The Consequences of Sexual Sin

II Samuel 11

David messed up. He messed up pretty bad. The “man after God’s own heart” somehow became an adulterous murderer! If it can happen to him, it can happen to you, and it can happen to me. Today, you don’t have to look very hard to see that adultery is happening all around us! Turn on the news and someone is making headlines because they had sex with someone other than their spouse.

Fortunately, for those who’d like to avoid this trap, we have King David’s story documented and we can learn from his mistakes. So, let‘s dive in and see what can we learn from David.

In the very first verse of the 11th chapter, we see that David was somewhere he should not have been in the first place. He was in the wrong place. It was Spring time and kings go out to war. David was a king. He should have been fighting. Instead, he was just taking it easy, chillin‘ and bored. Are you fighting? Meaning, do you pray, read the word, and regularly ask God to keep evil from you or lead you not into temptation? Or, are you just bored? Isn’t it amazing what boredom does to a person? Where does boredom lead you when you are on the computer late at night? David’s boredom in verse 2 led him to his rooftop. This was the 1000 BC version of surfing the internet. He clicked on some porn sites and found one he really liked…Bathsheba.com.

Listen, according to one site I found, 90% of 13 to 14 year old boys ADMIT they struggle with addiction to pornography. Another site said that over 13 billion dollars was spent on pornography in the United States alone. That is close to $400 per second! Like it or not, this is a problem! Why is it a problem? Why is it a big deal? Well, It kills marriages, and it destroys our children! How? Glad you asked!

David had at least eight wives. He had several more that were not named. You know what looking at porn did for him? Well, after that experience, none of the wives he had “measured up.” These were wives of the King! I guarantee you they were all very beautiful. But Bathsheba’s image was burned into his mind and he couldn’t get it out of his head. Think about it: can you remember any of the pornographic images you’ve encountered? When you start comparing those images to your spouse, you begin to feel like you are “missing out” on something. You start feeling like you made the wrong decision to marry because you aren‘t “happy.” You fall into that devastating trap called sin.

If you are a teenager, you are preparing for your marriage right now. You are to prepare for your future spouse the same way you want your future spouse to prepare for you! Keep unclean things from your eyes that you may only have eyes for the one you choose to spend the rest of your life with! You may brag now to your friends about how many times you’ve had sex, but you won’t be so proud of it on your wedding night. Plus, something tells me you won‘t be bragging about all those experiences to your new spouse! God’s rule against committing adultery is in place to protect you, not to keep you from having “fun.” It’s to provide you with time to work on the things that will actually make a solid marriage: Education, patience, integrity, trust, honor, dignity, and promably the most important one, self control. Basically, you learn to do all the stuff that everyone else seems to roll their eyes and wink at today! Let me tell you, these are all qualities that God honors whether you are a Christian or not.

Sin has consequences! Perhaps the harshest consequence to David’s sin was “the child born to you will die!” Let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so mad at God from reading the Bible as when I first read II Samuel 12:14, I made sure He knew that I thought that was the most unfair thing I’ve ever seen. (I’m sure I intimidated Him)

Yet, the same thing happens every single day. Marriages are ripped apart because of sexual immorality and it’s the kids who suffer. I’ve asked many kids many times “what is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?” So many say “when my mom and dad divorced .”
Likewise, here is something else that happens every single day. A teenager gets pregnant.
Most of the children that actually make it to being born in this situation grow up without being raised by both of their parents. These children never know what it’s like to grow up with a mom and dad that love each other. Kids want nothing more than to be loved by their parents. If they are not, they find some pretty cheap substitutes for that love. In many cases, the daughter will become pregnant, then the baby gets aborted. Read verse 14 one more time from this perspective . . . “Because by doing this, the child born to you, will die”

As hard as this may be to believe, we should all be glad that the innocent get punished in place of the guilty. Not glad that it happens every day, but glad that it happened on the cross at Calvary two thousand years ago. That injustice is the only reason anyone even has a chance to be reconciled to Him and spend eternity with Him! Let me explain.

Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned.” Telling lies, taking things that don’t belong to you, gossiping, pre-marital sex, drunkenness, pornography, abortion, it does not matter which ones you and I struggle with, it’s all sin, and we’ve all sinned!

Romans 6:23 says the “wages of sin is death.” This is physical death and spiritual death in a real place called Hell. I know, I can hear it now, ”well, I don’t believe God would send anybody there.” All I can say is that I wish you were right. But first, ask the rich dude in Luke 16:23 if anyone gets sent there.

Disobedience to God is serious! Sin is serious! How serious? So serious that someone or something has to die as a result!!

Romans 5:8 says that God demonstrated His love for is in the fact that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9 says “if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Thank GOD He made a way! No matter what your sins are, forgiveness and reconciliation are all found in the same person, His name is Jesus!

John 14:6 says “I am the way, the truth and the life, nobody comes to the Father except through me.” Not only did He make a way, He made the way, the only way!

I sinned, and that baby boy born in a manger had to die.

Jesus, I am so sorry for the way I chose to reject you and live a life in opposition to your will. May I never live my life in a way that hurts you again.

Later
Adam