I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to tee and to me... - Philemon, verses 10 and 11
These verses, quoted above, speak of a former servant of Philemon who had left him under questionable circumstances. Paul is now asking that this servant, Onesimus, be allowed to return to his place of service.
I would like for us, today, to look at those who have become �unprofitable� in their service toward God. What about these, when they repent? What is their place? This is a hard question. Many good men have struggled to find answers to this dilemma. After all, this is a question regarding the handling of the holy before mankind.
The best place to find answers to any question, but especially one which bears upon relationships with - and duties toward - God, is to search the Holy record of Scripture. After all the ultimate disposition of this question lies not with ourselves, our prejudices, or even our beliefs. The matter rests with the One Who is Holy.
There are many in Scripture who have left their places of service for God. They have sinned. What about their return to service? What saith the Scripture? Let us examine three persons in the sacred pages and look at their rejections, their repentances, and their returns.
JONAH AND THE SINS OF FASHION
Te first person which we will examine is Jonah. He was called of God to do one simple task. Rather than do this he fled. Let us look at the entire, short, Book of Jonah.
Chapter One
1. Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2. Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
3. But, Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa, and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
4. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken.
5. Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.
6. So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not.
7. And they said, every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is come upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?
9. And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
10. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.
11. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
12. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
13. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.
14. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man�s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee.
15. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
16. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.
17. Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Chapter Two
1. Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish�s belly,
2. And said, I cried by reason of min affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou hearest my voice.
3. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
4. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
5. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.
6. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
7. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came unto thee, into thine holy temple.
8. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
9. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
10. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Chapter Three
1. And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying,
2. Arise; go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.
3. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days� journey.
4. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day�s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
6. For the word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
7. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd no flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
8. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
9. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
10. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
Chapter Four
1. But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
2. And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
3. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.
4. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry?
5. So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
6. And the LORD God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shadow over his head, to deliver him from his grief. So Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd.
7. But God prepared a worm when the morning rose the next day, and it smote the gourd that it withered.
8. And it came to pass, when the sun did arise, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat upon the head of Jonah; that he fainted, and wished in himself to die, and said, It is better for me to die than to live.
9. And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death.
10. The said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night.
11. And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand, and also much cattle?
So often are we slaves to the fashion of the day. We want to have, or to do, something because it is in fashion. That is a dangerous attitude for the Christian to have, especially in this day of cultural flux. Attitudes, wantatudes, couldatudes, shouldatudes, the ins and outs of popular fashion are changing day to day. Often they seem to change from hour to hour - or even minute to minute! Even our religious convictions, to say nothing of the lives and leadings of our religious �leaders,� seem to have become unstable in this day!
How much more do we need the Sure Word of God. We need to found our religious lives on that which does not change - the Sure Word of God. We need to found our day-to-day secular lives on that which does not change - the Sure Word of God. Only the leading from that Word will lead us - always - to that which is for our betterment and fulfillment. This is a necessity in both the Spiritual and the Physical realms.
Jonah had a problem. His culture clashed withe the known will of God. Jonah lived in a culture which had nothing but hate for the people of Nineveh. But, God had told Jonah to go and minister to these very people. How did he react?
Jonah reacted as he might have been expected to react: he left. We are told that we all have a flight or fight instinct. We will either run from a dilemma, a problem, or we will meet that obstacle and resist.
Many choose the easy way - they run! A Christian who knows that he has a problem in his life with which he needs to deal will often ignore that problem. He will say, �It�s not so bad.� �Others are far worse than I.� �I can deal with it - later.� I call this the Scarlet O�Hara Syndrome - �Tomorrow�s time enough. I just won�t think about that today.
Non-Christians who know that they need salvation will deal with this eternal life or eternal death issue in the same way rather than face up to their sin.
Both have chosen flight.
This is not surprising. We can not conquer sin without help from the free grace of God. But, when we choose not to deal with our sin, when we choose to ignore our sin, we are in no position to stand before a holy God. We may not name our shame, we may not name our unworthiness, but we do feel the hollowness of the ruptured relationship with God - the only relationship which can heal the hurt. Still, we do not approach God.
Jonah choose to run. His culture said that he must hate, not help, the people of Nineveh. It was reasonable on his part to believe that this was correct. After all, Nineveh was the oppressor. It was Nineveh, or the people thereof, which put down, held back, his own people.
