OUR SINFUL LUSTFUL HUMAN NATURE

PROCLAMATION

“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, and David sent someone to find out about her.  The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’  Then David sent messengers to get her.  She came to him, and he slept with her.  (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.)  Then she went back home.”  2 Samuel 11:2-4 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

It was time to go to war, but this time King David did not go with the Israelite army, he chose to remain in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 11:1)  While walking around on the rooftop patio of the palace, David saw a beautiful woman bathing, probably on the roof of her home.  After he found out who she was, David sent for her and slept with her.  He let his lustful human nature take control and he sinned.  Actually, David compounded the first sin, lust, with another sin, adultery, and then yet another sin, murder.  David had her husband killed so that the sin which he had committed with Uriah’s wife, and her subsequent pregnancy, would not be discovered. (2 Samuel 11:14-17)  David’s actions displeased The Lord God and he would pay for his sins. (2 Samuel 11:27)

APPLICATION

David was a man after God’s own heart, (1 Samuel 13:14) but he was human, he was a man, and like all men he was a sinner. (Romans 3:23)  Here he let his lust for Bathsheba get the best of him.  David was not where he was supposed to be, he was idle, he had a wandering eye, he did not suppress his sinful thoughts, he acted on them.  We all have weakness for one sin or another, and a sin is a sin.  We are more likely to fall into temptation when we are not where we are supposed to be.  There is an old saying, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”   Occasionally we have sinful thoughts (Proverbs 23:7 and Matthew 5:28) and at times we act on those thoughts thereby committing another sin.  That is why we need to pray and ask to be forgiven for our sinful thoughts, words, and actions.  We also need to ask The Lord God to create within us a clean heart and mind, (Psalm 51:10) and for Him to guide and direct us. (Proverbs 3:6) 

YIELD NOT TO TEMPTATION

Proclamation:

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.  When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:12-15 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  James offers statements on wise living and on practical examples of Godly behavior.  Christians are blessed when they exercise Godly behavior when they are confronted with temptation.  They are blessed when they persevere under trials and withstand the tests.  James makes it clear that God is not testing them by tempting them.  Temptation comes from their own sinful nature and desires when in their mind they want to do that which is sinful or which leads to sin.

Application:

We need to understand that the temptation is not a sin, the yielding to the temptation is the sin.  The temptation to sin is a trial, a test that we endure.  God is not tempting us, but through His permissive will, He is allowing the temptation to occur.  The devil does not make us sin, although he is frequently blamed for it.  Our sinful nature causes us to desire to commit sin.  Once we think a sinful thought, we try to rationalize it or justify it before we give in to it.  However, we have a choice and we can choose not to act on our sinful thoughts.  We are blessed when we do not give in to the temptation to sin.  We need to pray regularly and frequently for God's help to withstand temptation and for us not to yield to the temptation to sin.  I truly believe that the more time that we spend reading God’s Holy Word the less time we will spend contemplating and committing sinful behavior.