You Can't Outgive
God 11-24-17
2 Samuel 12:13 (ESV) 13 David said to
Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The
LORD also has put away your sin;
you shall not die.
No, this is not a message on the giving
of our substance. Although,that statement is true in that respect. Today it is
all about grace. It is not about any of the descriptions that we humans have
assigned to it.It is not about that popular and in my opinion derogatory
term,Hyper Grace. It is not about sustainable grace. It is not about falling
from grace.It is simply about grace. It is also about the notion that we as
God's creation cannot give anything back to Him to warrant His grace. Not in
material benefits,not in spiritual benefits,and certainly not in any righteous
acts concerning our conduct,behavior and whatnot.As concerns grace we can't give
ANYTHING back to merit God's bestowal of it.
I was thinking about what I had written
last week as it concerned the condition of MY heart on certain issuesWhile
contemplating on this,I came across this verse. Now,I have read this story many
times,but the last part of that verse (13) had never hit me. And herein lieth he
lesson.
".........and Nathan said to David,"The Lord also
has put away your sin;you shall not die." At first,it was hazy,but then it
became more clear to me. I said to myself,"Did God just go against the
requirements of the Mosaic Law,and more importantly His own Word?" How so
Ronnie?
Leviticus 20:10 (ESV) 10 “If a man commits adultery with
the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be
put to death.
Not to mention David's murder of Uriah.
According to the Law, David's sin(s) REQUIRED that he be put to death.There was
to be no mercy. The sin had to be paid for. Hmmmmm..there seems to be a problem
here. So, I went and studied it out as best I could. Now,it gets pretty
technical here and for this blog unimportant. But,know this. God in
His SOVEREIGNTY did indeed bestow an act of Grace towards His servant
David. Without getting mired in the theology,two facts are important
here.
First, GOD IS SOVEREIGN.He does what He
wants to do and is accountable to NO ONE for what He does. That's powerful
medicine when all the implications are considered. What if tomorrow,God decided
to destroy and send His creation to eternal damnation.Who or what could stop
Him? That's right ....NO ONE! HE IS SOVEREIGN.All,again ALL of His dealings with
us,His creation,rest SOLELY on one aspect of His character,.... His Grace.
Unmerited favor.
Secondly, and more specific to this
situation,verse 13 is spoken of in the past tense.
I have sinned. The Lord has put away.
Past tense.
David was not forthcoming with the facts
of his sins. His sin would be exposed to the prophet Nathan before he would
confess his guilt. No act of contrition. No turning away from his sin.No resolve
to do better. All this would come later and not in his own strength but in the
strength of the Holy Spirit.(see Psalm 51 and 32)
All David did was AGREE with God. He had
indeed sinned. Nothing else. And then Nathan speaks some of,if not the most
gracious words in the Old Testament.
"The Lord HAS put away your sin;you shall
not die." Past tense.No mention of David offering a sacrifice here. He may have
but that is not the point. His sin has been put away. Passed over. In the
corridors of glory,the restitution has already been paid. The Lamb that was
slain before the foundation of the world is in view here. Jesus Christ, The Lord
of Glory. Heady stuff indeed.
God,according to His Grace and His Grace
ALONE. Apart from any righteous act before or after on David's
part,put away,covered over, David's sin; which DEMANDED the death of the
transgressor. David gave nothing on his part. No merit whatsoever. Just belief.
Agreement. He agreed and indeed believed with God that he had sinned. All His
righteous acts of contrition,turning away etc.,etc.,came AFTER God had dealt
with his sin. AFTER God had put away or passed over his trangression. And ONLY
with the power and help of the Holy Spirit. Yes the Holy Spirit was around in
Old Testament times.Powerful,powerful medicine.
Psalm 51:11 (ESV) 11 Cast me not
away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from
me.
So, Ronnie what is your point in all of
this? Well, as I said last week it is easy to develop a wrong attitude towards
people. Listen to this.
Our standing with God is based on His
work. His grace,UNMERITED favor is all that stands before us and destruction. We
are saved from eternal damnation by His Grace and His Grace alone.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) 8 For by grace you
have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of
God,
9 not a result of works, so that
no one may boast.
Not only that,but our salvation is
MAINTAINED by God and God alone. It is a work of God. We can do nothing on our
own accord to "stay saved." GOD ALONE DOES IT.
1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a
living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
If God does all of this for us,IN SPITEof
our continued failings, then why do we DEMAND FROM OTHERS what God does not
demand of us? My question to myself is "why do I demand someone else live up to
my notions of righteousness? How can I develop an attitude towards someone else
based only on what I can see?Do I make judgment solely on what I see in other's
conduct and behavior?
Every last ounce of my standing and
relationship with God Almighty is initiated and maintained by Him! I do nothing!
Except what HE leads and EMPOWERS me to do. I can and indeed WILL not do
anything of my own accord;and I am in error if I demand it of others.Brothers
and sisters,we don't have a sin problem. SIN HAS BEEN DEALT WITH. We have a
belief problem. Our belief problem lay in he fact that we have to BELIEVE in
Jesus and His complete snd finished atonement on Calvary. Nothing else can be
done on His part or ours. Nothing else NEED be done on His part or
ours.Secondly,we must believe that Jesus will do for OTHERS what He has done for
us. IN SPITE of what we SEE in the lives and conduct of others.Undestanding that
we are no different than they.
Psalm 119:146 (ESV) 146 I call to you;
save me, that I may observe your testimonies.
God Bless
Bill said send to his email again. He got it but nothing there to read. Good word as always, Ronnie!
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