This was prejudice. Not to Jonah. This was right! Everything in his culture, not only secularly but also religiously, said that it was right to hate Nineveh. But, yet, God had told him to approach these very, these hated, people with the message of, Jonah knew it to be true, ultimate salvation.
Jonah could just not bring himself to do this. The strain of what he knew was right and what God had told him to do was just too much for Jonah. He found it easier to leave the service of God than to follow the instruction of God.
This was not a new thing to the time of Jonah. Neither is the leading astray of the fashion of the day a new thing in our own time. We talk much about how hard it is to live for God today, �...what with all the pressures that kids have today.� This is true, of course.
The story is told about how many Fundamentalist preachers it takes to put in a ceiling light bulb. It takes three. One to hold the ladder. One to hold the bulb. And, one to preach about how much brighter was the old bulb.
But, it has always been true that to live in the society of mankind has been to live away from the rule of God. Man, as a race, was alienated from God in the Garden of Eden. Without the grace of Jesus Christ man will remain alienated from God. Listen to the words of the Apostle Paul, from Romans 1:28-32, as he describes society at large without God:
28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.
29. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whispers,
30. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31. Without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affections, implacable, unmerciful:
32. Who knowing the judgement of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them.
We must not make the mistake of following a religious experience which is not grounded in Scripture. That, the Scripture, is our Touchstone. That, the Scripture, is our Guide. That, the Scripture, is our Standard. Any Religion which speaks what the Scripture does not speak, is false. It is either the will of God or the will of man which we will follow. The Scripture discloses to us the Will of God.
The religion of the day told Jonah that he was not to have anything to do with the people of Nineveh. He was of the chosen race. Nineveh was all bad and nothing good. So certain was Jonah of this that not even God could persuade him otherwise. Not even the commandment of God could send Jonah to the people fo Nineveh.
There is also much false religion in this day. This, too, has always been so. Satan will give man a doctrine. Satan will give man a religious system. Satan will even give man a pseudo scripture. Satan will say that there is some good in all beliefs; we must only search out the good.
God will give to man the One, True, Way of Life.
Where do we find this way of life? Where do we find the words of life? Where do we find the will of God? Once again the Apostle Paul speaks under inspiration; this time from II Timothy 2:15. �Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
God asks that we spend time in His Word. His Word will never lead us astray. Time spent in the Word of God will lead us to a closer walk with Him.
We should note that God says to study His Word! That is to give more than a cursory glance at the pages of Scripture. Our culture, our society, will come at us from every angle in an attempt to draw us into its ways. We need to spend time alone with God. We need to give Him the opportunity to speak with us.
The news casts, the book�s message, the subtle influence of the advertiser, the leading of what is right and wrong from the move and T. V. shows, the music groups recording, these and other messages from our culture will attempt to lead us into their web.
When we speak of spending time with God and His Word, we mean just that. There are many good devotional books and commentaries on the market. Many of these will guide into truth we might otherwise have not seen as clearly. Yet, to rely on the words and experiences of others and to ignore the Book which God has given to us is to fail to go to the source of our nourishment. Soda pop may be enticing, but if we want to be really refreshed nothing can compare with cool, clear, pure water.
We need the pure Water of Life from the pure Book of Life.
We need our own experience with God. If we do not even show Him enough love to spend time with His Book, we are showing Him little in the way of worshipful devotion!
We need the gentle prodding of God, from the pages of the Book which He has given us, to show the Way which He has for our betterment. God will lead for our good because God loves us. Society doesn�t care about us one way or the other. Society only wants another body to conform.
God led Jonah. He first took Jonah to a place where Jonah could be alone, away from the corrupting influence of his society - a place where he could be alone with God. In a circumstance that others might think about as horrible, Jonah found his way back to God. The belly of the fish was not bad, not to Jonah. It was the entryway into the presence of God.
When Jonah was finally able to focus on God, and on God�s Message, he began to do that thing which God had commanded that he do. He started to preach to the people of Nineveh.
Notice that God blessed the ministry of Jonah. The message produced results.
Why was this? Was Jonah such a good fellow? Was Jonah �sold out� as the messenger? No. Jonah was, however, �sold out� as being the messenger. Jonah had repented of the sin of following his own nature. He had determined to do the leading of God - even when this was not the easy, nor the natural, thing for him to do.
Jonah had decided to be obedient to God and God blessed this obedience. Even though this obedience was somewhat forced and unsure, it was obedience!
