In the battle...but not alone

I've worked with churches in various parts of the country these past 27 years. One thing that has really disturbed me is that three different church leaders with whom I worked fell morally. Why is it that a man who can speak so eloquently in the pulpit and do so many good things for the Lord can at the same time be living with secret sin? Why is it that I can be very dedicated to our Lord and yet have such terrible thoughts at times and could easily fall into the very same sin that my co-workers have?

These thoughts flowed through my mind this morning while getting ready for work. I read the two stories of David. At one time he did such a kind gesture towards Mephibosheth -- the crippled grandson of Saul. The king of Israel invited this man into his palace and let him live with him. And he provided a farm for his servants. What an amazing gesture of kindness! This was so Jesus-like, reminding us of how the Lord invites us crippled sinners into His presence through His sacrificial death on the cross.

The next story of David, however, is such a stark contrast. He stayed back in Jerusalem while his army went to war. David lusts after a woman he sees taking a bath. He then sleeps with her. Then he tries to cover up the crime by sending her husband, Uriah, to her. Finally, David has Uriah killed and takes Bathsheeba as his wife. The closing words of this story, before the rebuke of Nathan the prophet, are, "the Lord was very displeased with what David had done."

I've heard several sermons on each of these stories, but had never before seen how they were placed side by side-- showing how even a man after God's own heart can follow an amazing act of kindness with a blatant act of heinous sin.

How are we going to try preventing what happened in David's life? Three things come to mind:

1. Beware of the wiles of the devil, as the old KJV says. He really is that roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We need to keep our armor on. And when we are tempted, it's so wise that we tell those close to us of how we're being tempted. And ask them to pray for us. The leaders I knew who fell into sin kept secrets for a long time. And thus the devil got a foothold in their lives.

2. Stay in the vine. As I prayed over this story, I glanced over at the New Testament portion of today's reading in the One Year Bible and noticed these words of Jesus: "I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

Jesus' words made me realize how I need to stay close to the vine daily. To ask Him to take control of my life continually and to die to my will. I need Jesus desperately. To save me. To continually protect me. To fill me with the life-giving power of His love, grace and mercy.

3. Remain in deep fellowship with other believers. (Roberta Brown made this suggestion when I read this at our devotional this morning). If we stay close to a small group of fellow Christ-followers, and are real about the battles we’re facing, we’re less likely to fall into sin. Whenever I start watching something on T.V. that I shouldn’t, two things usually come to mind: first, the conviction of the Holy Spirit and second, the awareness that if I step over into sinful lust I’ll need to confess this sin to my wife and my weekly men’s group.

Even if we’re deeply committed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can still fall into sin. Yet thank the Lord we’re not alone in this battle! We have an advocate, a helper – the Holy Spirit -- along with the word of God and the people of God.

And as we stay closely linked with Jesus, we can be assured from His word that “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world”(1 John 4:4).

Jim