"So David Sent messengers..."

“And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.” (2 Samuel 11:3-4 ESV)

David knew God. God had been with David throughout his life. God spoke with David directly. One example is in 1 Samuel 23:1-5, “Now they told David, 'Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” Therefore, David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?” Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.”

God also spoke to David through the prophet Nathan. The best example of this is when Nathan confronted David after he went in to Bathsheba. God spared David’s life after Uriah’s murder and David’s adultery with Bathsheba, although David was punished by God in many ways.

So, if David believed in God and had faith in Him, why did he commit such grievous sins? David lived in a time of the Old Covenant, so faith and repentance did not equate to salvation, but that still does not answer the question as to why David committed murder and adultery if he followed God. And God spared David despite his sin, which reveals God’s mercy.

In 1 John 3:6, the apostle wrote, “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.” But David did abide by God, and yet he kept sinning just as we do. The apostle also wrote, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8). So, now it is really confusing. We must confess that we are sinners, acknowledging our sinful nature, which is true, but if we are sinners and keep sinning, according to the apostle, we do not know God. But we know God and have expressed our faith in Him, we have been baptized, and we follow Him every day. So what gives?

Our sinful nature is just like David's, except for our salvation if we have come to faith in Christ. Like David, there are things, triggers, that our sinful nature finds irresistible. It may be as simple as a look, but that look contains lust. It is sinful. However, unlike David, who was convicted of his sin by Nathan, we are convicted of our sin by the Holy Spirit. In our conviction, we must repent of our sins and recognize that we still need to grow in Christ. We still fall short.

Paul told us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We do not want this to be true; however, we cannot be good. Thankfully, Christ was good for us. The doctrine of sinless perfection is a fairy tale. The enemy knows our triggers, and in this world that is so quickly spiraling downward into evil, it is very easy for him to do so. John also wrote in his first Epistle, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."  (2:1)  Our salvation in Christ is our hope.

Sinning hurts, it is painful, and frustrating. It hurts us in that we recognize our sin. We may see it as a failure before God, because we know we are sinning, yet we do it anyway. Even Paul wrote,  ^“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15) 

While scripture can be confusing, this is not. Salvation through faith in Christ wipes away all sin, past, present, and future. We will strive not to sin, but when we do, we must run to Christ. He knows we will sin, but there is something greater than our sin, and that is the love of Jesus. He sacrificed Himself for you so that you could be rejoined to God through Christ’s righteousness, never to be plucked away.

This is our hope in our war against sin. Without Christ, there is no hope, only despair. Which are you?

Do you know Christ as your Savior? Seek Him now.

Grace and Peace.