We must note, of course, that even in the midst of Jonah�s obedience, Jonah was in rebellion in his mind against the strange leading of God. He still did not agree with God about those people of Nineveh.
What was the response of God toward Jonah? Did God simply use Jonah for this task and then abandon him? No! Of course not! God honored the faith and obedience of Jonah and continued to guide him even further.
In one sense this was a great faith which Jonah displayed. His culturally mistrained mind told him to do one thing while God told him to do another. Jonah worked the known will of God even when he did not agree with, or even understand, that will. That is a faith that simply trusts God!
Part of the purpose of Basic Training in the military is to change a persons world view from the point of living in a democracy to that of living in a very structured caste system. Rank in the military is everything and obedience must be instant and unquestioning. God was showing Jonah that his culture was one thing, but that real fulfillment in his life was quite another. That fulfillment rests upon the relationship which one has with God.
DAVID AND THE SINS OF THE FLESH
The second person at which we will look is King David, The Sweet Psalmist of Israel. His sin is well know, and well documented. We find the Biblical record of his sin in II Samuel, chapters eleven and twelve.
Chapter Eleven
1. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings to forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.
2. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king�s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
4. And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
5. And the woman conceived, and sent and told David, and said, I am with child.
6. And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7. And when Uriah was come unto him, David demanded of him how Joab did, and how the people did, and how the war prospered.
8. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed out of there king�s house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king.
9. But Uriah slept at the door of the king�s house with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10. And when they told David, saying, Uriah went not down unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not from thy journey? Why then didst thou not go down unto thine house?
11. And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not this thing.
12. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13. And when David had called him, he did eat and drink before him, and he made him drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14. And it came to pass in the morning that David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15. And he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16. And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
17. And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite died also.
18. Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war;
19. And charged the messenger, saying, When thou has made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king;
20. And if so be that the king�s wrath arise, and he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall?
21. Who smote Abimelech the son of Jerubbersheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, that he died in Thebez? why sent ye nigh the wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
22. So the messenger went, and came and shewed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23. And the messenger said unto David, Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us in the field, and we were upon them even unto the entering of the gate.
24. And the shooters shot from off the wall upon thy servants; and some of the king�s servants be dead, and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.
25. Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it and encourage thou him.
26. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband.
27. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
Chapter Twelve
1. And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor.
2. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds:
3. But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had brought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children, it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
4. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man�s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5. And David�s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
6. And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
7. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
8. And I gave thee thy master�s house, and thy master�s wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou has killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
10. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
11. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun.
12. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die.
14. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
15. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah�s wife bare unto David, and it was very sick.
16. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
17. And the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
18. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead: for they said, Behold while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken unto our voice: how will he then vex himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?
19. But when David saw that his servants whispered, David perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20. The David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of the LORD, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when re required they set bread before him, and he did eat.
21. Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive, but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread.
22. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?
23. But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
24. And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.
25. And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet;; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
26. And Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city.
27. And Joab sent messengers to David, and said, I have fought against Rabbah, and taken the city of waters.
28. Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city and take it: lest I take the city, and it be called after my name.
29. And David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it.
30. And he took the king�s crown from off his head, the weight whereof was a talent of gold with the precious stones: and it was set on David�s head. And he brought forth the spoil of the city in great abundance.
31. And he brought forth the people that were therein, and put them under saws, and under barrows of iron, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brickkiln: and thus did he unto all the cities of the children of Ammon. So David and all the people returned unto Jerusalem.
Note here the position of David at the time of his great sin. The text says that this was at the time when kings went forth to battle. Where was David? David was back at the palace. I don�t believe that we can really say that David was doing anything wrong. Yes, he was allowing others to fight in a war in which he might have been himself engaged. But, he really wasn�t doing anything wrong. He really wasn�t doing anything at all!
How often are we, as Christians, like this. We are not on the battle ground. We are not on the parade ground. We are just on the ground - sleeping. We are not doing anything wrong. No one can accuse us of overt sin. But, therein is the danger. We smugly become snugly with that old serpent, then he bites us. We�ve dropped our guard because we see no need to keep it up. Yet we are too long separated from God to heed His warnings. Satan tricks us and we are in the snare. Not being active for God is to invite backsliding in our spiritual lives.
Sin follows. It did for David and it will for us as well!
David looked at the thing that tempted him. The looking was not wrong. There was nothing David could have done to have not seen Bathsheba - short of being away at the battle where he should have been! Satan will use every opportunity to tempt the Christian. Temptation is not, however sin. But, David gave more lingering looks.
