Recovery Devotional 323 When Does Sin Begin?

JMD Devotional 323 2 Samuel 11:1-6 When Does Sin Begin?

IN THE spring, when kings go forth to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel, and they ravaged the Ammonites [country] and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

One evening David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, when from there he saw a woman bathing; and she was very lovely to behold. David sent and inquired about the woman. One said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers and took her. And she came in to him, and he lay with her--for she was purified from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. And the woman became pregnant and sent and told David, I am with child. David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. So Joab sent [him] Uriah.

When did sin begin in this story? You cannot say when he saw Bathsheba naked; because in Hebrews 4:15 is says concerning Jesus Christ that He has been tempted in every way, just as we are---yet without sin. The Apostle James probes the process of temptation maturing to sin:

James 1:12-15 Blessed (happy, to be envied) is the man who is patient under trial and stands up under temptation, for when he has stood the test and been approved, he will receive [the victor's] crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one. But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

The reason that temptation in and of itself is not sin for the one being tempted, is that it is a purely external phenomenon. What makes temptation perilous to us is that we carry something within that was foreign to Christ, that is, evil desires. Due to the sin curse, they are ever present, though generally suppressed. Temptation in harmony with our evil desires defeats us as easily as a master key in a lock. God is all about righteousness. He wants us to succeed. He tempts no one; but He does test His workmanship in our lives by permitting us to be tempted and tried. It is so important to resolve your moral commitments ahead of time when your mind is lucid, rather than waiting until a temptation comes and your reasoning is eroding like a breach in a levy. David was at his best when he struggled against the odds, when he was pursued by Saul, when his life was full of troubles because those troubles motivated him to depend on God and to earnestly seek Him and to spend much time in prayer. David failed the test that most people fail; to be godly in good times, in easy days, in idleness. It is when we are alone and without pressure or accountability that some of our worst character flaws become apparent.

Dear God,

Could it be that my way is hard, and I am often pressed to the limit because You know how unrighteous I would be if life were easy? The thought puts me to shame! If my ‘righteousness’ depends upon being made too busy to have the time and energy to err then how shallow my purity is indeed. Apart from You I am an unfaithful man, a wretched sinner. But please help me to never again be defined in isolation from You; it is You in me that makes all of the difference, Your Holy Spirit makes me better than I am. May I resolve to do what is right from the start, to not contemplate any alternatives, to even act unworthily in my imagination. When idle moments linger, may I initiate constructive activity that promotes my holiness and Your kingdom’s growth.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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