What do we have to offer at God’s throne? Not all our possessions. Not all our stuff. Only our sins. Wickedness. Wretchedness. “You say, “I am rich. I have become very wealthy and need nothing.” But you do not know that you are miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.” (REVELATION 3:17) Miserable = wretched. Recognize our sinfulness.
CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL. We see our sinfulness – wretchedness.
II. FIND FORGIVENESS FULL AND FREE
A. Nathan boldly stood before King David with the Lord’s message: “You are the man.”
1. David was as detestable as the rich man who stole the one loved lamb from the poor man.
2. Verse 10. David despised God’s word. The Lord. Sword not depart from David’s life.
B. Verse 11. There were consequences for David’s sins of adultery, murder, greed.
1. David would be publicly humiliated. Others would openly sleep with his concubines.
2. Verse 12. David thought his sins done in secret. God saw. Knew. Everyone knew.
C. Verse 13a. Now even David saw and knew his sins. “I have sinned against the Lord.” Confessed.
1. Verse 13b. “The Lord has himself has put away your sin.” David’s sin forgiven fully, freely.
2. Law reveals sin. Wretchedness. Gospel reveals Savior. Forgiveness.
D. David was blinded by his sin. The Lord used Nathan to clearly show David his wretchedness. Satan would like us to be in the dark about our sinfulness. God’s law clearly reveals the evil that lurks in our hearts. On our lips. In our lives. It is not pleasant to see our wretchedness. God’s truth reminds us we sin daily. We sin much. We sin against the Lord in thought. Word. And deed. We are wretched, wicked sinners. Thankfully our loving, heavenly Father does not let us languish in our sins that lead to death. We recognize our sins. We turn from wickedness. We see the Savior. Jesus fully forgives. "Therefore repent and return to have your sins wiped out, so that refreshing times may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you.” (ACTS 3:19, 20)
E. Confession is good for our soul. The Lord God of Armies freely forgives. This is God’s amazing grace. We cannot earn forgiveness. We cannot pay for forgiveness. We certainly do not even deserve forgiveness. Our loving, heavenly Father freely forgives. Fully forgives. The blood of Jesus completely pays the price of justice demanded by our sinfulness. The blood of Jesus purifies us from all unrighteousness. “…it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (ISAIAH 53:5) Jesus wounds heal us. Look at Jesus’ feet and hands. Scars of loving forgiveness.
F. Our sins are sins against the Lord. Always. Now we may sin against our brothers or sisters. We may sin against those in authority. We might even sin against our own conscience. No matter the sin they are all a slap in the face of God. Whenever we sin we despise the word of the Lord. We deserve eternal punishment. Eternal separation from the Lord. But this is not our Lord’s will. False gods with fear. Revenge. Unloving. Our loving, heavenly Father deals with us in love beyond our human understanding. “He does not hold onto his anger forever. He delights in showing mercy. He will have compassion on us again. He will overcome our guilty deeds. You will throw all their sins into the depths of the sea." (MICAH 7:18b, 19) The Lord delights to show mercy. Forgiveness. Our guilty deeds are overcome by the innocent life of Jesus. Our sins are thrown into the depths of the sea. Mercy.
CONC.: Confession is good for the soul. Sin is soul-destroying. We recognize this truth when we see our wretchedness. Our sinfulness. Jesus is soul-restoring. In Christ alone we find forgiveness – full and free. "In fact, godly sorrow produces repentance, which leads to salvation, leaving no regret. On the other hand, worldly sorrow produces death.” (2 CORINTHIANS 7:10) We are wretched sinners. We are forgiven sinners. CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PENTECOST 14 rdgs: JOSH. 24:1, 2a, 14-18; EPH. 5:21-31; JOHN 6:60-69; (PSALM 71)
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