Filthy Garments

I have sat through numerous Bible studies, Sunday school classes, and listened to sermons on the subject of our righteous deeds being like filthy rags. It goes something like this, "on our best day, all of our obedience, and our very best for God, is nothing but filthy rags in His sight." I have even read some theologians who go on to say all of our deeds, even what is done for God must be covered in the blood of Jesus because of their filthiness. Isaiah 64:6 is quoted as the proof text to back up this doctrine. 

However, no one ever takes the context into consideration, taking this one verse by itself to make a doctrine. Let's look at this in its context to see what Isaiah is saying here.

First of all, the audience, and subjects of this prophecy, in fact, the majority of the prophetic book of Isaiah, are the Israelites. To narrow it down further, the southern kingdom of Judah was whom Isaiah primarily ministered to. A common mistake people make when interpreting Old Testament passages is to assume that the passage is speaking to the Church. While we can apply principles and precepts found in these passages to us today, if we fail to understand that these prophecies and promises apply to Israel first and foremost, we muddy the waters, and have problems understanding the passage.

It is vital to us to understand the theme of Isaiah, and then what are the surrounding chapters, and surrounding verses telling us. This is what I intend to do in this post.

Isaiah confronts a nation who has turned from God. His message is one of indictment, judgement, and future redemption. (See Isaiah 1:1-31). Many of the prophecies deal with the near future Babylonian captivity, yet in the long term, the time of the great tribulation and the coming of the Messiah as Israel's deliverer are in view. Often these themes overlap each other.

As we look at the immediate chapters around chapter 64 we again read of indictment (Isaiah 59:1-8). In a passage very much like Isaiah 64:4-7, a confession of the nations utter wickedness is made (Isaiah 59:9-14). Salvation is far from them due to their sinfulness. This is a people who as a whole have abandoned the Lord and live totally in sinful rebellion. As we read these passages we see a nation under judgement. Their land lies desolate, the sanctuary destroyed. Again, the captivity in Babylon, and ultimately the desolation of the last days are in view.

This period of desolation is the backdrop for chapter 64 which is a plea for the Lord to come and deliver His people. But as one reads through this chapter it becomes painfully obvious that it is sin that has caused this nation to be in the situation it is in. Isaiah 64:5-7 is a confession of their continuance in sin, and an acknowledgement of the just anger of the Lord. The question is asked "How can we be saved?" They go on to acknowledge that their righteousness is like a filthy garment, their iniquities, like the wind, have carried them away.

Although they kept up the ritual aspects of the law, they had departed from the Lord, and He had withdrawn from them. They had no righteousness, even their fasts and sacrifices were an abomination to God, as they flowed out of hypocrisy.

This passage is not teaching us that as Christians our obedience, our good works that flow out of a heart that loves God and desires to please Him, are tainted. Righteous acts that flow from right motives are not filthy rags in God's sight, in fact the opposite is true. Revelation 19:8 states that fine linen robes, bright and clean represent the righteous deeds of the saints.

I would agree that deeds done out of selfish motives, or hypocrisy are not righteous at all. But one who is made right through Jesus Christ will live right. That is what righteousness is, and that individual is pleasing to God.

Again, this passage is speaking of God's people who have grievously departed from Him in their hearts and in their conduct. They are under His chastening hand, and in their cry for deliverance they confess their sinful state. That is what this passage means in its proper context.

The day will come when Israel is once again desolate, they cry out in repentance and find restoration, as they finally recognize their Messiah.

Mastering Sin

 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." (Gen 4:7NASB)

This quote is taken from the Account of Cain and Abel found in Genesis 4. Abel brings a sacrifice of the first of his flocks to the Lord. Cain also bring a sacrifice of the fruit of the ground. God was pleased with Abel's offering but did not regard the offering of Cain. 

Cain was angry, and thus this warning from God. Sin was crouching at the door, desiring to control Cain. He must master it. Sadly, Cain gave in to his anger and killed Abel his brother. How different things could have been if only he had listened to God and controlled his temper.

