There may be people reading this right now who have committed an egregious sin or multiple egregious sins. Many around them are unaware of their participation in darkness because, to this point, they are blind to their wicked actions. Their fear of confessing before the Lord and others is the consequences that will come upon them for committing these sins. I was having a conversation with someone recently where I stated, “Some of the worst Christians out there are pastors.” They are those who went to seminary. They know Hebrew and Greek, the ins and outs of theology, and they have a good understanding of church history. They know many things about Scripture and theology that the average person in the pew does not. But when it comes to the basics of living out the Christian life (James 1:22), the ordinary Christian who simply desires to follow the Lord laps them. 

Not All Sins Are Equal

Scripture teaches that all sins are offensive to the Lord, but not all sins are equal. Jesus highlighted this as he stood before Pilate: “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). There, Jesus explained the sin of the Jewish leaders was greater than Pilate’s because they were the masterminds behind the plot to kill him (John 11:45-53). With this understanding, the greater the sin, the greater the consequence for that sin. The one who expresses unrighteous anger to his neighbor is not committing nearly as serious a sin as the one who murders his neighbor. All sins have consequences, but the consequence of murder biblically (Genesis 9:6) is far greater than a fit of anger. The degree of punishment is based on the seriousness of the sin (Leviticus 24:19-20). 

The Consequences For David’s Sin

We know well the story of David and Bathsheba. In 2 Samuel 11, we learn that King David was supposed to be out at war with his men, but instead put himself in a position of temptation. He saw the beauty of Bathsheba and sent his servants to bring her to him, and she willingly came to him. They had physical intimacy together, and Bathsheba became pregnant. Her husband was Uriah, the Hittite, and King David made it clear that he wanted Uriah out of the picture. He told his commander, Joab, to place Uriah where the fighting was the greatest, leading to a high probability that he would die. This is precisely what happened: Uriah the Hittite died. With Bathsheba’s husband out of the picture, David took her as his wife. The end of the chapter tells us that, “The thing that David had done displeased the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:27). David did not confess on his own, but confessed when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. He said in response, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Nathan then started with the good news, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13). But then Nathan delivered him the bad, “Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die” (2 Samuel 12:14). 

Earlier, Nathan also explained to him more consequences, “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun” (2 Samuel 12:10-12). Even though David was forgiven by the Lord for his repentance, there would be serious consequences that he would face for his egregious sins. The result of his sins would be war against him in his own house and the loss of a child. After David sinned, the best thing he could do was repent. Repentance meant forgiveness, a repaired relationship with the Lord, and future effectiveness, but his sin being brought into the light also meant serious consequences.

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