A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART
#6 = "A SPIRITUAL SHOWER"
2 Samuel 12:1-14
by Rev. John Hannem,
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A while back I was out golfing in the Association Spring Swing Golf Tournament. It was a very hot day and we were getting dirty, sticky and smelly. One of the golfers made the comment, "Boy, I can't wait to get home and take a sauna!" I said, "Why do you want to go sit in a room where it is 120 degrees and just sweat more? I'm going to take a shower." He assured me it really was a refreshing thing to do, but I have always had a strong preference for showers over saunas. Today we will talk about something better than a sauna or a shower. Our topic this morning is getting our soul clean, taking a spiritual shower, or a spiritual sauna, so we can get rid of guilt and experience forgiveness.
Earlier in this series we looked at 2 Samuel 11, the story of David and Bathsheba. We saw how David fell into serious sin, committing adultery and murder. We also talked about how we can resist temptation and avoid falling into sin. But what if it is too late? What if we have already failed? I know I have done things which have hurt others and said words I wish I could take back. God knows how our thoughts are often full of pride, greed and lust. When we realize how we fail to live as God desires, it is only natural that we feel guilty. Some find this struggle that so many folk have with guilt surprising. Psychologist Erich Fromm said, "It is indeed amazing that in a nonreligious culture such as ours, the sense of guilt should be so widespread and deep-rooted as it is." Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, found out how pervasive feelings of guilt are. As a practical joke, he sent a telegram to twelve of his friends which read, "Flee at once... all is discovered." Within 24 hours, each of the twelve had left the country.
Yes, people feel guilty, though that is not necessarily a bad thing. We should feel guilt about the wrong things we have done, said or thought. But, if left untreated, guilt can destroy our souls. Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist, once said that 75% of the people in mental institutions would not be there if they could learn to deal with guilt. Our text today is 2 Samuel 12:1-14. Here we find that though David was guilty of adultery and murder, he found forgiveness for the horrible sins he committed. We will also see that no matter who we are or what we have done, there is forgiveness available to us through Jesus Christ. Let's pray that God will speak to us through His Word today.
From David's experience we see what we are to do if we have fallen into sin. #1) We need to realize and admit that what we have done is wrong. A man went to a counselor and said he felt guilty because he had been having an affair and was cheating on his wife. The counselor replied, "Well, let's see how I can help you not feel guilty about what you are doing." That is terrible counseling. Trying to rationalize our sin and making excuses for what we are doing is not the answer. Pushing our guilt under the carpet and pretending it is not there doesn't solve anything. The first step for David in dealing with the very real guilt he must have felt was acknowledging his sin.
It was almost a year after Uriah had been murdered on David's orders that God speaks to Nathan the prophet, and Nathan then speaks to David. Nathan tells David a story about a rich man and a poor man. The rich fellow has lots of sheep and cattle and everything someone living in
Friends, our society often ridicules the idea of sin. There are some who would say David was one of those religious types who was just too uptight about adultery. But remember, he is also guilty of murder. God's Word sets absolute standards. It is wrong to break those standards, and when we do so, we deserve God's punishment. There are people who argue that there is no moral law, no right and wrong. They claim we have no right to judge someone else's decision and that people should be free to make up their own moral rules. Whenever I hear that, I say, "Wait a minute. What about Adolph Hitler? Should he have been allowed to make up his own rules?" God decides what is right and what is wrong. Because He is God, He gets to do that. Violators of His laws are wrong and deserve to be punished. Through his little story, Nathan gets David to admit, "Someone who has done what I have done is wrong. They deserve to be punished." When we fall into sin, whether it's adultery, murder, greed, gossip, or a bad temper, the first thing we need to do is admit that what we have done is wrong. Rather than trying to make excuses, we need to acknowledge that we really are guilty.
#2) When we fall into any type of sin, we need to repent. David's repentance is very simple. 12:13a Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." But he is sincere. In Psalm 51, we see a more detailed account of David's repentance. Apparently this is David's prayer to God which he later wrote down as a song. Psalm 51:1-4 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge”. There are two parts to genuine repentance. First, it involves agreeing with God that we have done wrong -- not making excuses. And second, it includes a commitment, by God's grace, to not do it again. We need to remember that repentance is not just feeling bad about what we have done. Yes, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7 that remorse and feeling sorry can lead to repentance, but it doesn't equal repentance. In the New Testament, to repent means to turn away from sin and to turn to God.
Now, some of you are pretty smart and you are thinking, "Hey, I'm a Christian already. My sins are forgiven. I don't have to repent." Well, yes and no. If you have genuinely trusted in Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven. Jesus has taken our punishment so that we don't have to pay for our sin. But the Bible is clear, when we as Christians sin, we still need to repent. The best illustration I can think of is "diplomatic immunity." In our country an ambassador from another country has what is called "diplomatic immunity." If he is driving 125 kph on the highway, he can't be fined. He is immune from prosecution. But if he continues to do that, he is going to make some policeman and our government very angry. Since it is his job to maintain a good relationship between our two countries, he is not going to be a very effective ambassador. Yes, when someone becomes a Christian, he is immune from prosecution. Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for that sin. But that sin still displeases God. We will still need to have our soul cleaned by confessing our sin as 1 John 1:9 tells us to do: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. When we talk about a Christian confessing sin or repenting, we are referring to the same thing. There is an old saying: If you don't feel as close to God as you used to, guess who moved.