Likewise, we also must heed this warning. Sin also seeks to dominate our lives and we also must not let it master us, but instead master it. We read this in Romans, Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin (Rom 6:6-7). Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:12-14). Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Rom 6:16-18).

It is through our surrender to Christ that we find freedom to overcome sin and live in victory. In John 8:34-36 Jesus states that the one who commits sin is the slave of sin, but the one whom the Son sets free is free indeed. 

Freedom to Sin?

     A common misconception of Christianity is that it gives Christians a freedom to sin. The idea goes something like this. If Jesus died for my sins, and I believe in Him, and if I am totally forgiven, therefore any future sins I commit are also forgiven. If this is the case, then it does not matter how I live out my life. I can sin all I want to, as it is all forgiven, and there are no eternal consequences to worry about.

     Of course, there are people who view Christianity with contempt because of this error, mocking the whole idea of Christ's sacrifice for the pardon of sin. Then there are those who profess to know Christ but deny Him by their deeds (Titus 1:16). They have fallen into serious error as well, as the Bible points out throughout its pages.

     Jesus tells us that a good tree will bring forth good fruit, and an evil tree will bring forth evil fruit, and be cut down and cast into the fire (Matt 7:16-20). Not everyone who professes Him as Lord will enter into the kingdom of Heaven, only those who are obedient (Matt 7:21). What He is saying is this. One who professes to know Him will obey Him. The idea of faith goes beyond a head knowledge of historical facts and things we believe about Him. A real faith puts what we believe into practice. This agrees with what James tells us about faith and works. A faith with no works is a dead faith. Our deeds show the reality of our faith (James 2:17-26). In this passage we see the examples of Abraham, and of Rahab. They both exhibited a faith that acted upon what they believed. It may shock many of you if I stated that a man is justified by his works, and not by faith alone. However, this is what James under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit states. "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24 KJV).

     Don't misunderstand me. I am not advocating legalism or a works based salvation. The scriptures are abundantly clear that our salvation cannot be earned. However, true faith goes beyond out head knowledge and ends in our actions. If not, it is a useless, dead faith. 

     The apostle Paul was accused by his enemies of preaching a cheap grace gospel. "And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? Whose damnation is just (Romans 3:8 KJV). Paul condemns this this accusation in no uncertain terms! Romans 6 strongly refutes the idea of a freedom to sin. Romans 6:1 opens with the rhetorical question, "Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?" Paul's answer is a resounding no. He goes on to point out how a Christian is identified with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. As followers of Christ, we are dead to sin, and alive unto God. We are to no longer allow sin free course in our lives, instead, we are to live righteously unto God. Sin no longer has dominion over a believer, as he is not under law, but grace. However, grace is not a free pass to sin, We are slaves of who, or what we yield ourselves to. A professing believer who chooses to sin is a slave of sin, and under its dominion period. Grace actually teaches us to deny sin, and live godly, obedient lives (Titus 2:11-12).

     The author of Hebrews did not agree with a sinning saint theology either. He strongly exhorts his audience to persevere in godliness. "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries (Hebrews 10:26-27). I would like to make it clear, we are all prone to sin. We face temptations and sometimes fall, We may sin unintentionally, or in the heat of a moment. However, a true follower of Christ will get back up, confess his sin and turn from it and seek grace (1 John 1:9). John writes his first epistle to guard us against sin, but if find ourselves to have sinned, we have an advocate in Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1). However this is not the same thing as an individual who claims the name of Jesus, but continues on in an unrepentant lifestyle. John writes that the way we know who knows Christ is by our obedience to His commands (1 John 2:3-5). This epistle is consistent in this message. 

