Salvation Obtained/Outlook Changed

Objective:

To make claimers of Christ investigate if what they believe is true. If a person is a believer and Christ how should that believers outlook towards sin be. Secondly, can a believer have his or her own vantage point when it comes to sin ? The believer must understand that sin is to be hated at all cost. ( Psalms 97:10

Psalm 97:10 ESV

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

In addition one must repent of his or her sin immediately and fight hard to turn from it. The new outlook on sin is to hate even the garment of sin. ( Jude 1:23

Jude 23 ESV

save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Diagnosis: We live in a Post Christian Culture that wants to re-write abnormal for normal and normal for abnormal. Now what God claims is God we now say is evil. Sin is the cause for the groaning of man and of the earth. We live in a world now that says that you can be saved and live any way that you want. This is a lie and very harmful to the person that is confessing Christ as their saviour. Tonight we will use David as our ultimate picture of what a Christian should look like when sin is pointed out in their lives. ( Remember, you might not live what you confess, but you will live what you believe....

4 Major’s Signs of Salvation

Salvation is a free a gift that comes at cost, but it can’t be earned. However, when a person is saved; their should be a change in that person’s conduct. The change isn’t immediate, but as the person grows it should begin to flourish. Nonetheless, in my opinion there are 4 core areas that a saved person should begin to illuminate as they grow in Christ.

1. Repentance: The act of turning from sin and asking God for forgiveness. Repentance is acknowledging that you have offended God, and you want to prove to God that you hate what you did and you understand that as a new creature in Christ you want to follow his will only.

2. Caring: People say I love you all the time. However caring (compassion) is love in action. When we care it is more than just saying I will pray for you or I love you; but it is meet the need of an individual if possible.

3. Justice: Saved people love justice. Impractically they love God’s justice. Saved people have a biblical outlook towards justice. They hate to see wrong or evil go unpunished

4. Forgiveness: This might be the hardest area that a Christian will face. Forgiving and restoring some one without bias, resentment, or guilt. It is allowing a saved offender back in your space without judgement.... This doesn’t mean for one not be cautions, but it does mean for one not to search for reasons to be offended.

David the Man after God’s own Heart

David was said to be a man after God’s own heart. However, he was a man that stayed on his knees constantly. David for ever clawed his way to the foot and throne of God. David is the primary author of the book of Psalms, in which you can see his heart for God… David’s most famous Psalm came after his sin with Uriah’s wife Psalm 51

Psalm 51 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

David poured out repentance, his heart called out for God, and even more for God’s presence. However, the most intriguing thing about David is his response to Sin. Let us for a moment take a look at David’s greatest fall... 2 Samuel 12

2 Samuel 12 (ESV)

And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’ ” David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his house.

And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the Ammonites and took the royal city. And Joab sent messengers to David and said, “I have fought against Rabbah; moreover, I have taken the city of waters. Now then gather the rest of the people together and encamp against the city and take it, lest I take the city and it be called by my name.” So David gathered all the people together and went to Rabbah and fought against it and took it. And he took the crown of their king from his head. The weight of it was a talent of gold, and in it was a precious stone, and it was placed on David’s head. And he brought out the spoil of the city, a very great amount. And he brought out the people who were in it and set them to labor with saws and iron picks and iron axes and made them toil at the brick kilns. And thus he did to all the cities of the Ammonites. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

The line to note, is David’s response ( Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.

True repentance should lead a saved person to see who it is they really offended. David realized that he offended God...

1. We need to remember that when we sin it bothers God more than anyone involved in the offense.

2. Sin is highly hated by God no matter the degree of the Sin

3. All is the hated, but all sin doesn’t have the same degree.

4. Repentance is mandatory if the Christian live.

5. Just because you repent doesn’t mean that consequences will not follow. However, forgiveness goes without question...

6. Repentance truly shows a remorseful heart.

7. Repentance strengthens your faith.

8. As should as acknowledgement is revealed or accepted, repentance must follow immediately.

9. Apology and Repentance are drastically different...