#3) We need to accept the consequences of our sin. This is a difficult point about which we need to carefully think. Let's go back to 2 Samuel 12. In Verses 7-9 Nathan rebukes David. He says, "God was so good to you, David, and yet you have sinned." Then the results of the sin are announced. 2 Samuel Now, therefore, (David), the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. Three of David's sons end up being killed. In Chapter 13, his son Amnon is killed by his brother Absalom. In Chapter 18, Absalom is killed by some of David's soldiers. In 1 Kings 2, David's son Solomon has his brother Adonijah killed. The sword never departed from David's house. ,12 "This is what the Lord says, 'Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all
These were the tragic consequences of David's sin. We mentioned a few minutes ago how David repented and found forgiveness for his sin. Yet, even though David's sin was forgiven by the Lord, he still suffered the consequences. Is that a contradiction? Is that something that happens in the Old Testament but not today? No, even in our lives, the scars of sin often remain even after God has forgiven us. My index finger has a little scar. I jammed it in a car door almost thirty years ago. The wound healed a long time ago. It doesn't hurt at all, but there is still a scar. The same thing happens with sin. If I rob a bank tomorrow morning, I can repent of that sin in the afternoon and be forgiven, but I still will probably have to go to prison. Those who abuse alcohol, drugs, and food can repent and be forgiven, but the physical harm they have done to their bodies often is not reversed. A parent who abuses a child can repent and be forgiven, but that child will have emotional scars for a long, long time. Why? Can't God heal those scars? Yes, He can. Sometimes He does. But often He allows the scars of sin to remain to remind us how horrible and destructive sin is. It serves as a warning not to fall into that trap and to remind us that the price of sin is a lot higher than what is advertised.
#4) As we experience the forgiveness God offers, we should respond in joyful gratitude. We see only a glimpse of David's experience of forgiveness in this passage. 12:13b Nathan replied, "The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die." But there are some great verses in Psalm 32 which David wrote after he had repented of his sin. Psalm 32:1,2,5 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord" -- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. ... Though David would experience the consequences of his sin, the forgiveness he found still brought great joy.
Friends, when we are forgiven for our sin, we must not have a ho-hum type of attitude. Being freed from the burden of guilt is not an everyday experience. It is a marvelous event, and we need to understand that there is nothing cheap about the salvation we have been given. In C. S. Lewis' The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Edmund's betrayal of his siblings and friends means that he belongs to the White Witch. The great lion, Aslan, however, rescues Edmund by dying in his place. Once Aslan has come back to life and Edmund has been reunited with his family, his sister Susan says to his other sister Lucy, "I really think Edmund should know what Aslan has done for him."
Friends, unlike Nathan the prophet, I'm not going to be able to tell you what sin you have recently committed. I'm not able to point my finger and say, "There is someone sitting right there who stole some money this past week." What I can tell you, however, is that no matter who you are or what you have done, God offers forgiveness through Jesus Christ. That is the Christian Gospel, the wonderful Good News. What does that mean for us today?
Well, first let me say a few words to those who are feeling guilty, but should not be. You are suffering from what some call "false guilt." That can occur when you feel guilty about something for which you really are not responsible. Maybe you have an adult child who is making some very bad choices. Maybe they get arrested for wrong doing and you feel guilty about that. You should not. As an adult, your child is responsible for his or her actions. Sometimes when an accident occurs, people feel a false guilt thinking what happened was their fault, when it was really just an accident. The false guilt I'm talking about, however, is when we have really done something wrong, but have acknowledged that to God and have repented, yet still feel guilty. That does happen, but when it does, we need to remember that this is the work of the enemy. Even when we have experienced God's forgiveness, Satan still wants us to feel guilty. But once our soul has been cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, there is no reason to feel that way. I used to know a fellow who would take three or four showers a day, not because he needed to, not because he was dirty, but because he just felt dirty. It was a compulsive type of behavior. People who continue to feel guilty after they confessed their sin to the Lord are just as confused. When we are hanging on to guilt after we have repented, we are failing to believe God, because He tells us we are forgiven, and we are failing to have the joyful gratitude which is the right response to His forgiveness.
Now, how about those of us who suffer from "true guilt"? In other words, we have done something wrong, we feel guilty about it, but we have not yet experienced God's forgiveness. If that is the boat you are in, the first thing it means is that God is probably at work in your life. One of the things the Holy Spirit does is convict us of sin. If you are feeling that guilt which really is there, that's a good sign. Maybe you have never before trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Oh, you have gone to church. You believe in God. Other people think you are religious, or maybe even assume you are a Christian, but you have never received God's gracious forgiveness because you have not truly trusted in Jesus Christ. If you turn to Him today, you will be forgiven. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you have done, or how often you have done it, there is full and free forgiveness to those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. I urge you to turn to Jesus Christ today. It is time to take that spiritual shower and get that soul clean.
Or perhaps you are already a Christian, maybe you have been a believer for many years, but there is sin in your life which you have not confessed to the Lord. It might be something we think of as a big sin -- having an adulterous affair, abusing alcohol or drugs, or having a bitter, hateful attitude toward someone. Or it might be something we think of as a little sin -- indulging in gossip, having a jealous attitude, spending too much money on something you did not really need, or failing to be involved in church as you know the Lord desires. It doesn't matter what it is, if it is sin, it has stained your soul. And if by God's grace you feel guilty about that, it is time to take a shower, it is time to get cleaned up. You can do that by confessing your sin to the Lord, by acknowledging it, and repenting of it. If you will only take that spiritual shower, you can say goodbye to guilt and your soul can be fresh and clean again. Hymn #436 – Whiter Than Snow