    Jesus came to take away our sin, and in Him is no sin. As His followers we are to be like Him. If we walk in darkness, yet claim to be in the light, we are found to be liars (1 John 1:5-7). In the third chapter of First John, we can plainly see that the mark of a Christian is that of obedience. Because the Christian has been transformed by Jesus and is now led by a new principle through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he does not sin as before. The difference between the children of God, and the children of the devil is obvious. It comes down to sin. Have we been delivered from it, or are we still under its control. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil and set us free from sin (1 John 3:2-10). 

     In conclusion, there is no freedom to sin found in the gospel. Salvation goes beyond forgiveness and strikes at the problem of sin itself. The gospel provides a way to deliver those who put their trust in Christ from the dominion of sin in their lives. We are not saved in our sins, but from our sins.

Temptation.

Temptation is something that we all face during this lifetime. We have all experienced the temptation to do something that we know is wrong, to sin. There have been times when we said no, and walked away from the temptation, but sadly, there have been the times as well when we have fallen into sin.

Let's take a look at what the Bible has to say about temptation, and how we can gain victory over it in our lives. 

We first find reference to this subject in the third chapter of Genesis, 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.' "

The serpent said  to the woman, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit, and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6 NASB)

Notice how the serpent enticed Eve. He placed doubt into her mind, twisting the very words of God. He caused her to question what God had commanded, even the extent of the command. He caused her to question the consequences of disobedience to the command of God by telling her that she would not die, and instead she will be like God, knowing good from evil. Her passion was aroused as she looked at the fruit, and she ate, thus sinning against God.

James tells us that the power of temptation lies in the arousal of our passions. We read, 

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:14-15 NASB)

We all have desires, we all see things that we would like to have, or like to do. The problem is that these things are not always right. Sometimes, a thought enters our minds, a desire to do something that is wrong. What we now do with this desire determines if we live or die spiritually. When we continue to gaze upon the forbidden fruit, That is, to think upon our desire, to let it grow within our hearts, we will find that object more and more attractive, and we will also find ourselves more and more willing to commit the evil act. Our conscience will become quiet within us, or rather, we will drown it out, as we seek to justify our action, much like Eve, as she listened to what the serpent had to say. We sin when we give in to the gratification of our desires. This is something that we have all experienced, and far too many of us still experience the bitter reality of failure in our Christian lives as well.

We often find consolation in telling ourselves that we are too weak, the temptation is too strong, and we just cannot help ourselves. Some of us may fancy that our situation is unique to us, and no one else can understand the temptations that we face. Again, the Word of God speaks to this as well, 

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Cor 10:13 NASB)

This verse tells us that our temptations are not unique to us, that others face the same things that we do, and that God Himself knows our limits, and will not allow the temptation to be more that we can endure. He is faithful to provide the way of escape. We have no excuse, we can say no to sin! This is a solemn verse in that it strips away our feeble excuses and our poor attempts at justifying our actions. We should at the same time be encouraged, that we can face temptation and gain victory over the sins that so easily beset us (Heb 12:1). 

Jesus faced temptation in the same way that we do. (Matt 4:1-11; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13). We read that even though He was tempted Just as we are, yet He did not sin (Heb 4:15). Satan tried to reach Jesus through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. He twisted scripture, but Jesus recognized this. How important it is for us to know and understand the Word of God as well. It is a powerful weapon to use when we are assailed by the enemy of our souls as well, but it does us no good if we do not know the scriptures inside out, and hide them within our hearts, like we would hide a valuable treasure (Psalm 119:11).  

We find hope and consolation in the fact that because He was tempted, Jesus, as our great high priest, can sympathize with our weaknesses. We read, 

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do  not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4: 14-16 NASB)

Far too often we will approach the throne of grace for pardon after we have fallen. While it is true that we have an advocate with God the Father in the person of Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1), and we can and should go to Him with the guilt of our sin, how much more should we go to Him for the wisdom and grace we need to escape temptation before we sin? Jesus was tempted in the things that He suffered. He is able to come to our aid (Heb 2:18). As we have seen, through Christ, we can be over comers. We do not need to fall, in fact, we have everything needful to not fall! 