To dwell upon that which tempts one, rather than asking God to help in the hour of temptation, and then removing ourselves from that place of temptation, is to begin a certain move from the realm of temptation to the realm of sin.
David then acted upon his temptation. He had already acted affirmatively on this sin when he had continued to look and to lust. He now acted arrogantly. He sent for the woman. Worse, he did this after he knew that she was the wife of Uriah.
David simply expected Bathsheba to come, and to engage herself in sin with him at his command. For all that he may have told himself that he felt for her, he considered her nothing more than an avenue to fulfil his own lusts. In his sin he displayed not only a low regard for the standards of God, he also displayed a low regard for a fellow human being - one for which he claimed to have tender feelings.
We should realize that as Christians, especially as Christians, our sin will have a negative impact on others who will see us. Not only do we have a duty toward God to live pure lives, we also have that same duty toward those fellow human beings who are lost and on their way to hell, and in need of the Message of Salvation. Will they be willing to give that Message a hearing after they have seen God�s messenger and God�s people?
David knew what was right and proper. But, David was the KING! He placed himself above the normal conventions which would have expected of anyone else.
Let us each remember that every single one of us is a soldier in the Lord�s Army. He is our Commander. His commands are for us as well as for others.
But, David did sin.
A gracious God sent the prophet Nathan to David. David was convicted of his sin. David did repent. David did not just say that he was sorry; he repented.
I may be sorry if I leave the lights on in my car while it is in the garage. If I leave the lights on, and the battery dies when my car is parked ten miles from the nearest phone or service station, I may repent. After the first incident I would be upset that I�ve dried up the battery and had to call someone to �jump� me. After the second incident, and walking the ten miles to get help, I will take steps to see that it does not happen again!
David was not simply sorry. He repented and changed his lifestyle to make sure that the same thing did not happen again. God got his attention.
God did forgive the sin of David. But, look at what happened to David because of his sin. We read in the pages of Scripture of the rape and incest with Amnon and Tamar, two of David�s children. We read of the rebellion of Absolom, another of David�s children. We read of the palace intrigue which surrounded Solomon�s ascension to the throne. The child that Bathsheba first conceived did not survive.
David saw great personal tragedy in his life as a result of his sin with Bathsheba.
But, there was more than simply personal tragedy as the result of the sin of David. David was in a position of responsibility. He was the king. As long as David was king, Israel was at war. The sword did not depart from his professional life.
We do not sin in a vacuum. When we sin we set off chain reactions that, although God will graciously forgive, continue to haunt and hurt not only ourselves but others as well.
Matthew 6:4 gives a spiritual principle: �That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.�
Sin carries a public shame just as good works will carry a public reward. God honors faith and obedience. He dishonors sin.
But, God does forgive sin. That�s the good news! God forgave David of this sin because David confessed and repented of the sin. David did not say he was sorry. David meant he was sorry. He changed his habits. It is important to note that God forgave David when he repented - at that moment, before he had changed anything. God honored the faith of David.
God works with us via the medium of faith. However, it must be noted that our works will mirror that which is within our hearts. True faith will produce true works honoring to God. A faith which is false will be just as false in its outworkings - even if those outworkings appear to be good to those around us. God will know!
David lamented over his dead son. He spent more time at the palace. Finally, Joab, a true friend as well as David�s general, called David back to the battle.
That was important.
Sometimes after we have sinned we are loath the return to service for God. It is hard. After all, people are looking at us. They are calling us hypocrites - or worse! Sometimes there needs to be a Joab in our life to say, �O. K., David, you are still the king. Now, get back to work!�
We must remember that it is God Who is on the throne and not ourselves. We are His vessel. As hard as it must sometimes be, after repentance, the choice is His and not ours to return to service.
In the case of David, the remorse was real. Many of the Psalms which David wrote were written after this time of sin in his life. These are filled with true repentance and grief over his sin.
It is important to realize two things about the sin and repentance of David. First of all, David did not allow Satan to use this sin, of which David had repented and God had forgiven him, to continue to come between him and God.
Satan will do this is we allow him to do so. He will continue to remind us of our past sin. He will tell us that we are unworthy. He will tell us that we are defiled. This will be the message of Satan.
