Many people this spring have been flocking to the theatres to see the new Star Wars movie, Attack of the Clones. These new movies in the Star Wars epic follow the story of how Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side and becomes Darth Vader. In the new hit TV show, Smallville, we see how Lex Luther is a best friend to Clark Kent, but we know eventually he will become his greatest enemy.
How is it that one can go from being “good” to the extreme of becoming outright rotten? Unfortunately, the Bible has several examples of men who were devoted to God and fell into horrible sin. Even today we hear of ministers devoted to the gospel who end up falling into sexual sin or some other shameful inequity. Of all the godly men in scripture who fell into a terrible sin the one we are most familiar with is David. We see how he fell in 2 Samuel 11
I. David is in the wrong place
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. –2 Samuel 11:1
We fall in danger of falling into sin whenever we are somewhere outside the will of God. David’s place was with his men, not lounging around in the palace.
Ecclesiastes 10
18 If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
1 Thessalonians 5
14And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
Many people fall into sin because of spiritual idleness. When we are idle is when we are most susceptible to temptation. Isolation and idleness can cause us to be vulnerable to temptation. Consider the traveling evangelist who is alone in a hotel room channel surfing and finds a pornographic television channel. We must remember that we are in a spiritual war and that we can never let down our guard. We must be as vigilant as a post-911 security officer at an airport. Consider what is written in 1 Peter 5:8:
“ Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
II. David ponders over the menu of temptation
One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful.
--2 Samuel 11:2
Many times people place themselves in tempting situations. To David it started by just looking out from the rooftop. Some Christians justify their lust by saying they are just looking. “There’s nothing wrong with looking at the menu, as long I don’t order,” they say. Is it bad to just look at the menu of sin? Jesus made it clear that lust is a sin. As we see, David’s lust led him to sin by watching Bathsheba and then led him to greater sin by sleeping with her.
I heard the story of one young man who would go to the altar Sunday after Sunday praying that God would clear up the cobwebs out of his life. One Sunday the pastor came to him and prayed: Lord, kill the spider! We have to kill the root of sin in our lives if we are going to be free. The very source of sin must be cut off in our lives. Consider the resilience of the dandelion. Many consider it an irritating weed that keeps appearing in their yards. You can easily mow them down, but they keep popping up because they have a deep rooted system. The only way to kill the dandelions is to dig up their roots.
Often times what is needed to help us to tear out a stronghold in our lives is accountability. For David his problem was a spirit of lust. When David saw a beautiful woman bathing, he should have turned away, but he chose to indulge his senses and so he became hooked.
If you have a weakness for chocolate and are trying to go on a diet, you don’t look at dessert menus. Remember that when you look at a dessert menu, you will usually end up ordering from it. Here are some verses to keep in mind:
Genesis 19:26
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Luke 17:32
Remember Lot’s wife!
We must avoid tempting circumstances!
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
–1 Corinthians 10:12
We must set boundaries for ourselves like Job. We must make a choice not to give in to lust!
Job 31:1
"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.
What are some tempting places and circumstances that you know of?
III. David invites temptation
David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn’t this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"--2 Samuel 12:3
Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? It is an amazing sight watching this massive force of water spill over. This river is fed by the Niagara River. How would you like to go for a canoe ride down the Niagara River? May be it would be safe down river somewhere, but there would be a point near the falls where it would be deadly. There is a point in the Niagara River that would be the point of no return. When David invited Bathsheba to his palace, he was putting his canoe into the Niagara River and entering the point of no return. He was going crashing down the falls.
IV. David falls to temptation
Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.--2 Samuel 12:4
V. David fails to immediately repent
VI. David seeks to cover up his sin (2 Sam 11:6-25) His actions result in the death of Uriah the Hittite. David went from committing adultery to murder.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 6:23
Sin always brings about the death of something. It may not be a physical death, but it may be spiritual deadness or the death of a relationship.
Another thing we must remember is that when we continually give into sin our vision becomes distorted. Our ability to discern right from wrong becomes blurred and we fall into greater sin. Remember David didn’t wake up one morning and decide that he was going to commit adultery and then have the woman’s husband killed. When he stopped listening to God’s voice concerning the things leading up to the night he watched Bathsheba bathing, he opened himself up to becoming deceived to the point of falling as far as he did. It was only the grace of God through Nathan the prophet that kept him from falling further.
VII. David repents after being confronted (2 Sam 12:13)
We see in scripture David’s newborn son dies—a consequence of his sin. God may forgive us of our sins, but we still have to face the consequences of them!
Conclusion: You may have fallen away from God, but remember that God is a God of restoration. We may have to face the consequences of actions, but we don’t have to face the consequences of broken fellowship with the Father. God can restore a right relationship with Himself if you come forward this morning. After David repented of his sin with Bathsheba, he wrote the 51st Psalm. In it he prayed:
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within in me.--Psalm 51:9
We must come to God in sincere repentence and then ask that he would cleanse our hearts and renew our minds. It is only when we do these things that God can restore us to a right relationship with Him!