The Law and the Conscience.

     In John 8:1-11 we read of the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman whom they caught in adultery, before Jesus. Hoping to catch Him in a trap, they wanted to know His opinion on what they should do with this woman. Should they stone her according to the law of Moses? What was Jesus' opinion?
     Jesus stooped down, and with His finger, he began to write on the ground. We do not know what He was writing, the scriptures do not tell us. Many people guess He was writing down the ten commandments. Once again, we do not know this for certain, it is only a guess by some commentators and teachers, but it could be a possibility.
     The men were persistent in asking Jesus what they should do to this woman. Rising up, He told them that the one without sin should be the one to cast the first stone. He again stooped down and wrote on the ground. 
     At this the men began to leave one by one. 

     And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. John 8:9 KJV

     There is an important thing to observe here. These men were convicted by their consciences. As Pharisees, they placed high value upon the praise of man. They went about appearing righteous to others, even believing they were good in the eyes of God Himself. Yet something happened during this confrontation with Jesus, that spoke directly to their consciences. All of their goodness, their self righteousness was stripped away in a moment as they were convicted within their hearts, and they walked away.
     Paul speaks of the judgment of God as being impartial (Romans 2:11-16). There are those such as the Jews who had the law, they knew it inside and out. They would be judged by the law; did they obey it or not? This is the standard. Think about those in the western Church today who have many bibles, and go to church, and hear thousands of sermons. Just like ancient Israel, we have much light. Many of us are familiar with the commandments of God. We have a good understanding of right and wrong.
     Then there are those who have no bibles. They have never heard of God. They know nothing of Jesus or the gospel. What happens to them? Can they be judged for something that they have never heard?
     Paul tells us that they have the law written upon their hearts. They have a conscience!

     For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law, are a law unto themselves. which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Romans 2:14-15 KJV

     Deep inside, we all know right from wrong. We have a sufficient moral understanding. Someone living in a remote place, perhaps deep within a jungle, has the same guilty conscience when he has done wrong, that someone living in a "Christian" nation has when he has sinned.
     We can harden our hearts however, and as a result, sear our conscience (1 Tim 4:2). We no longer hear our conscience accuse us when we sin. We may become self righteous, just like the Pharisees. We trust in our "goodness" and shut out the voice of our conscience. We no longer hear it when we sin, because we have convinced ourselves otherwise. 
     This is a dangerous place to be in, as our conscience is given us by God as a warning to us that we are not acting right in the things we choose to do. A guilty conscience should drive us to the Savior, but if it is seared, if we no longer hear it, we will be content to persist in our lost condition.
     Before I go further, I want to make clear that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin (John 16:8). Without the work of the Spirit in the life of a sinner, that individual will never repent of his sin and come to Christ. It is absolutely essential that the Holy Spirit is at work to convict and convince someone of their lost condition and desperate need. 
     That being said, let's now look at the law. David tells us that the "Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" (Psalm 19:7). Paul tells us that the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). He also tells us by the law comes the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20).
     The law (moral law/ten commandments) speaks to our conscience. As we have seen, we have a conscience, we have a sense of moral right and wrong. We know when we have sinned, and we know when we have done right. Our conscience tells us. Everyone of us has experienced this. We can all relate to that guilty feeling we have when we know we did something wrong. Again, many of us tend to shut out the voice of our conscience. We persist in sin, ignoring the guilty feeling we have until it goes away. We may convince ourselves of how good we are. We may justify our wicked deeds until our conscience is silent.
     When someone is confronted by the law however, it awakens that voice of conscience. It begins to plow up the hard ground of the heart. A hardened sinner may once again feel guilty, gnawed by an uneasy dread of their sin and its consequences. A self righteous person now begins to see that they are not good, that they do indeed fall short of God's glory. They see by the work of the law in their hearts that they are not good, they are sinners, they do deserve the just wrath of God. The law Stops every mouth so that the world may become guilty before God (Romans 3:19). In other words, we have no excuse, no self justification, we stand guilty before God, and we know it! We have been confronted with God's righteous standard, not our own idea of what is right and wrong. Our awakened conscience agrees with God's standard and convicts us of our guilt. 