Satan is, of course, right in this. However, what we must dwell upon is the fact that we have a gracious Heavenly Father Who will forgive us our trespass if we but repent. We may grieve over our shortcomings, our sin, but we should rejoice over the relationship which we have with the Father through the shed blood of the Son.
Second, David returned, after he had confessed and repented of his sin, to a place of usefulness to God. Although David had sinned grievously, and he knew it better than anyone else, he lived with the knowledge of his own unworthiness. He also lived with the knowledge of the wonderful grace of our wonderful God.
God�s provision of pardon in the life of David was the signal for service in the life of David.
PETER AND THE SINS OF FAITH
The last person at whom we will look today is the Apostle Peter. His story is well known. The story of Peter denying the Lord three times before the cock crowed is known to every Sunday School student. It is found in Matthew 26:69-75.
69. Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
70. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.
71. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.
72. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.
73. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also are one of them; for thy speech betrayeth thee.
74. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.
75. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
Peter�s troubles began when he removed himself from the presence of Jesus. If we are to remain pure, if we are to remain truly spiritual, if we are to remain useful to God, we must stay near the side of Jesus. As our minds stray from Him, so do our lives.
Peter saw without in the palace. He was not yet ready to enter fully into the palace. He just wanted to be close to it.
How often do we want to just taste sin? We don�t want to live in it. We just want to see what it is like. Maybe just a little study - you know, just so we�ll know the enemy - or so we can justify ourselves. But, like the fly who wanted to taste what was on the flypaper, we will soon find ourselves trapped.
This palace was a place of worldly power. It may have been the palace of some of the religious leaders, but in such palaces sit kings, governors, and rulers - temporal and religious! It seemed like such a nice, respectful place. But, in going that direction Peter was running from Jesus - the Place of Heavenly Power.
When Peter was questioned about his relationship with Jesus, he said that he did not understand what they were talking about. �I know not what thou sayest.� Him? Peter? With Jesus? Absurd1
Peter did not make an out-and-out denial at this point. He just said that he did not understand what these people were talking about. He was willing to resort to deceit rather than to take a stand for Jesus.
Like Peter, many of us will use this excuse. We will say that we are unlearned in the things of God. We say, �I can�t do anything for God. I don�t know how.�
This is a lack of faith in the ability of God. If God calls us, and if we yield ourselves to Him, He will supply whatever is needed for our witness to be effective. He is the Power; we are the tool.
May we be useful in His hands.
Peter then did something that each of us will do when we choose to remove ourselves from closeness to Jesus. He went out into the porch. He moved away from, rather than closer to, Jesus. He removed himself a little further from the place where he could have been of service to Jesus. Peter, who only a few hours before had pledged to fight for Jesus, moved himself closer to that seat of worldly power and further from the Person of Heavenly Power.
Every movement away from Jesus leads to further movement away from Him. That type of life becomes a steep downward incline - a spiritual decline. The Holiness people have a word for this. That word is backsliding. This is a very apt term which correctly describes the spiritual movement of one who strays from the side of Jesus. Anything that leads one from the Blessed Portal of Heaven is most definitely a backward step. It is also a slippery, sliding way on which one embarks when he leaves the safety of Jesus side.
It is sliding out of control because the movement tends to pick up speed in geometrical rather than arithmetical proportions. If it was only one thought away form Him, and then two, and then three, this would be bad enough. But the progression is not 1, 2, 3... It tends to be 1, 2, 4, 16... The shame is real. But the deceiver multiplies it even more in our minds. �Jesus may have helped others,� the reasoning seems to go, �but I am so vile... My sin is worse and I can not go back.�
Peter was like this. Where before Peter had merely denied the Master, he then denied with an oath. Where he had before misled, Peter now swore to the veracity of his lie. He took an oath that his very falsehood were truth. Here was an out-and-out denial and rejection of Jesus Christ, Who is Himself Truth.
It was then said that Peter�s speech betrayed him to be a follower of Jesus. The meaning, of course, is that Peter had the accent of a man from Galilee. However, should not always the speech of the Christian betray that he has been with Jesus.
It should!
It may be well to stop and realize that, at the very moment that Peter was betraying Jesus, Jesus was preparing to die for Peter. Even in your sin, Jesus loves you and calls you to Himself. Jesus loved you enough to die for you when you were at your worst. Why not give Him your best?
Peter then began to curse and to swear. His speech did betray him. The sin in his heart was shown through his lips. Once again, as we saw in the life of David, we can not hide our sin. What we do in private will manifest itself openly.
