Confession of Contradiction; Petition for Instruction

The point: Pray for the restoration of all that sin has robbed you of, recognizing sin as a terrible thief.

Sin is likened to a man promising a trinket to get into a house, only to steal everything. This illustrates how sin promises temporary pleasure but robs believers of far more valuable things like a good conscience, joy, and witness.

Verse 6 seems to stand as a transition between the first five verses and then what follows in verses 7, particularly through verse 12. In the first five verses, you have David's honest, open acknowledgement of his sin, his genuine, frank acknowledgement of the presence of sin, the nature of sin, the root of sin, and his plea with God for mercy. Then in the section beginning with verse 10, particularly through verse 12, you have David going back, as it were, and recapitulating and praying for a rest and restoration of that which sin robbed him of. Sin is a great thief. It's like a man coming to...

5:53 - 6:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for the restoration of all that sin has robbed you of, recognizing sin as a terrible thief.

David's experience with Bathsheba is used as a concrete example of sin's deceptive sales pitch, promising gratification but ultimately leading to immense loss.

It came to him promising him temporal and transitory delight and pleasure. When it came in terms of this inducement to this adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. Sin came to David, and the sales pitch of sin was this. David, would it not bring great gratification to your appetites to follow the course of your own thinking at this moment?

6:55 - 7:19 Read in full sermon

The point: Pray for the restoration of all that sin has robbed you of, recognizing sin as a terrible thief.

Sin is described as a thief that can steal a lifetime of virtue and a hard-earned reputation for godliness in a moment, emphasizing the devastating long-term consequences of sin.

And David had to concur. But when he submitted to the seductions of sin, David found that he lost infinitely more than he had gained. You see, sin is such a thief that in promising us thirty minutes' pleasure, it can rob us of a lifetime of virtue. It can take the reputation that has been rightly gained over the years for godliness and consistent walk with God, so that a man who's been an example of piety and true Christian grace, suddenly, in a moment as it were, can be robbed of all of this.

7:19 - 8:01 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Truth is not simply abstract facts to which men assent, but they are living realities which affect and transform the life.

The historical fact of George Washington being the first President is used to illustrate abstract truth that has no practical effect on daily life, contrasting it with biblical truth.

We say, Oh yes, George Washington was first President of the United States. That is true, a truth of history. I assent to that truth. It won't affect what I eat, how I sleep.

10:57 - 11:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Realize that God's standard touches the deep roots of your being—your intents, thoughts, and attitudes—not just your outward actions, for genuine conviction.

An anecdote about George Whitfield examining people's 'inners' on a boat is used to highlight the importance of concern for the heart in true Christianity, beyond mere outward profession.

The true Christian is concerned about the inward and then its expression outward into the most minute details of his life. A man who's genuinely concerned about his inners will be concerned about his outers. But you can be concerned about your outers and not be concerned about your inners. What was it that Whitfield said?

19:00 - 19:24 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He explains that when folly reigns, we succumb to sin, but when truth and wisdom reign, they act as a preventative against temptation, using Jesus' victory over temptation as a…

Jesus' temptation in the wilderness is used as an extended example to show how truth reigning in the inward parts, rather than mere verse-quoting, leads to victory over temptation by committing to God's revealed will.

Everybody told me, well, one of the ways you fight temptation is with the Word of God. And they take Matthew 4 as an example where Jesus quoted verses to the devil. Well, you can quote verses to the devil while you're sinning. You see, it wasn't quoting verses to the devil that our Lord brought deliverance to our Lord.

31:03 - 31:19 Read in full sermon