     A man may consider himself a good person, but when confronted with the fact that he has told lies, he now realizes that he is a liar. The same with theft, or adultery, or using God's name in vain. Paul was convicted as a lawbreaker when He realized he was a covetous individual (Romans 7:7). An individual may look at a woman with lust, but think there is nothing wrong with that as long as he does not commit the physical act. Jesus however declares this is adultery as well (Matt 5:27-28). All of a sudden, when confronted with God's perfect standard, a man's goodness fades away, and leaves him with the knowledge that he has violated God's law.
     It is just like a man on trial who hopes to get off the hook. He may have rejected a plea bargain. He believes he has an air tight alibi. He is sure he will get away with his crimes. His hope is completely dashed when the prosecuting attorney confronts him with the irrefutable evidence of his guilt. So it is with the law of God. We may fool others, we may fool ourselves, but we will never fool God.
     God's word is living and active. it shows us the truth about ourselves, the things that we hide deep down inside. Like a mirror, when we look at His law, the perfect law of liberty, we see what we truly look like, who we really are in the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:12; James 1:22-25). 

You Must Be Born Again!: A Good Person?

You Must Be Born Again!: A Good Person?:      We seem to have the idea that there are "good" people in this world. We look at those around us, and see the good husband who...

Without Excuse

     The Bible tells us that what is known about God is evident to men through what He has created (Romans 1:19-20).

     For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse...
                            Romans 1:20 NASB

     One needs only to look around at the natural beauty of the created world to understand that there is an almighty God who has created all of this. As the above verse states, His attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made. This speaks volumes about what man understands about God deep down within his heart. Man knows that there is a holy, just God who created all things, and who cannot tolerate sin.
     Sadly the Bible goes on to say that man rejects this revelation, choosing instead to worship the creation rather than the creator (Romans 1:21-25). This rejection of God is our downfall. This is the source of all the wicked, immoral behavior we see in the world today.
     It is little wonder that the world largely rejects Biblical creationism for the lie of Darwinism. This is man's effort to deny the revelation of God that he receives from the creation around him, and rejects. Men love darkness rather than the light.

     This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
                                               John 3:19 NASB

     Out of the hearts of depraved men comes all manner of wickedness. Read Romans 1:21-32. Sexual immorality, homosexuality, greed, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, arrogance, disobedience to ones parents, inventors of evil, envy, God haters, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and those who may not do such things as these, but heartily approve of those who do! Those today who may not participate in the scandalous behavior of others, but embrace and encourage their sin, are just as lost and guilty as if they did. What does this say about churches who embrace deviant sexual behavior? Gay marriage, the ordination of gay ministers, and the open acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle is nothing more than the outflow of a heart that is dead to the things of God.
     We are without excuse. No one was born a homosexual, just as no one was born a gossip! We reject the revelation of God that we have received. He turns us over to our wicked passions because we would rather live selfish lives serving a god of our own invention than to serve the only true God who created us. This is nothing but gross idolatry!
     This is not only about homosexuality, reread the passage in Romans. There are many other sins listed that are just as wicked in God's sight, and He will judge them as well. What about gossip, or arrogance? How about deceit? We see more murder today than ever before, and remember that anger is seen as murder in God's eyes (Matt 5:21-22).
     Wicked behavior, and the wide acceptance of it is the result of our own choice. We cannot call it an alternative lifestyle, or claim God made us this way. The tolerance of sin in this world today only serves to show us how wicked and depraved this world really is. One whose life is filled with the sinful acts mentioned in this passage of scripture can be assured that they are dead spiritually and in need of a radical life change that can only be found in Christ.
     Our only remedy is to turn in brokenness and repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself to deliver us from this wicked world (Gal 1:4). Only He can set the captives free. Only in Him can we find true grace and mercy.
    
    
    

Poor life choices, or sin?

     Then Nathan said to David "You are the man!"
      -2 Sam 12:7


     Through the encounter of Nathan the prophet with David, after his sin with Bathseba, we have in the sacred record God's view of sin.
     1. David's sin displeased the Lord.
          In the previous chapter we have the account of David and Bathseba. He saw her bathing, desired her, had her brought to him and commited adultery with her. When she conceived he then tried to hide the truth from her husband. When his attempts at manipulating the circumstances failed, he had Uriah killed in battle. David had managed to cover up his sin from those around him, but he could not hide it from God. We are not told that God was not shocked, we are not told that God was not surprised, we are not told that God understood David's poor choices. We are told that God was displeased (11:27) God did not overlook this sin, in fact the consequences that David bore show us how much this sin angered God.
     2. David's sin was a gross injustice in the eyes of the Lord.
           Nathan the prophet confronted David with a story of a rich man who commited an act of injustice against a poor man. The poor man owned a lamb that ate with him and his children. In fact he treated it as one would treat a child. One day the rich man who owned many flocks of sheep had a visitor. He took the poor man's lamb, killed it and served it to his visitor. Hearing this, David was outraged at the injustice of it. Nathan then replied "You are the Man!". David stood self condemned. He knew he had acted in a similar manner. Even more however, God saw the injustice of David's sin. David was the king of Israel. He was a wealthy man. He also had several wives. On the other hand, Bathseba was the wife of Uriah. Uriah was a soldier who was loyal to David. It breaks one's heart to read of his loyalty, as David tried to deceive him (11:6-15).
     3. David's sin showed an ungrateful spirit.
          " I annointed you King over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house to you, and your master's wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more." (vs 7,8). This does not sound like the God who is too big to be hurt by our wrong choices. David had been blessed by God, yet his sin showed a dissatisfaction with all that God had given him. Most of us can relate to this. At one time or another we have all done something nice for someone, given someone a nice gift, given a compliment, but received no thanks. Maybe the individual was even indifferent, or rude, and our feelings were hurt. Make no mistake about it. God is hurt by our sin!
     4. David despised the word of the Lord. (vs 9).
          One can read through the Psalms and see the love that David had for the word of God. David treasured the Word more than gold and silver. His love for the word led him to obey it with a whole hearted passion. Yet something had happened to David's love for the word. His actions betrayed his heart. The word of God meant nothing to him now.
     5. David despised the Lord (vs 10).
          David's one desire was to dwell in the presence of the Lord all of his days (Psalm 27:4). He loved the Lord deeply. His Psalms are filled with worship, adoration, commitment, trust. Now God said "You despised Me!". That is what sin is. It is selfish attitude of the heart that does not submit to God, an attitude that does not care about serving God, does not care about pleasing Him. Many people say that they love God, but actions speak louder than words.
      6. David's sin brought reproach on the Lord (vs 14).
           The eyes of the world are on Christians. Others can see through a facade. When someone claims to be a Christian, but walks in the world, it turns people off. It causes others to ridicule christianity, to ridicule Christ. There is a verse in Hebrews that states we crucify christ all over again, putting Him to an open shame, when we walk away from Him (Heb 6:6).
     David repented of his sin, and God forgave him. However the tragic consequences of this sin followed him for the rest of his life. It not only affected him, but also his family, and even the nation of Israel. It is a common thing today, to hear people downplay sin. Sin is referred to as mistakes, wrong choices, poor life choices. Many people believe that God has created them the way they are. Individuals go to altar calls wanting God to fix their "mistakes", wanting forgiveness for "poor choices". It is true that God is a forgiving merciful God, but we need to rightly understand what sin really is. Only when we truly see how sin offends God, and how deep it runs in our heart can we truly repent of it and find grace.