Peter was afraid of the consequence of being thought to be a believer. He tried his best to show that he was not one of them. How sad for any man to deny the Savior. But, every time we fail to stand for Him we do deny Him before men. Every time we fail Him we fail in service to others. Every time we fail we bring harm to our own selves - both spiritually and emotionally.
The sin of Peter was uncovered. Immediately upon his betrayal the cock crowed.
Here was Peter, the disciple who had promised to stay by Jesus� side through anything and everything - to the last, the disciple who had given that great affirmation of faith: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Here was Peter. What was his position now? He was in sin. He was found out. He was convicted of, and by, his sin.
But, that last point: He was convicted of, and by, his sin... This gave hope. When Peter realized his condition he was on the way to recovery. It is said that an alcoholic must admit to himself that he is an alcoholic before he can begin to be cured. So must the sinner realize that he is in sin before he can begin to find grace.
Before the sinner admits to his position he will feel no shame, no sorrow, no need to repent. Peter realized his position. When the cock crowed Peter remembered the words of Jesus.
The words of Jesus... That is what we need to hear. The words of Jesus will convict us of our sin. When we compare ourselves with others we may feel that we�re not too bad. We�re at least as good as others. We�ll even find someone of whom we are the better. But, when we hear Jesus we must admit that we are short of His mark. We are lost. We are in need of grace.
The words of Jesus will convict us of our unworthiness.
When we stop listening to the voices of fashion, to the voices of the flesh, and - yes - even to the voices of faith, when we stand before Jesus Christ and trust Him rather than the words of man, then we realize that this Person is not simply another voice. He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. He is not simply another way, or even The Way to find those things. He IS those things.
We are not worthy to come into His presence. Yet, that is exactly to where He call us.
The words of Jesus will convict us of His great mercy and grace. He loves us in spite of our failings, our sins. He calls us to work alongside Him, even with all of our shortcomings and imperfections. He calls us because He loves us. How great is His mercy and His grace.
Peter realized that his position had changed. He had denied his Lord. But, Peter also realized that the Word of Jesus had not changed - �for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.� (Matthew 9:13b)
We must not suppose that all was now sunshine and roses for Peter. He had denied his Lord. He had sinned. Sin causes sorrow. Peter went out and wept bitterly over his sin. That was a sign of his true repentance.
One may weep rivers over the fact of his sin, but without true repentance this is a wasted effort. It is one thing to simply be sorry. It is quite another to truly repent of sin. Peter repented.
Sin will cause sorrow in the life of the nonChristian. He may sorrow and weep that he has been caught, that he has lost something, or that his deeds are now known. But, without Godly repentance and confession to God of his sinfulness, that man will remain lost in his sins. Jesus stands ready, anxious, to forgive. The sinner must make the move to receive that forgiveness. Yet, we must remember that salvation is not our work; it is the work of Jesus. We only receive that which He gives to us.
Sin will also cause sorrow in the life of the Christian. Peter wept bitterly. The Christian will sorrow over the same things, quite often, as does the nonChristian. But, the Christian will sorrow over more. He will sorrow that he has let Jesus, and His Great Cause, down. This will be the more bitter sorrow.
Note, of course, that Peter displayed true repentance from, not just for, his sin. It is one thing to be sorry over another thing. It is quite another thing to repent of a thing so that we will make an effort to never do it again. Peter was not just sorry. He repented.
Peter proved his sorrow, and his repentance, by beginning anew to live for his Lord. This is not to say that Peter never made any further error. Peter did not live a perfect life from this time on. We see him, however, never again in the place of denying his Lord.
Note that each of these men, when they repented, were restored to the job which God had given them. But note, more importantly, that in each was displayed a true repentance.
Jonah continued to learn from God. God had not forsaken him.
David continued to lead his nation in a Godly manner. God was still very real to him.
Peter continued to tell the world of the Jesus Who had died for sinners such as himself. God had pardoned him.
We have a duty to repent - truly and honestly repent and do whatever it is that God has given us to do in His service. We must remember that it is not our arm, or our power, by which the victory which must be won will be established. This is spiritual warfare. The victory comes through the might and power of God.
We serve a Great God. No! That�s not right. We serve The Great God! And, He loves us!
If you are not a Christian, why in the world not?! Come on aboard. He is wonderful past our ability to describe Him. He loves us when we need Him most!
And, He loves you just where you are now!