Pastor Dan Eddy
2 Samuel 12:1-13
Saved but still a
sinner
8-13-10
I.
Introduction - The Escalation of Sin
If all of our sins are already forgiven at
our baptism, why do we need to confess our transgressions to God and receive
absolution?
Well rather than giving
you a theologically correct response, I want to see if you can find the answer
in the life of the following person who was really famous in the news about
four years ago. See if you know who this is.
This famous man
was born in the early 1940s in a small
In the late
1960’s he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He received a Commendation and
National Defense Service Medals. He did volunteer work for the American Heart
Association,
Anyone want to guess who I’m talking
about?
Overnight this
man of humble beginnings became rich beyond his wildest dreams. When money was
short for others, he helped people pay their mortgages and encouraged people to
invest their life savings into his very profitable company.
Anyone have a guess now?
Unfortunately,
this same man was also convicted in May, 2006 on six counts of fraud and
conspiracy, and four counts of bank fraud. A jury believed he had lied to
investors, employees, and regulators so as to disguise the financial weakness
of his company.
Before it went
bankrupt, he sold his stock leaving him with millions, while overnight 28,000
of his employees lost their jobs and those who had invested in his company lost
their life savings.
He even spent $200,000 on a cruise with his
wife months before the company collapsed.
The man, whose
life escalated out of control because of ramped sin, was Ken Lay, former C. E. O.
of the Enron Corporation.
What happened to
this man? The escalation of sin, unchecked, un-confessed, and un-forgiven led
to his falling from grace. By the way, Lay died of a heart attack before ever
serving a day in jail for his crimes.
II.
King David – Escalation in sin, drawing
him away from God
Lay is not unlike
CLC Biblical Figure #3…David. You know the teenage shepherd boy who had so much
faith in the Lord; he took one shiny (smooth) rock, put it in his slingshot,
and killed the nine foot tall ruthless enemy warrior, Goliath. David proved over and over he was faithful,
generous and loyal to God and His people. He was the writer of almost half of the
150 psalms, including Psalm 23 we spoke this morning.
And twenty-five
years into being the bestowed as King of the Israelites, David was blessed
beyond measure or merit. He had the most powerful nation in the world at that
time.
But, it was
springtime and the men went off to war; the King stayed behind. Married with
plenty of wives and children wasn’t enough. His eye was attracted to the very
married Bathsheba. He lusted after her. They slept together. She became
pregnant. In order to marry her, he devised a plan to get rid of her husband,
Uriah. David got him drunk at the palace, sent him back to the battlefront,
conspired with his army to pull away at the right time, leaving the enemy
Amorites to kill him.
The escalation of
sin: coveting led to adultery. Adultery led to conspiracy. Conspiracy led to
murder. Murder led to stealing someone else’s wife.
While Ken Lay’s
deeds and David’s actions may seem a bit extreme compared to our lives…remember
the escalation of sin, unchecked, un-confessed and un-forgiven, can lead to eternal
condemnation. The difference is with Ken Lay and David is their sins are very
obvious. With us it may be a lot more subtle, but just as dangerous.
The illusion the
Evil One wants us to believe is …they committed big sins, you and I commit
little sins. But James 1:10 (NIV) says: ”For whoever
keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking
all of it.” Whether you murder someone
with a knife, or murder their reputation, it makes no difference. And whether we
behave like David did to Bathsheba or just think lustful thoughts, both are
equally condemnable by God. The earthly ramifications of sins mean nothing
here.
Hebrews 10:26-27 (ESV) explains it most vividly: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have
received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a
fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the
enemies of God.” Ouch. That hurts!!!
The escalation of
our sins can be seen in habitually repeating them: continuous lustful thoughts,
on-going gossip, constantly holding grudges against family, friend, or
co-workers; a seething greed for more material possessions. What starts out
small can quickly escalate like it did for Ken Lay. It starts out with
thoughts, then escalates to words and deeds. Everybody’s sins are different.
About a year ago
I held up a balloon and asked if I could poke one little hole in it, what would
happen? Do you remember what happened? It’s popped. Little sins are like little
holes in a balloon. They have the potential to blow up in our face, and affect
our faith.
III.
Easier to see others sins before our own
So David got away
with his plan for about a year. He married Bathsheba, and he was a daddy again.
Comfy and confident in his actions, the prophet Nathan was about ready to pull
the rug out from underneath him. Now, Nathan had to have guts…or maybe more
precisely the power of the Spirit to approach the most powerful man in the
world and tell him, who murdered his own, that the Lord said he was a convicted
sinner.
He got David to lower his defenses by telling this story about a rich
man, who was wealthy because he had tons of sheep and cattle, but who was so
stingy, he stole this perpetually poor man’s little female lamb. The utter
greed, the complete contempt was enough for David to declare a punishment much
greater than the crime.
