How To Guard Your Heart from Sin’s Entanglement – Learn from David’s Example
Do wish you could sin less? This message uses David as an example to be vigilant. You’ll learn what to do when you’re tempted to sin, and how to guard your heart for the future.
Like David, you may experience consequences to your sin. But know, even in painful consequences, God loves you and will extend his grace and mercy as you turn to him and seek him with all your heart.
Be vigilant in guarding your heart against sin that easily entangles.
Sin follows sin and flourishes in darkness.
In 2 Samuel, we find the story of David and Bathsheba. This is where David has an affair with Bathsheba. David will be deceptive and try to cover his sin with lies and trickery, but none of it works. David devised a scheme to and have Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s husband, come home from the battle and stay a night with his wife, but Uriah has too much integrity to go to the comforts of home. Uriah thought that, with all the other men back on the battlefield and away from home, he would sleep outside as his men were doing. David, as a last resort, decides it to be a good idea to have Uriah killed in battle at the hands of the enemy thinking it would work as David attempted to cover up his sin so no one would know. However, David’s sin will be found out and God will deal with him.
God will never look away or ignore sin and rebellion. There are always consequences to sin. As David later found out, sin is costly.
It would appear sin can easily entangle us into needing to sin even more, with the intent to cover up the original sin committed. Sinfulness of heart does not like to be exposed. Sin flourishes in darkness and in the secret places of our minds and hearts (see John 3:19-21).
One sinful act will lead to another, and another until the sin is found out. Sin will not be hidden forever. Just ask David.
In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.
2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” (2 Samuel 11:1-5, NIV).
David’s sin will not be hidden. Bathsheba tells David that she is pregnant. David attempts to hide his involvement by having Uriah come home and spend the night with his wife. David thought the child would be thought to be Uriah’s child. But Uriah refuses twice to go home while all the other soldiers remain on the battlefield. It seems Uriah had more integrity than David did at the time. David then devises a plan where Uriah would be killed in battle by the enemy of Israel. It would look to most that Uriah was unfortunately killed in battle. The plan is successful, Uriah is killed, and David shows no remorse for his involvement. No one on earth would suspect David’s involvement in Uriah’s death.
However, God is very aware of David’s heart, actions and sin. God instructs the Prophet Nathan to confront David with his sins. Nathan tells a story about a rich man who took another man’s animal. The rich man had more than enough but he took from the man who had very little. David becomes outraged at the actions of the rich man in the story. Nathan then tells David, “You are that rich man.”
David is spiritually blind to his own actions and sin. It is easy to see the sin in another person’s life. David is blind that he was sinning against God, Uriah, Bathsheba, and his own heart. Worldly and sinful desires filled his heart that evening standing on the roof top when he saw Bathsheba. David may have seen her many times before. This may not have been the first time seeing her, but this is the first time all the men were away on the battlefield. David’s heart was unguarded that night.
David should have been with his army, instead he had become spiritually lax, prideful, arrogant, and selfish in heart. David sent Joab off to war rather than leading the army himself. Only after his sin is found out, is David repentant. David acknowledges his sin is against the Lord and even though David appears repentant of his sin, there will remain consequences to his actions.
When we sin against others, we sin against God.
David had too much time on his hands and allowed his eyes and heart to wander. David sees Bathsheba bathing and desires her. In his heart David had already committed adultery. Now, he was about to physically act upon his heart’s desire. And, when he did what he wanted and found out about the baby, David needed to act in the hopes of covering up his sin. He knew what he did was wrong, but that didn’t stop David. He was king.
He was Gods anointed. David took the bait of sin that was presented to him at that moment. David had let down the spiritual guard rails that should have surrounded his heart.
The bondage and entanglement of sin caused the need for additional sins to be done in the hope of keeping the first sin secret. Soon, there is a string of sins, none of which are hidden from God or others. David’s attempt to cover up his sin involves Joab. David’s sin has now touched Joab, Bathsheba, Uriah, a messenger, and others who were killed in battle the day Uriah was killed. David used the sword of the Ammonites to kill Uriah, yet David is the one responsible for Uriah’s death.
The child that Bathsheba was pregnant with will die a few days after birth. David’s act of willful sin has touched over six lives now. Each one will remember the sin, but David may be the only one who will remember all the consequences that were to follow.
David was blind, or maybe spiritually numbed to his sin, until Nathan confronts him with his sin by telling David a story of two men in 2 Samuel 12. David understood his sin involved others and that he sinned against God.
Sin has a pattern. You will find it in Genesis. Eve saw the fruit was pleasing. She then desired it. Then took and ate it, and then gave some to Adam. The pattern is the same today.
We need to always be aware that when we sin and do things that are wrong towards others we are sinning against God (see 1 Corinthians 8:12). In Matthew 25 we can read where a person does something for someone in need it is as if we are doing it to Christ. The same is also true when we refuse to care for the other person in need as we see in Matthew where is says “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me (Matthew 25:44-45).
A divided heart brings trouble.
In Hebrews 11 we find that the pleasures of sin are only for a short time (Hebrews 11:25). Solomon wrote that the evil deeds of a man entangle him and hold him back (Proverbs 5:22). The apostle Paul told us that we can be slaves to sin and it entraps us and leads to death (Romans 6:20-23).
David learned the hard way that the pleasure of sin is only for a short time. David became personally aware that sin is costly and that it will always ensnare and entangle us when we become slaves to sin. A slave in the sense that the person will need to continue to sin in the hopes of not being found out. A slave to the sinful nature, unable to gain freedom or turn from sin on his own. But, thank the Lord, we do not need to remain slaves to sin because of Jesus’ death on the cross (see Romans 6:6).
