The Consequences of Sin
Notes
Transcript
Beginnings
Beginnings
It is most often hard to tell how one seemingly small decision can have huge impacts.
Sometime in November of 2019, someone in Wuhan, China either ate some crazy animal they probably shouldn’t have been eating, or someone leaked a specimen from a virus no one knew much about in Wuhan.
Either way, several month later the world was introduced to the terms, Coronovirus, Covid-19, and pandemic. Words that now bring back feelings and memories most of us never want to relive.
On June 28th, 1914, a young Bosnian-Serb assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which is most often recognized as the spark that led to WWI.
16.5 Million people were killed in that conflict, and it marks one of the most shaping events in modern history.
Needless to say, some of the seemingly smallest events or inconsequential decisions can have massive and shaping consequences.
Last week we looked at one such event in the life of David.
What seemed like to David a moment of weakness or a lack of judgement that led to some needed fixing, ended up to be one of the most shaping and defining moments of his life.
We got glimpses of this last week, but today we are going to look at the consequences of David’s sin to better understand how the sins we commit affect us.
1 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When he arrived, he said to him: There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very large flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised her, and she grew up with him and with his children. From his meager food she would eat, from his cup she would drink, and in his arms she would sleep. She was like a daughter to him. 4 Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man could not bring himself to take one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest. 5 David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 Because he has done this thing and shown no pity, he must pay four lambs for that lamb.” 7 Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I rescued you from Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah, and if that was not enough, I would have given you even more. 9 Why then have you despised the Lord’s command by doing what I consider evil? You struck down Uriah the Hethite with the sword and took his wife as your own wife—you murdered him with the Ammonite’s sword. 10 Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hethite to be your own wife.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them in broad daylight. 12 You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’ ” 13 David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then Nathan replied to David, “And the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die. 14 However, because you treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.” 15 Then Nathan went home. The Lord struck the baby that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became deathly ill.
At least a year has past since the evening David spent with Bathsheba, maybe even longer.
Their son had been born and it seemed like David had gotten away with the whole thing.
He was married to Bathsheba now, there son seemed to be healthy and happy, and no one seemed to know (or at least be saying anything) about the whole Uriah situation.
That was until Nathan shows up.
Nathan was Samuel’s heir as God’s messenger to Israel and to David.
We are told that God sent Nathan to David and we can assume by Nathan’s story and his confrontation afterwards, that God had revealed to Nathan all that David had done.
Nathan tells David a story about 2 men, one wealthy and one poor.
The wealthy man represents David in the story, while the poor man represents Uriah (and by default, Bathsheba).
The wealthy man is said to have taken the precious lamb of the poor man because he didn’t want to give up any of the multitude of lambs he had for himself.
Though the story is likely made-up, David is infuriated by it.
5 David was infuriated with the man and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
There is something about this statement that stands out to any one in chapter 11. David references the Lord.
At no point in chapter 11 when David making decisions and making moves is there any reference to him seeking the Lord, listening to the Lord, of even acknowledging the Lord.
But after hearing that story, his first words are “As the Lord lives!!!”
I think we can all admit our guilt in being able to see how someone else’s sin is so egregious to the Lord without recognizing the ugliness of our own sin.
David also declares a judgement over the person who did this.
He deserves to die for his evil actions.
But, according to Jewish law, wasn’t actually true.
David’s next judgement is actually the appropriate penalty. The man didn’t deserve to die for taking a lamb, but he would be required to pay back those that lost the sheep 4 times more than what was stolen.
David was so outraged by what the rich man had done that he lumps on him a judgement much greater than the crime.
And yet, David’s 2 great sins he now believes he has avoided having to face, would each be punishable by death.
Nathan then delivers one of the most powerful 4 words sermons ever preached, “You are the man!!!”
The moment of confrontation comes likely when David was least expecting it and yet right when it was suppose to come.
He really thought he had gotten away with it. That his plan and cover-up operation had worked.
But it hadn’t, at least not with God.
David wrote of God’s knowledge in Psalm 139-
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord.
We can’t hide our sins from God, He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows our sins regardless of how well we hide them from others.
And so David is confronted with his sin after more than a year of hiding and before David can even speak, Nathan begins to proclaim the consequences of David’s sins.
