Sermons

Through the sins committed by Saul and David, today's passage looks at what the nature of unforgivable sin is. When the prophet Samuel did not come in the urgent situation of war, Saul himself offered a sacrifice that God had not appointed, and David fell into lust and committed adultery and murder. On the surface, Saul's act seems excusable because of the circumstances, but God did not forgive it. David, on the other hand, repented immediately when he heard the prophet Nathan's rebuke, and was forgiven. The difference lies not simply in the size of the sin, but in how each of them treated the law and authority God had established.

The sin Saul committed was blasphemy: trying on his own to change the law by which God had set the office of priest. He ignored God's command out of his own judgment and pride, and this led to the sin of resisting the Holy Spirit. David, too, at first justified his actions without knowing the reality of his sin, but when he realized the truth and repented fully, he opened the way to salvation. The sermon warns that we must not break God's absolute law because of human circumstances or excuses.

We must guard against committing the sin of pride as Saul did, ignoring God and putting our own judgment first. Believers must acknowledge God's holiness and live respecting the law he has established. Then whose path should we follow, Saul's or David's, and how should we understand why that difference is decisive?