Michael R. Baggett

“When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long, For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me...” (Psalm 32: 3-4a, NKJV).

The most famous King of Israel committed a most deceptive injustice. From 2nd Samuel 11, we learn that David stays at Jerusalem while his soldiers go to battle in the spring. On his rooftop terrace, David observes a beautiful woman bathing next door. He sends for her and sleeps with her. Later, she tells David she is with child. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s elite warriors. Uriah is away fighting battles during this time. David has Uriah sent back to Jerusalem. Several times David sends Uriah home to be with his wife. David hopes to cover up his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba hoping to make Uriah and the community believe the baby will be Uriah’s! But Uriah is too loyal to sleep with his wife while Israel is at war! David then sends honorable Uriah back to the commander Joab with a letter --a cruel death warrant -- instructing Joab to place Uriah in the heat of battle so he will be killed! Brave Uriah dies in battle just as David had planned. After a 30-day period of mourning, David’s takes Bathsheba as his wife. David suppresses his terrible guilt for a while.

What does suppressing guilt mean? David suppresses his guilt by refusing to confess his sins to God. In Romans 1:18 Paul, an apostle, speaks about the Gentiles who suppressed the truth by living in unrighteousness. The Gentiles knew there is a God by the evidence in nature or the creation (Romans 1:19-20). They were accountable for their actions. But they chose to put God out of their minds (Romans 1:28).  Suppressing the guilt of sin is a battle against the conscience.

What happens if one persists in suppressing his guilt of sins? If one persists long enough, God will give that person over to their own lust, fornication, adultery, homosexually, and the worship of their idols! (Romans 1:21-27).

The heart of man can suppress and deny guilt only for so long. In time, he may no longer consider his actions worthy of punishment. Consider Proverbs 30:20: “This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wickedness.’” The adulterous woman convinces herself that her unrighteous behavior is not wicked; that she is not guilty of any sin deserving of any punishment from God.

Many today live by the following philosophy: “If it makes you happy, it cannot be that bad.” If you are happy “shacking up” or cheating on your wife, you may “happy your way” into the eternal fires of hell! You can suppress God and His truth until there is no remedy!

You can train your conscience to become numb to sin. Friend, being numb to sin is where Satan wants you because one who feels no guilt for living in sin will ever turn from sin! Did you know you can grow “past feeling”? (Ephesians 4:19).  The Bible speaks of some who reject the truth repeatedly until the conscience becomes “...seared with a hot iron...” (1 Timothy 4:2). A cow that has its hide seared with a branding iron is insensitive to pain on that branded flesh after it has scarred over or healed.

If you are living in some sinful arrangement today, the very fact that you are still reading this tells me there is still hope for you --that you are not beyond being reached with the gospel.

David hurt God immensely, while convincing himself that his sins were hidden. The Bible says, “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27). What David had done was evil in the sight of God regardless of what David may have convinced himself to believe. But deep in David’s heart he knew the truth.

It took the bravery of the prophet Nathan to cause David to see honestly see his guilt and how confessing his guilt is the only path to forgiveness and peace of mind (2 Samuel 12).  Nathan tells David the story of a poor man who has only one Ewe lamb that he loves like his own daughter. A rich man who lives in the same town and owns 100's of sheep has a guest in his home. Instead of dressing out one of his own lambs, the rich man takes away the poor man’s only lamb, has it slaughtered and served to his guest for dinner! This story pierces through the walls of David’s conscience. David quickly pronounces judgment on the rich man: “...The man who has done this will surely die!” (2 Samuel 12:5). Nathan then reveals to David: “You are the man!” (2 Samuel 12:7).

Is it not sad that David must see the injustice done by another man before he can recognize his own guilt of wickedness? David responds to the truth and acknowledges his sin. David shows godly sorrow and remorse for his wrongdoing in confessing his sin (See Psalms chapters 32:3-5; and 51).

Listen, if you are suppressing some guilt of sin in your life, God says, “You are the man!” What is it going to take to get you to turn from your sin and turn to God through Jesus Christ? Take a warning: you can continue in your sin until you no longer feel shame for that sin. Did you know one day you will stand before Jesus as your Judge and give an account for you sins? This is important. What will you do about your suppressed guilt of sin? Would you not rather have Jesus as your Savior than your Judge? Now, is the time you should walk away from sin and leave it at the feet of the Lord. You can find peace of mind in Him today.