This is where I want to camp for the remainder of our time, looking at the consequences of David’s sins as the prophet Nathan lays them out.
We don’t like that words very much, consequences. No one (in their right might) enjoys consequences.
Though there is a such thing as positive consequences, we most often think of the negatives when we hear the word.
What I want to point out in this list though are the layers of consequences.
What I mean by that is that the consequences from David’s sins didn’t all come immediately, or even directly following Nathan’s confrontation.
Rather, they came in layers, 3 layers of consequence.
Layers of Consequence
Layers of Consequence
1) IMMEDIATE Consequences
1) IMMEDIATE Consequences
There were immediate consequences that David deal with.
One of the more clear effects was that Bathsheba got pregnant.
David’s sin had created life and that was a consequence to his sin.
Let me be careful here not to suggest that conceiving of a child was evil or that this child’s unplanned birth somehow makes his life a mistake or something.
That isn’t the case here or anywhere. Every life is valuable and every birth is a blessing and a gift, even if conceived outside of God’s design and direction.
Regardless though, what David and Bathsheba did in secret, resulted in a life being conceived.
In varying degrees, our sins and disobedience often have immediate consequences like David’s.
It could be a physical or outward consequence (like getting caught and having some kind of legal outcome)
Or it could be a inward, spiritual and/or emotional consequence.
Though we don’t see it in 2 Samuel 11 or 12, David recorded the spiritual/emotional consequences of his sin in Psalm 32.
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat. Selah
We are going to dive into this and Psalm 51 more next week, but this short description is powerful.
The guilt, shame, and anguish David dealt with as a result of his sin was serious.
His “bones became brittle from groaning” either meaning he had physical reactions from his guilt and shame, or it felt as if he was weak as a result of carrying the weight.
“The Lord’s hand was heavy on him...” pointing to the weight that comes from carrying the burden of our own sin.
His “strength was drained as in the summers heat.” He was beaten down and worn out from the weight of his shame.
Un-confessed sin ought to cause this same result in the heart and life of a Christian and even in someone the Lord is leading to salvation.
If you are here today and you have been living in sin and are unaffected by it, then that is a scary and dangerous place to be.
David lived with his hidden sin for more than a year, but its consequence was not absent.
That’s the first layer, but there is another.
2) ENDURING Consequences
2) ENDURING Consequences
Nathan announces three consequences coming to David because of his sin.
The first is found in verse 10: “the sword will never leave your house...”
David had experiences a lot of success in battle and had conquered many of Israel’s enemies and was now enjoying a season of peace and prosperity.
But what had been easy for David was about to become hard and painful.
This represents a turning point in 2 Samuel, which had been quite smooth for the most part.
In the next chapters we will see battles from outside, battles from the inside, and David dealing with the enduring consequences of his sin.
The second consequence is “disaster on you from you own family.”
David’s wives will be taken by another man right before his eyes.
This is a prophesy of 2 Samuel 16, when David’s own son Absalom rebels against David and ultimately sleeps with David’s concubines right in front of Israel.
David’s sin affects more than just him, Bathsheba, and Uriah.
The consequences of his sin influence the relationship David has with his sons, the inner-workings of his family, and the effectiveness of his leadership.
We aren’t really talking about generational sin (as some of you might be thinking of as I talk).
David’s sons aren’t being punished for their father’s sin.
Rather, David’s disobedience and unrighteousness influence how he parents his kids, the values he teaches, the decisions he makes in leadership, and the model he is to those who are around him.
Though we might not see it, our sin and disobedience influences and affects the people around us and influences our future.
There are enduring consequences to our sin.
Consequences we cannot see right now, or might just be ignoring because we are so clouded in our judgement and callous in our hearts.
But consequences that will one day become clear.
Pam and I were talking last night about cholesterol.
As a young person we develop unhealthy habits and appetites that seem to be harmless in our 20s and 30s, outside of a little weight gain.
But what we don’t realize is the consequence of high cholesterol that doesn’t have immediate consequences for those scarfing down burgers and french fries 3 times a week.
You might feel fine with a 300+ cholesterol number at 25 and 35, but all the while you are building up plaque in your arteries that will one day seal up the blood flow to your heart and cause you to have a heart attack.
