Sexual expression is a holy covenant between a man and a woman in marriage. In this there is fullness. Our sexuality is one of the most sacred parts of who we are.
Sexual sin comes in so many different forms. Sexual immorality can express itself in physical violation of that covenant, as well as the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. It is multifaceted.
The Scripture says this:
“All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” 1 Cor 6:18
Certainly the body has the strongest memory.
David blew it. He gave in to lust and tried to cover it up, but God wouldn’t let him get away with it. And in Psalm 51 he repents before the Lord.
He calls upon the graciousness and mercy of the Lord. He admits that his sin is a rebellion against God. Then he tells the Lord whatever the Lord does is right because he has sinned.
He goes on to say that integrity is of the heart and he violated that. Then he asks for cleansing and washing. That his sorrow and anguish would be washed away and replaced again with the joy of salvation.
He then tells the Lord that he will praise Him and offer right sacrifices, sacrifices to the Lord that come from a heart that is clean before him, and pleases the Lord.
We do know that there was forgiveness for David, but there was also a price for the consequences of his sin. Especially as a leader, God brought punishment to David and David admitted that the Lord was entirely just in doing so (Ps 51:4).
Just as there may be forgiveness of sin doesn’t take away the fact that a child may be in the picture. Or that others see and stumble.
David thought he would find joy in satiating his lust and fantasies, instead he found that it stole his joy (Ps 51:12). It’s an irony that sin always tempts us with a sense of what we are looking for, yet does so in a false way and in the end, steals the very thing we are looking for. And sometimes it steals everything.
This is never more true than in the area of sexual sin.
There is forgiveness for sexual sin. But the consequences can linger for a lifetime. No one is innocent as sexual sin begins in the heart–the longing and lust for what is an illusion.
Do whatever it takes to run from it (1 Cor 6:18).
Sometimes that literally means run.