King David’s Sin

 

Often when a celebrity pastor falls into terrible sin, like adultery, or even multiple adulteries with women he met in or through his ministry or because of the prominence his ministry gave him, and then seeks to get back into ministry there are people who say he should not do this and others who say, “What about David?”

It is my belief that when someone’s public ministry and platform is part of their fall that avoiding public ministry should be part of their repentance. Because it was his position previously which gave him so much access to the women he sinned with. He clearly has a severe problem in controlling himself in this environment and hence it is not good for him, for others, or for the public image of the gospel for him to be a public minister of others again. Let me reiterate the principle: When your public ministry is part of your fall, avoiding public ministry should be part of your repentance.

But what about David? Some people like to bring up David here, because David was forgiven. But I think most people learn the wrong lesson from David.

Firstly, you are not a king.

Secondly, even if you were a king, kings in our age are not untouchable like in David's age.

Thirdly, and very significantly, God cursed David and he, his family and his kingdom suffered terribly for his evil crime: the sword shall never depart your house, was the curse, remember.

For one he lost multiple sons as a direct punishment for his sin. His daughter was raped by one of those sons. Another violated his wives, that he left behind when David fled for his life away from that son. His kingdom faced a civil war, in which fathers killed sons and brothers killed brothers. And his kingdom was ultimately split in his grandson's time as a direct result of his sin, as that grandson was a product of his son by the woman he stole from a righteous man.

By his own words David declared to Nathan he deserved death. By his own words.

David is not an example of rosy restoration. He is an example of how a king has so much power that no one can even punish him how he deserves to be punished, just as God implied would happen, when God told Israel how the kings would take so much from them. They would lose so much of their rights, but they chose to have a kind, anyway.

God made David suffer awfully for his crimes. Yes, he did forgive him, but he also disciplined him. That is the lesson we should take.

Yes, he will forgive us, but bad things happen even to the people we lead if we follow what David did. We should look at David's curse and fear, we should not see his situation as an out for pastor's who have abused their position.

Is there no fear of God in men today? A pastor should have too much fear of God to commit such an act.