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).
Jesus went to the cross and willingly died to pay the penalty of your sin. God loved the world and God loves you. The cross is a symbol of God’s love for you.
David is known to be a man after God’s own heart, yet David was still a sinner. But that was no excuse for David, or us when we sin.
It makes me wonder if David ever thought: “How did I get in this situation?” A simple answer is that David did not guard his heart. He took the bait and did not turn away from sin. David allowed his heart to be spiritually divided and he became spiritually complacent. He was thinking only of himself. David became spiritually stagnate and spiritually careless in his heart. David lost sight of God Almighty who brought about the victories in his life. David lost sight of who he was before he became king of Israel and what was truly important in life. He was a simple shepherd boy who trusted and loved God with all his heart. David lost sight of being set apart unto God and having a heart after God. David allowed his success, power, and authority as king to blind him spiritually. David let his pride, jealousy, and lust for Bathsheba to sway him into thinking he could do what he knew in his heart was wrong and no one would be the wiser. In that moment David exhibited a divided heart. A divided heart can lead to all sorts of trouble.
David was a mighty warrior, he was a successful king, David was blessed of God. David was wealthy, powerful and had great fame as a king. David had the favor of God, but he forgot one thing. David forgot to lean on the Lord in every situation.
When facing Goliath, David recognized that God had delivered him from the paw of the lion and the bear (see 1 Samuel 17). David believed God would deliver Goliath into his hands and that David would defeat Goliath and the Israelites could also defeat the uncircumcised Philistines that day.
David was blessed of God in so many ways, but he had forgotten about God, and about living a life set apart unto God. David had become spiritually careless and lost sight of the Lord; he became spiritually blind to temptation and sin. Not a person on earth is immune to temptation and sin, and again, that is no excuse to sin.
David was blessed of God, yet he wanted more. David desired and lusted after Bathsheba. David sought after what was not his to have. Bathsheba was Uriah wife. God confronted David, reminding him of his blessings and would have given him more (2 Samuel 12:7-10). David violates the 6th and 10th commandments: he coveted another man’s wife; he had Uriah murdered. David would have also violated the 9th commandment: not to bear false witness.
In Deuteronomy 5:6-21 we learn that adultery is serious offence. In Leviticus 20:10 we find the punishment for adultery is death.
David will attempt to cover his sin for several reasons.
To protect his own reputation.
To provide cover for Bathsheba and himself so that neither he or Bathsheba would pay the price for adultery.
To prevent others from finding out his sin and later to provide for Bathsheba now that Uriah is dead, and she is now a widow.
How should David have guarded his heart?
What should David have done differently? David should not have allowed himself to be in that situation in the first place.
By being where he should have been: David should have gone out with his army and not put Joab in charge. David allowed his previous success in battle, his pride and power as a king to think he did not need to go with his army. David became spiritually lax, militarily lazy and a worldly passion began to take root in his heart. God was no longer sitting on the throne of David’s heart. The 10 commandments were set aside and replaced with his personal desires.
By staying focused on the right things: David also had become spiritually blinded by his desires. He had way too much time on his hands and allowed his eyes and desires to wander and take root in his heart.
By exercising wisdom and self-control: David should have stopped the moment that he learned that Bathsheba was married.
What should we do when we find ourselves being tempted to sin?
How can we avoid temptation to sin? At times, we are not able to avoid the temptation. However, we need to do all we can to avoid sin. Temptations will come at times you least expect. Temptations can come when you feel spiritually overly confident. Temptations will come at times when you feel no one is looking or will ever know. Temptation is not sin but it is the first step to sin when you take the bait of temptation. Every temptation may appear innocent at times but when conceived it will lead to sin and death.
So, to avoid even the appearance of temptation, consider the following:
Run from temptation: Do not allow yourself an opportunity to be tempted.
Check yourself: Ask yourself will what I’m about to do bring dishonor to Jesus? Will it hurt my testimony as a Christian? Will it cause someone to spiritually stumble in faith?
Pray: Start each day and end each day with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to guard your heart, mind, and soul from evil.
Check scripture: Is what you are doing violating or agreeing with scripture? Will it glorify the name of Christ? If not turn around and run in the opposite direction.
Don’t compromise: Finally, are you standing firm in faith, or have you compromised what you know in your heart is true?
If you have sinned, then confess your sin and run to the Lord. He loves you and you have an advocate (Jesus). Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of your faith, so you will not grow weary (Hebrews 12:2-3).
We should avoid evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) because sin desires what is contrary to the Spirit; they are in conflict (Galatians 5:16-18). Sinning includes not doing what you know you should be doing (James 4:17). You are blessed when you fear the Lord (Proverbs 28:13-14). When you obey God’s command, you’re showing your love for him (John 14:15). Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and you’ll be blessed (Matthew 6:33).
David wrote Psalms 51 following the time he sinned with Bathsheba. In Psalm 51 we find David was remorseful, broken in heart that he sinned, and thankful to God for his mercy, grace and forgiveness.
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place” (Psalm 51:1-6).
Like David, you may experience consequences to your sin. But know, even in painful consequences, God loves you and will extend his grace and mercy as you turn to him and seek him with all your heart.
Allow me to suggest that you ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Confess any sin or anything the Holy Spirit recalls to your mind. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal areas that are not pleasing to the Lord, as Nathan did in David’s life. Then, put Jesus first in all you do.
The consequences for your sin are to drive you back to the Lord—not to hurt you. Today allow the joy of your salvation and knowing Christ as Lord and savior, to give you a willing spirit to live for Christ each day.
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