How do you recognize your own sin? This is an important question because (as the Bible says) the human heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? You often don’t even recognize your sin. This is dangerous, because when you do not recognize your sin, you stay in it. It continues to hurt you and other people. When you remain in sin you get used to it.

When you sin, the usual bells and alarms of your conscience go off and you recognize your sin. Your conscience helps you feel it and that is a good thing. But when you persist in your sin, the conscience gets seared and the bells no longer go off—at least you don’t hear them. You can get so used to rationalizing your sin that you do not see it for what it is. You get trapped in your sinfulness. How then will you be warned and rescued?

Our text is about King David. You may know about his sin with Bathsheba from chapter 11. He is not leading his troops like he is supposed to (sin # 1). He looks with lustful intent on his neighbor’s wife (sin # 2). He sends for her and commits adultery with her (sin #3). She gets pregnant so he sends for her husband in hopes he would be with her and everyone would think the child is his—a cover-up (sin # 4). When this fails, he sends an order back with this soldier to the commander. The order is designed to kill the poor husband which it does (sin # 5). Then David marries the widow of the man he had killed as if everything was just fine—more cover up (sin #6).

Enter Nathan the prophet of the Lord. The Lord tells Nathan what David has done. Nathan is to confront the King who has already killed one of his most loyal and valuable soldiers in order to keep the cover up going. Nathan needs a way to confront David to avoid being his next victim. Even more important, how could Nathan reach David’s heart? The goal was for David to have godly sorrow over his own sin that brings repentance unto salvation.

Nathan tells a story about a rich man who takes and kills a poor man’s lamb—his only animal and his dear pet. When David heard this, he was angry. David was king and would not tolerate such behavior in his realm. David knew the man was heartless and wicked. He decreed that the man must pay.

Nathan the prophet leveled his eyes at the king and said, "You are the man." David was cut to the heart when he realized the depth of his own sin. David’s response was simple and profound: I have sinned against the Lord. Psalm 51 is a further record of David’s repentance at this time.

Even with forgiveness, there can be consequences. Nathan tells of the consequences—the results of David’s actions. Bloodshed and wicked sexual sin would tear up David’s own family. The kingdom would be torn in two, eventually, and 10 tribes taken away from David’s family. Still, David repented of his sin and was forgiven. While the consequences of his actions remained, David was spared and brought back to God.

That may be the case with your sin as well. God in his mercy may forgive you and deliver you from the consequence of sin. In his mercy, God may not take away all the consequence of your sin. Either way, it is God’s call. Either way, it will be loving and for your good, that you might become more like Jesus Christ.

David quickly recognized sin in a story he thought was about someone else. You can see sin when it is someone else’s. But what about your own sin? Do you see when it is your sin that is breaking your fundamental relationships with others and your most fundamental relationship—the one with God? Do you have a Nathan who will love you enough to confront you and tell you, "You are the man"? Will you listen and take his words to heart? If you don’t have a Nathan, get one. Pray the Lord sends you one. Better one friend who will tell you what you need to hear than a hundred who tell you only what you want to hear.

Jeremiah says the human heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9) He is talking about your heart. Perhaps you are caught in a big sin right now and no one knows about it. Or at least you don’t think so. God knows and he wants to rescue you from it. Perhaps it is a smaller sin that does not seem so earth shaking. Remember, it is the small foxes who eat the grapes. The small sins rob you of the fruit of the Spirit and your joy in the Lord. It is time to come to Jesus. If we confess our sins, he is just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.