Honest About Sin, Merciful God, Redeemed Life

Introduction

2 Samuel 11:1–5 NIV

1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

The story of David from Bathsheba to Nathan

2 Samuel 12:1–14 NIV

1 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.” 5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ ” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”

Psalm 51 comes about because of this meeting with Nathan and the events that follow. David sees his sins laid out before him , He is honest about his sins , he acknowledges that God is just in his judgment , he asked for God’s mercy , and then he talks about God’s redemption and his role as one who has been redeemed by God do you Our focus today will be much the same as David’s was we will acknowledge that:

Central Message: When we are honest about our sin, God meets us with mercy and sets us on the path toward redemption.

Honesty, mercy, and redemption those are the three things that we see in this psalm. We see David’s honesty about his sin , we see God’s mercy , and we see David’s recognition of his redemption. Through psalms 51 we learn about our own Honesty about sin , God’s mercy , and our redemption. Let’s begin by examining honesty.

Honesty

Honesty about his sin

Psalm 51:3 NIV

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

Psalm 51:5 NIV

5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Honesty about sin being offensiveness to God

Psalm 51:4 NIV

4a Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight

Sand will affect different people in different ways and it will always affect someone , but regardless of who is affected by sin anything is an offense to God

Honesty about the righteousness of God’s judgment

Psalm 51:4 NIV

4b so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

David did not like God’s judgment but he was honest in his assessment that God’s judgment was right and just.

Mercy

A request for mercy

Psalm 51:1 NIV

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Even in knowing his transgressions David asked for God’s mercy. He asked for this mercy based on God’s love and compassion.

Restoration

Worship and Praise for Restoration

Dog and skunk illustration

Psalm 51:2 NIV

2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:9 NIV

9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

Psalm 51:10–12 NIV

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Application

Honest

Be honest about the nature and cost of sin in your life.

Acknowledge that whatever your sin is it is an offense against God.

Be honest about your position with God . You are saved but not because you deserved to be saved.

Mercy

Even before you came to Christ you have been forgiven.

It is only through the grace and mercy of God that we have an opportunity for salvation

Restoration

Restoration is a process: we repented and gave our life to Christ, this restored in our relationship with God.

As we continue to live our life we are constantly being restored and transformed.

Conclusion (Tell them what you said)

When we are honest about our sin, God meets us with mercy and sets us on the path toward redemption.

That’s what we’ve seen in Psalm 51 through the life of David. When Nathan confronted him, David was honest about his sin. He acknowledged the weight of his sin and the righteousness of God’s judgment. Than David turned from acknowledgement to the mercy of God. He cried out, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love." He found mercy, cleansing, and a renewed heart.

This psalm teaches us that like David we must be honest about our sin, Humbly recognize our sin is ultimately against a holy God. We must remember the mercy we have received, not earned or deserved, but freely given through the blood of Jesus, And we must recognize that we have been restored, not just once, but day by day as God continues to shape us, cleanse us, and transform us paving the way to an eternity with him.