New Hope Notes
The New Morality
Life Lessons Of A King
Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
September 9, 2012 - W1237
The Biblical story of King David and Bathsheba can teach us a lot about right and wrong. David had an affair with Bathsheba, got her pregnant and then covered it up by having her husband killed.
The Bible continues, “The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, ‘There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.’
David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.’
Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.”’”
However, this is not a story of sin but one of redemption.
We need to program our hearts correctly as to what is right and what is wrong. Think Biblically.
The Bible says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Rom. 12:2) We should not follow the way of the world. Instead we should follow the ways of God. We should renew our minds with this God way of thinking.
When I could not get my computer to work I blamed everything else but should have blamed myself for not programming the computer properly. Likewise, with today’s morality we usually blame everybody else for our problems.
So I want to make sure our hearts and minds are programmed correctly. We do have a tool to help us. We can program a healthy conscience to keep us on the Godly path.
A healthy conscience is not for a guilt trip – but to get us on our way back to God.
However, a healthy conscience needs to be programmed correctly. Some will think that correct healthy conscience programming is too biased. Some will see it as normal. Others will find it disdainful.
In any case, our Healthy Conscience must have “God Standards”.
It is in choice of life we find our future.
If choose rightly then will draw closer to God.
Unfortunately, America has turned away from Biblical morality. Recently the head of Chik-fil-A, a fast food restaurant chain came under harsh criticism for his personal Biblical views against homosexual marriage. The Boston Mayor said he would block Boston Chik-Fil-A restaurants from opening there. There has been a lot of anti Chik-fil-A sentiment going on. But the Reverend Billy Graham said he supported the Chik-fil-A president’s stance.
As a country, we lost our conscience because we disavow God. We need to understand and we must choose between following God or the world. The Bible seems to be speaking about America today when it says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.” (Rom.1:21-22) and “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.” (Rom. 1:24)
The Bible warns, “In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. (Rom. 1:27-31)
It’s like Paul was reading our minds when he wrote that. We have to choose between God’s standards or the world’s.
There was a school survey asking if it was alright to force girl to have sex if they had been dating more than six months? The majority of students said yes.
Another question asked was if a boy spent a lot of money on a girl, was it alright to force her to kiss him? Again, the answer by the students was Yes.
Our kids are learning from a valueless society. One class said it was foolish to return a lost purse that had $1000 in it. We are living in a society with a moral free fall.
I have learned that it is impossible to have a moral society without faith in God because then all values come down to ME and what I want.
In Genesis, Satan says, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Satan was saying that you can decide right and wrong for yourself without God!
I believe that moral societies are built on God.
There was once a letter to Dear Abby which stated that the writer was married but living with another person but in love with still another! The writer asked for advice but also stated that he did not want any moral advice. Abby replied that the difference between man and animal is morality - and so he should see a veterinarian to solve his problem! So how do we choose right from wrong?
START WITH GOD’S WORD.
If you see those with world’s standards, do not condemn them because Galatians 6:1-2 says, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Hotly pursue God’s design because this is what will stand in the end.
Remember, God rewards you because He is perfect – not you.
King David did repent – he transformed and changed his mind.
For most of us change happens along the way to God, so program God’s standards into your heart.
Study Suggestions
1. What tool do we use to keep us on the right path?
2. Where do we find our future?
3. Where do we start when deciding right from wrong?
4. How should we treat those that trespass against God’s word?
5. Why did God allow David to remain King after his sin?