What might not seem like all that big of a deal today, or something you can control or hide or take care of yourself…is actually influencing your life and the lives of others in ways you might not see for years to come.
Sin is serious, and if that hadn’t sunk in yet, then the last consequence will hopefully make it clear.
Nathan informs David that the son born to him by Bathsheba would die.
14 However, because you treated the Lord with such contempt in this matter, the son born to you will die.”
This is a really difficult verse and there isn’t really a real comfortable and straight forward explanation to why God chooses to take David’s son.
And it leads us to ask the question “do bad things happen to us because we sin?”
The answer really is 3-fold
On the one hand, YES, our sin often results in hard and painful consequences in life.
We get hurt or we hurt someone else.
Relationships are effected
Our health and wellbeing is effected.
All because we sin.
On the other hand, NO, not everything bad that happens to you can be or should be traced back to your sin.
When asked by his disciples in John 9 who sinned to cause a man to be born blind, Jesus responds with:
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him.
It wasn’t the sin of his parents or his own sin that led to his blindness, but rather God intended you use his blindness to show other’s His power.
Jesus goes on to heal the blind man and forgive his sins, mission accomplished.
There are things that happen to us in life that cannot, nor should not, be traced back to our sin or someone else’s sin, but are simply the results of living in a broken world.
Cancer strikes, babies die, disasters happen because the world we live in is broken.
Your struggles and pain are not always directly related to your sin as if God is punishing you.
What separate David’s circumstance with ours in Jesus
Jesus takes on the punishment we deserve for our sins and becomes for us the atoning sacrifice for our sin.
David’s sin resulted in the death of his son because Jesus’s blood had not been spilt.
In God’s perfect wisdom, justice, and goodness, David was spared, and his son wasn’t.
I find a lot of comfort in David’s words in verse 23
23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”
David we confident that his son would be with Christ in his death and he would one day be with him again.
So in death, David’s son was granted eternal life.
There is a 3rd and final response to our question about sin and bad things, YES AND NO, at the same time.
God uses our suffer and trials to teach and train us.
David’s trials post Bathsheba were a result of his sin and were intended to teach, train, and correct him.
But, Job’s trials (along with other biblical examples) were not the result of sin, but were still used by God to grow, shape, and train Job.
Regardless of the case, God desires to shape us into people who look more and more like Jesus.
He desires to use us to lead others to know Him and follow Him.
John Piper says:
“The aim of the God-sent consequences of forgiven sin are (1) to demonstrate the exceeding evil of sin, (2) to show that God does not take sin lightly even when he lays aside his punishment, (3) to humble and sanctify the forgiven sinner. Thus Hebrews 12:6 teaches that “the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” — John Piper
3) ETERNAL Consequences
3) ETERNAL Consequences
David’s sin was awful and destructive.
It would be felt for years and generations to come.
And it became a stain on David’s reign that would be referenced alongside his name for 1000s of years.
And yet, something absolutely astonishing happens in verse 13, listen closely...
13 David responded to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Then Nathan replied to David, “And the Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die.
We are going to look at David’s confession and repentance next week, but let the immensity of that verse sink in.
David understands, perhaps for the first time, the magnitude of his sin and he confesses it.
No excuses, no explaining it away, no justifying, no denying…He sees it for what it is and is broken by it.
And then the most unexpected, ridiculous response from Nathan...”The Lord also has PUT AWAY YOUR SIN, you shall not die.”
Yes there were immediate consequences to David’s sins, people hurt, babies conceived, guilt and shame.
And yes there are enduring consequences to David’s sin, broken family, strife, conflict, division...
But David’s eternal consequence was abundant life in the presence of God!
Not because David’s sin wasn’t all that bad.
Not because God is love and doesn’t hold us accountable for our sin.
And not because he was a good guy.
It was because David’s heart was for God and God’s heart was for David.
When we compare David’s story to Saul’s story that point becomes very clear.
When Saul disobeyed God and was confronted, he always had an excuse and never confessed his sin and sought God’s forgiveness.
So, in the end, God rejected Saul and turned His heart against him.
What separated David and Saul is the same thing that separates those who trust Jesus and those who don’t.
Faith in and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is the thing that separates eternal life from eternal separation.