Tag: confession

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

David’s most shameful moment

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from 2 Samuel 11 and 12.

Imagine having the account of your most shameful behavior published in the best selling book of all time. Peter’s denial of Jesus is recorded in scripture. Paul’s persecution of Christians is documented. Moses has to explain why he can’t go into the promised land in the Pentetuech. (He hit the rock to get water instead of speaking to it.) Noah gets drunk and naked after the floodwaters recede. Judah sleeps with his daughter-in-law Tamar.

I never like reading about David’s affair with Bathsheba and his attempt to cover it up, ultimately leading to the death of Uriah (2 Samuel 11). Everything is going so well for David, and suddenly, it all falls apart. Not only will his child die, but there will be conflict among his other children.

My heart breaks when I read David’s words, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 11:13). David hasn’t just hurt other people. He has turned against God himself. Any sin affects our relationship with God. David offers no excuses. He simply confesses.

I wonder how the author of 1 Samuel knew of this moment? I doubt that the prophet Nathan said anything. David must have talked about it. Perhaps he told the story when asked why he wrote Psalm 51.

When you think about it, all of our most shameful moments become Jesus most shameful moments. “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). In exchange, we put on Christ and his best moments, his righteousness.

All the people God uses have issues. They are broken. But it’s about the people God uses. It’s about the God who uses them. It’s about the gracious God who uses you and me.

Posted in Grace, Ministry

Not that bad?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

After worship, a member of the congregation said to me, “I couldn’t say the confession today. I don’t do any of those things. I’d be lying.”

Yes, that got my attention. I wasn’t sure what to say at that moment, don’t remember what I did say but know I wisely said little. I did go back to see what we had corporately confessed at the beginning of the service.

The confession that day was taken from the rite of individual confession and absolution. We said things like

“I have lived as if God did not matter and if I mattered most…my Lord’s name I have not honored as I should…my love for others has failed…there are those whom I have hurt…my thoughts and desires have been soiled with sin.” (Lutheran Service Book, p. 292)

Those words pretty much summed up my life that week. I read those words and think, “Guilty as charged.” But not this person. He sounded just like the wealthy young man who assured Jesus that he had kept all the commandments. Afterwards, I realized I could have told him to sell his possessions, give to the poor and follow Jesus, but that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

So what was really going on here? Have I been preaching too much gospel and not enough law? Did he really not get it? Or were his failings in other areas than these that we mentioned?

I don’t know. It just caught me off guard. I’ve only ever had one other person object to the words of confession, insisting that they were not “a poor, miserable sinner.” They just didn’t think they were that bad. An average sinner, maybe. But not miserable.

crucifixion-of-jesus-christWe can all use a little more Christ and him crucified. The horrific reality of Jesus’ suffering and death usually makes me marvel, “I’m that bad? I’m that loved? It’s all taken care of? Really?” Then the absolution really hits home when God says, “Yes!”