© 15 Colin Melbourne
David & Uriah & Bathsheba
Q: When was King David born again? Was it after he repented of sinning with Bathsheba and wrote Psalm 51?
A: Excellent question! I applaud your study of the word, keep that appetite and the Lord will feed you.
Neither David, nor anyone else under the Old Covenant, could be born again.
The born again experience is a New Testament blessing, which only became available after Christ was resurrected and glorified in Heaven.
It is a New Covenant experience sealed with the Blood of the Lamb of God: Christ’s Blood offered in the Holy of Holies on behalf of every person who ever lives on Earth.
To partake of this faith Covenant, a person need only do two things: Repent of unbelief, and believe in the LORD Jesus Christ, in spirit and in truth.
They will then be; born again, born of God, made children of the Almighty, new creatures in Christ, by the power of God.
They naturally follow Him because they love Him.
They turn from sin, and everything that displeases their new Lord.
You can see why in Mtt. 11:11 KJV Jesus said;
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Under the Old Testament there arose none greater than John the Baptist. But oh what treasures those in the kingdom of Heaven possess through Christ Jesus!
John wasn’t in the kingdom of Heaven, nor was King David.
It wasn’t available to them
Recall that Christ sent the Twelve out with this instruction, Mtt: 10:7 KJV;
And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
At hand, meaning; not far off, coming soon, nearby: He was pointing to the start of the New Covenant that we enjoy. Glory!
David could not be born of God until after Christ had paid his sin debt in full once and for all.
Washed and Renewed versus Born Again
When David repented of his sin of adultery and murder, he pleaded in Psalm 51:10-11 KJV;
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
And because he was broken in spirit, truly repentant, God forgave and cleansed David’s heart and blessed him.
God didn’t make David a new creation, He did not make David a child of God: He washed him spiritually clean, forgave him, and renewed, that is, restored his spirit.
Cleaned, restored, forgiven, not re-born. That’s entirely different.
We restore old buildings, cars, and sofas, don’t we, but they remain the same objects. They are not new creations, new objects.
Do you see the difference?
The new birth is infinitely greater than restoration, 2 Co. 5:17 KJV;
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
That never happened to David in this life, only after he went to Heaven.
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Greater Sin than Adultery and Murder
But let’s get back to him repenting of his sin.
The experience taught him a profound lesson, one each believer needs to learn.
He expressed it like this, Ps. 51:4 KJV;
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
David was not ignoring or excusing his sins of adultery and murder, but focussed on the greater sin.
He was appalled at himself for having ignored his first love, trampled on his anointing, and stampeded into sin so readily.
Treason Against God
His sin of adultery was as deadly as the sin of arranging Uriah’s murder, but David grasped the fact that those sins were as nothing compared to the treachery of turning his back on his Lord, by choosing to sin instead of to heed and obey his conscience.
His first sin was to harden his heart to God’s witness.
Even those who have not committed murder or adultery are guilty of this sin.
Let’s learn from David’s transgression, and stay tender-hearted, in Father’s Presence, listening, worshipping, abiding and walking in His love. Pr. 4:23 KJV;
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
© 15 Colin Melbourne
Tract image © Chick Publns. Used by permission
E.W. Kenyon was the first modern evangelist to preach the revelation of the New Creation in Christ. His teachings inspired F. F. Bosworth, T.L. Osborn, Kenneth Hagin, and many others.
