Key Points
- Just as God accepted and forgave King David and other great saints who committed grave sins, He accepts and forgives us, all for the sake of Christ.
- Law: Weighted down by my sins, I make excuses and put the blame on God and others.
- Gospel: God is faithful and just to forgive my sins because Jesus, God’s Son, has taken the blame for me, heaping upon Himself the sins of the world.
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Discussion Questions
- What led up to this text?
- How do we treat this story in Sunday School, and what do we focus on?
- What approach did Nathan use to show David his sin?
- Why the use of a parable here and other places in Scripture?
- David’s response to the parable was that the rich man should die. What did the law of Moses prescribe for the sin that David committed? See Deuteronomy 22:22.
- Nathan carefully laid out the Lord’s case against David. How is this similar to when the Ten Commandments were presented to the people? How is there both Law and Gospel in these?
- David confessed his sin was against the Lord and not just against another person. What happens while sin is not confessed? See Psalm 32:1–5. What happens after forgiveness is pronounced?
- How has Jesus arranged for forgiveness to be delivered to us? See John 20:19–23.
- God absolves David and does not allow him to die, but He did send some severe punishments to David. Why would God do this? How do we talk about this to our students?
- When David’s child was struck with illness, in what ways do we see David’s faith coming out of his actions?
- King David’s sin was very great and should have cost him his throne. Yet God preserved his kingship. How does God’s treatment of this scandal point forward to Jesus Christ?
- How can we make use of David’s story and all the Old Testament stories in our own lives?
- God delivers the forgiveness of sins to His people in various ways. What are these? How did David receive the Lord’s forgiveness?
