The Gospel of Grace According to David

Psalm 19:7-11 (NIV) 

    The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.

    The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

    [8] The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.

    The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

    [9] The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever.

    The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous.

    [10] They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold;

    they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.

    [11] By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Romans 3:20-21 (NLT) 

    For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we aren't obeying it.  [21] But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago.

1. To understand law before grace and law after grace, or law before a circumcised heart and law after a circumcised heart…

Before grace, it is impossible to obey the law

When we receive the Gospel of Grace, a circumcised heart becomes possible but is not guaranteed

Galatians 3:3 (NLT) 

    Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

Without a circumcised heart, we will not be moved or drawn towards obedience, the truths and laws of God

But with a circumcised heart, the law becomes an invitation and not obligation that we are now drawn and moved towards

Saul’s relationship with God:      /              /            /            /           /          /

David's relationship with God:    /  /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /   /  

Solomon's relationship with God:  /       /       /       /       /       /       /       /      

1 Samuel 24:1-7 (NLT)

     After Saul returned from fighting the Philistines, he was told that David had gone into the wilderness of En-gedi.  So Saul chose 3,000 elite troops from all Israel and went to search for David and his men near the rocks of the wild goats. At the place where the road passes some sheepfolds, Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. But as it happened, David and his men were hiding farther back in that very cave! “Now’s your opportunity!” David’s men whispered to him. “Today the Lord is telling you, ‘I will certainly put your enemy into your power, to do with as you wish.’” So David crept forward and cut off a piece of the hem of Saul’s robe. But then David’s conscience began bothering him because he had cut Saul’s robe.  “The Lord knows I shouldn’t have done that to my lord the king,” he said to his men. “The Lord forbid that I should do this to my lord the king and attack the Lord’s anointed one, for the Lord himself has chosen him.”  So David restrained his men and did not let them kill Saul.

2. David chose to submit to authority (law) by the power of grace through a circumcised heart and God later blessed him more than he could imagine

Only those who have received and experienced the fullness of God’s grace and they be truly gracious people from the inside out

Psalm 51:9, 11 (NLT) 

     Don’t keep looking at my sins.  Remove the stain of my guilt… Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

Matthew 27:46 (NIV) 

    About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Matthew 28:20 (NLT) 

    … And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Psalm 23:1 (NIV) 

A psalm of David…The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

John 10:11 (NLT) 

    "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Psalm 27:4-5 (NIV) 

    One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.  For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Rev. 3:20 (NIV) 

    Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

3. The deepest longings beneath the surface longings of David and each of us find their ultimate fulfillment in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus