Part Two of Two: David, his sin, and Nathan

In sharp contrast to Saul’s sin and repentance in 1st Samuel 15, David, on the other hand committed an even more grievous sin by going in unto Bathsheba, a married woman, and then ordering the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, in a hotly contested battle. Now Saul repented, but was selfish in that he worried about himself, his reputation, and what the people would think of him. He was worried about the consequences of his sin. On the other hand, David was a broken man because of his sin and cried out to God while face down in the dirt. We can read about his brokenness in all of Psalms 32 and in psalms 51.

v711 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. [Psalms 51:11 KJV]
v17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. [Psalms 51:17 KJV]
v7 . . .for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. [1 Samuel 16:7 KJV]

The foregoing Scriptures are how we approach God through repentance. Our focus, as with everything, should be on fellowship with Christ and when we sin, we should repent with conviction and with the fear of losing fellowship with Him. Mary understood fellowship and chose the good thing by sitting at the feet of Jesus [1]. When we sin, repent, and sit at the feet of Jesus and DO NOT worry about the consequences of that sin.

It is important enough to repeat. When we sin, we lose fellowship with Christ [2]. Through proper repentance we regain that fellowship with Christ. However, God will never leave or forsake us [3], but we can lose fellowship with Him. We can never lose relationship as long as we live in the light [4].

Therefore, unless we repent to regain our fellowship with Christ, and NOT just because of the consequences, it is NOT true repentance. Said another way, if we are selfish and only think of ourselves and not of others or regaining fellowship with Christ, it is NOT true repentance.

God says, “Be holy, for I am holy” [5], but when we do sin, repent, because we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. We call it. . .growth, and the grace and forgiveness of God. Hallelujah!
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[1] Luke 10:35-42; Matthew 6:33
[2] Isaiah 59:2; John 1:5, 6; 1 John 1:9; 2 John 1: 9-11
[3] Hebrews 13:5
[4] 1 John 1:7
[5] 1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 20:26