The Mind of Christ

1 Samuel 23:14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.

Fast forward to the time of the first king of Israel. The Israelites had “judges” that God had been sending when they were stuck in their idolatrous ways but they begged for a king like all the other nations. God allowed them to have a king and the people chose Saul. Saul was a man tall in stature and good looking (1 Samuel 9:2) However Saul was not the man God wanted to rule because of his disobedience and idolatry (1 Samuel 15) God chose David to be king and Samuel wanted to kill him for that. This verse tells how God protected David consistently throughout Saul’s attempts to stay in power.

David, unlike Saul, was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) Now that is not to say David didn’t do anything wrong or sin in a prolific scale. David committed adultery (2 Samuel 11:1-5) and essentially had his best friend Uriah killed (2 Samuel 11:1-27) Hard to see how that is acting like a great leader or a man “after God’s own heart”????

Galatians 2:16 emphasizes that justification, or being made right with God, comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through adherence to the law. The answer is not our “moral goodness” or outpouring of works but what is in our hearts.  Although sin and the punishment for sin need to be dealt with, Christ atones for that in His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore the Holy Spirit is what is in our hearts. Simply David was a sinner just like we are, but David had the Holy Spirit dwelling inside him. Psalm 51:11 states: “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” God looks at the heart and David’s heart, just like ours, is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

So then becomes the question Paul asks in  Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Paul is explaining that more sin equals more grace. Just as a son desires to please his father out of love, we too desire to please our Heavenly Father. We also need to remember that when we do sin, because we will, that we are fully, undoubtedly, completely, totally, perfectly, thoroughly, wholly, utterly forgiven by the blood of Jesus. Live knowing God will protect you, forgive you, and draw you near to Him!