-Fifty- At Least I'm Not As Bad As.......

At Least I’m Not as Bad As……

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:25

Focal Verse: 2 Samuel 12:13

So 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.”

We have all played the game at some time or other. We might say, “Well, yes I lied, but at least I’m not a thief,” or “Oh, I gossip a little, but I don’t cheat on my spouse like ______does”. And worst of all, some of us think we have “arrived” and are virtually “sin-free”. It’s an ugly game that cheapens the blood of Christ.

I had always taken comfort in the fact that God forgave David of his adultery and murder. I thought I was pretty safe since I hadn’t sinned to this “degree”. But I don’t remember Jesus talking about different levels of sin. Whether it was an adulterer, a tax collector, a worldly young ruler, or the self-righteous Pharisee, it was simply sin. In fact, in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14), it was the repentant and humble tax collector who went away receiving God’s grace. Christ died on a cross just as much for the snide remark I might make about someone else as He did for an imprisoned murderer. In John 8:1-11, the religious leaders wanted to stone an adulterous woman, but Jesus reminded them of their own sin.

What God requires is for us to come before Him when we sin, and say as David, “I have sinned before the LORD”. And, just as He did for David, and as He does for all repentant sinners, He gives grace.

Confess your sin before God. Praise Him for being the Grace-giver.

As David did (v.20), worship Him.