“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Psalm 51:4
Someday everyone will stand before Jesus:
“that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:10-11
Mankind instinctively knows this:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-20
God judges the world fairly. Abraham appealed to God’s fairness when he asked that the righteous in Sodom be spared:
“…Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25
King David knew this. He wrote Psalm 51 expressing deep repentance to God at the time of his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder he had caused of her husband Uriah. 2 Samuel 11-12 tells the story. Following is a section of that Scripture:
“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 the house of 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.’
“This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”
Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.” 2 Samuel 12:7-14
God forgave David, but the consequences to his family were tremendous. First, the son born to David and Bathsheba died. Later David’s oldest son, Amnon, raped his half-sister, Tamar, and her brother, Absalom murdered Amnon. Absalom later tried to take the reign of the country from David. Quite a while later, another son, Adonijah, tried to become ruler of the country which David had promised to Solomon, a son born to Bathsheba. Even the wise king Solomon had 300 wives and 700 concubines and his wives led him astray.
The sins of the father had surely come upon the sons. Does God want this? No:
“…He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9
There are natural consequences to sin, and parents have a tremendous influence on their children. God gives them direction and advice to avoid even this. But their sins and guilt often blind them. Because David was preoccupied (sometimes with his own lusts), he had not trained his older sons in the ways of the Lord :
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. “ Proverbs 22:6
Also, David’s sins and guilt blinded him from proper discipline. He was angry, but failed to discipline Amnon for rape (David had committed adultery). He failed to discipline Absalom for murder (he had arranged the murder of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband). He sent Absalom away—rejection–but didn’t hold him accountable—loving discipline:
“He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.” Proverbs 13:24
“Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.” Proverbs 19:18
David had sinned against his family, Bathsheba, her family and his nation yet he tells God “against you, you only, have I sinned”.
The definition of sin is disobedience to God. Everything we do is really for or against God. God tells David, through the prophet Nathan that “you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes” and “you despised me”.
For instance, if we are dishonest with anyone, we are dishonest with God. When we steal from anyone, we are stealing from God. This can be especially if we are dishonest with another Christian because their money, time and talents are God’s. That is why whenever we acquire money dishonestly, it is cursed:
“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off.” Psalm 37:21-22
“Ill-gotten treasures are of no value, but righteousness delivers from death.” Proverbs 10:2
A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.” Proverbs 21:6
“And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in his house and destroy it, both its timbers and its stones.” Zechariah 5:3-4
When we do anything against anyone it is against God:
“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Mattnew 5:19
“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” Matthew 25:45
Even though what you do can hurt others, if they are dealing with God and forgiving as they should, it can work for good for them, but we will be held accountable. Each person is judged for his own sins.
On the positive side, what we do for others, we are doing for Jesus:
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
“Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.” Luke 9:48
Loving our neighbor is really loving God:
"Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40
If we bless others, we are blessed by God. This can even apply as a nation. When God promised Abraham he would become a nation, He promised that all who blessed the nation Abraham would become would be blessed. The promised that “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” became especially true when Jesus was born into the nation of Israel:
“I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:3Another important reason “all peoples on earth will be blessed through” Israel is:
“…they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” Romans 3:2
When we (as individuals or as a nation) bless Israel, we are obeying God and will be blessed.
David knew that whatever he did for or against anyone, was actually for or against God, and he would be judged accordingly.