Homiletic Magazine 2 Samuel 12:14-25 However,, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme… God is a God of infinite mercy to forgive sin, and vet "He will by no means clear the guilty." He will surely visit iniquity by fixing its consequences upon the sinner, and even also upon others for his sake. But, stated in this way, the principle is not readily acceptable to us. The righteousness of it does not tie upon the face of it. If God forgives the sin, why does He not also clear away the punishments and all the evil consequences of it? Surely, we say, "The way of the Lord is not equal." I. SIN PENALTIES THAT CAN BE REMOVED, SUCH AS REST ON THE SOUL. Sin has a twofold aspect, and calls for a twofold treatment by God. Every sin is both an act of transgression and a spirit of self-will. It has a sphere related to the body, and a sphere related to the soul. What, then, are the soul penalties which attach to sin inevitably? They are put into this expressive sentence, "The soul that sinneth it shall die." But this soul-penalty of sin can be remitted, put away, forgiven, lifted off the soul for ever. "The Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die." The true sphere of the atonement made by our Lord Jesus, in His life and in His cross, is precisely this sphere of soul-penalties. II. SIN PENALTIES THAT CANNOT NOW BE REMOVED — PENALTIES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SIN COMING ON OUR BODIES. In the Divine wisdom and goodness man's life on the earth has been arranged under certain conditions and with certain limitations. 1. Men and women are set together in family and social circles, so that the actions of any one of them shall affect the rest of them for good or for evil. No man is permitted to stand alone, the results of his conduct must reach to the good, or the misery, of somebody else. 2. God has appointed the order in which family and social life should be arranged and conducted. Keep the Divine order, and all will go well with us. 3. Sin, in its outward, aspect, is the infringement of this Divine order, the breaking of these gracious and holy laws. 4. To every such infringement a natural penalty is attached. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap." The redemption provided in Christ Jesus does not immediately touch these natural penalties of sin. The forgiving God "by no means clears the guilty." The child of the drunkard or the sensualist will not have the spirit of drink or of passion taken out of him, nor will he be renewed from his physical deterioration, because his father becomes a Christian. Consequences of sin stretch on until they get altogether beyond hand-grasp. Thick and heavy were the penalties which David had to pay for his sin. Can we vindicate the ways of God in this? Open two points. (1) If it were not thus, adequate impressions of the evil and hatefulness of sin could not be kept before the eyes of men. (2) These penalties which abide are not merely judicial, they have, in their own way, a gracious remedial power. The whole creation groans — "waiting for the redemption," full and final redemption, that is surely coming. (Homiletic Magazine.) Parallel Verses KJV: Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. |
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