consequences

In the 11th and 12th chapters of Second Samuel, we read of King David's sin with Bathsheba. When the prophet Nathan points out the king's wrongdoing, David repents, saying "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan replies, "The Lord has also taken away your sin."

As Christians, we tend to focus on the forgiveness and removal of guilt that God provides when we repent. We sin; we realize what we have done; we repent and ask for forgiveness, and God makes us clean again. But many times we try to make that the end of the story.

Verse 14 of Second Samuel chapter 12 states "However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die."

We often forget that sin has both guilt and consequence. God forgave David when he repented, but he still had to face the consequences of his actions. It's the same way in our lives today. When we repent, God forgives us and we are no longer burdened with that guilt. But God does not remove the consequences of our actions. A murderer can be forgiven by God, but that won't bring the dead person back or remove the punishment for that murder. A person can tell a lie about another person and be forgiven by God and even by the other person, but that doesn't take the words back. See, it works for the "big" things and the "little" things, too. Don't forget the story of David and Bathsheba. The baby still died.