The wisdom of
Nathan’s story was he showed David it is easier to see other people’s sin than
it is our own. It’s easier to pronounce harsh punishment when we see others sin
as greater than ours. It’s easier to see the adultery of a former president
than our lustful thoughts. It’s easier to see the sin of serial killers than
harsh and demeaning words we speak about others. It’s easier to see the financial
corruption in a Ken Lay or Bernie Madoff than it is for our lack of help in
giving offerings to God’s church or to the poor.
Nathan got David
to pronounce a harsh judgment upon himself…Busted. “Judge not lest you be judged” aptly applies here.
Nathan was asking
why David was showing contempt for God’s Word. Why was David, by his actions,
making the Lord look bad? Can you
imagine how it looked to others? “Hey if
the king, who is loved by the Lord, can do this and get away with it, why can’t
I?” The escalation of sin can spread to others. Think of the people
involved in the conspiracy to murder Uriah. Think of how our sins look to
others and how our actions contribute to them committing transgressions.
David’s actions
caused God’s condemnation. God needed to do something drastic. The sense from the text was the Lord was
doing this for David’s own benefit.
What God was doing
for David through Nathan is what He is doing each week for you, through His
Word proclaimed in this holy house. Do
you see how much we have in common with David? Saved in Christ, but still a
sinner.
IV.
Reminders of God’s Grace and Christ’s Love
But before God
spoke through Nathan to convict David of his sin, he took time to remind the
King of all the blessings the Lord gave David….all the times He delivered David
from the jealous, unbelieving, unfaithful King Saul who wanted David dead over
and over, but never succeeded, because of God. Nathan reviewed how God anointed
him king over His chosen Israelites. And Nathan added that the Lord was there
to give him more if he would have just asked.
Part of every
sermon is not just to remind us of our shortcomings, but to review all of the
love God has given you and me through Christ Jesus: the love given at our
baptism, the love given in His Supper, the love given through His Word, and
even the temporary blessings we have in our everyday life: spouse, family,
house, food, schools, income, health, and more…blessed beyond merit or measure.
Then God shows us
our sins, like He did to David, and reminds us of the punishment that goes
along with it, eternal condemnation…in addition to temporary punishments:
conflicts in our households, troubles with our finances, possibly problems in
our health if these related to our sin.
All of this is
meant to bring us to our knees in total humility, like it did for David, so our
sin can be clearly revealed and so we can say unequivocally, like David: “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And when David said
that or when you say that, what is Lord God’s response given through prophets
and pastors: “The Lord has taken away,
passed over, your sin.” In other words, “You are forgiven.” Then Nathan was emphatic on this next point and
so am I: “You are by no means going to
die.” We may pass from this earth, but we, like David, are not going to die
for eternity.
God threatens us
with eternal condemnation not because He hates us but because He loves us, just
like David. Do you have any doubt about
His love for David? Do you have any doubts about Christ’s love for you?
Now we may still
face earthly ramifications for our sins; David would face troubles in his
household off and on for the rest of his earthly life, and God allows these
types of temporary bad things to happen to us, for our own benefit, to humble
us to remind us we are still sinners still in need of Christ’s ongoing
forgiveness. It’s God’s check and balance to keep us close to Him in His Church
so we will by no means die.
God brings us to
confess of our sins for our own good, so that we don’t fall away from His
grace. Can you imagine what would have happened to David if Nathan hadn’t
confronted him? How the escalation of sin would have continued? Whose wife is
next? Who is next to be murdered? Can you imagine what could happen to you and
me if we aren’t confronted with our sins? I pray Ken Lay had a Nathan in his
life to bring him to confess his sins and receive absolution before he died.
There’s another
king who rules over another kingdom much like David, but He never disobeyed
God. Yet He was punished for everything David did wrong, Ken Lay did wrong and
we did wrong…He was THE future son of David, conceived by God, to die for you and
me to take away all our sins…the Good Shepherd described in Psalm 23…the King
of kings and the Lord of lords…Jesus Christ. God the Father anointed Him as
King of the Church as Christ delivered you from the hand of someone much worse
than King Saul; He snatched you and me out of Satan’s hand.
V. Conclusion
As a result, it’s
worth repeating: The Lord has taken away your sin…you are by no means going to
die…because of Christ Jesus’ undeserved grace, unbelievable mercy, and unending
love for you.
Let’s end answering
the question we began with: If all of your
sins are already forgiven at your baptism why do you need to confess your
transgressions to God and receive absolution? So the escalation of your sin
ends to let escalation of your forgiveness and love from the Lord begin
again. Amen.