Invisible – I wonder if David, who lived under the Law, was able to find a place of repentance in Psalm 51 after his sin with Bathsheba. He had committed murder and adultery. Legally he was continuing to commit adultery because he married Bathsheba. Out of his marriage to Bathsheba came Solomon, and later Jesus. Matthew 1:1 says,”A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.” David did not advocate murder and adultery after his time of repentance. He personally experienced how destructive they were to his walk with God – not to mention the other people involved. In spite of his sins, David continued to pursue after God and I believe God cleansed him. In Ezekiel 34:23-24 God said, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.” I've often wondered what Uriah's family thought about that prophesy.
Perhaps we would be justified in tearing out the Psalms and Proverbs from our Bibles since David, and later Solomon, were such poor examples of righteousness. On the other hand, maybe mercy really does triumph over judgement in God’s eyes. However, I do think there is a difference between repenting of the sin of adultery and saying adultery is the pathway to more of God where repentance is unnecessary. I would question that it was really God who said to divorce your spouse and marry another so that you could go into full-time ministry to serve Him as we saw in TLWF with John, Gary, and Rick. The fruit of those decisions has also played out in the lives of many others as well. I've received many emails from kids who have grown up in TLWF whose lives have been trashed by the decisions their parents have made. I still think there can be repentance and healing for all involved in TLWF. Some become offended when people are restored – I happen to love it. Maybe its because I'm now more aware of my own sin and God's grace for me. There really is hope!
Perhaps we would be justified in tearing out the Psalms and Proverbs from our Bibles since David, and later Solomon, were such poor examples of righteousness. On the other hand, maybe mercy really does triumph over judgement in God’s eyes. However, I do think there is a difference between repenting of the sin of adultery and saying adultery is the pathway to more of God where repentance is unnecessary. I would question that it was really God who said to divorce your spouse and marry another so that you could go into full-time ministry to serve Him as we saw in TLWF with John, Gary, and Rick. The fruit of those decisions has also played out in the lives of many others as well. I've received many emails from kids who have grown up in TLWF whose lives have been trashed by the decisions their parents have made. I still think there can be repentance and healing for all involved in TLWF. Some become offended when people are restored – I happen to love it. Maybe its because I'm now more aware of my own sin and God's grace for me. There really is hope!