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Repentance; A Risky Business; Colton Willey; February 8, 2026
2 Samuel 12
Good morning, Saylorville Church! My name’s Colton Willey. I’m the Connections Pastor here
at Saylorville, and if you’re new with us, first of all, we just want to say a hearty welcome to
you. Thank you for joining us this Super Bowl Sunday. I was just talking with Pastor Jason
during the last service. I think I’ve preached on Super Bowl Sunday twice now which is
hilarious, because I’m like the least sportsy person on sta? so… I’m sorry, I don’t have any
illustration for you. We’re just gonna jump right in.
We are back in King David, and so if you have a copy of God’s Word, I would invite you to find
second Samuel chapter 12. It will be near kind of the front of your Bibles. And while you’re
turning there, I have a question for you.
When’s the last time that you took a risk? Yeah, for some of us that could be a scary question.
But our life is filled with risks, aren’t they? You know, when you hop in the car and you drive 60
miles per hour down the freeway, right? — that’s a risk. When you speak up in a meeting with
your boss, okay? — that’s a risk. When you ask someone out for co?ee or dinner… which
some of you haven’t done that for a while… but that’s a risk. When you predict the weather in
Iowa… that’s a risk. The reality is, is that you and I, we take risks every day. Don’t we? — But
the question must be, which risks are worth taking?
A couple of years ago, I had a friend, I knew a young man, who was just getting his start in
ministry. And he was super excited! He was diving into God’s Word, he was learning theology,
and through the grace of God, he was being given opportunities to open up God’s word to
share his testimony. And one of the most exciting prospects is a friend of this guy, a youth
pastor, came to my friend and he said, “Listen, we want you to share your testimony at our big
summer youth ministry kicko?.” And he was stoked! Right? And he’s super, super excited! And
this young man, he started to write out his testimony. He started to take Scripture and kind of
help back it up a little bit. And he just enjoyed the process. He was excited to tell these youth
kids what God had done in his life. But this young man, as he tells the story, about a week
before that youth kicko? event, he was studying on his couch. He was scrolling and he saw
something that he wish he didn’t see. He saw it, and then he looked at it… and then that look
became a gaze… and then that gaze lingered. And this young man, he knew it was sin. It was
sin and he knew it. And his excitement to share his testimony turned into fear. And his joy to
tell what Jesus has done turned into anxiety. And he started to ask those haunting questions,
“What do I do now? Do I confess to this to the pastor or do I let it slide? — because, besides,
it’s just a small thing, right?”
What was he doing, this young man? He was questioning, ‘Is repentance worth the risk?’ I’ve
titled this message Repentance, A Risky Business, because in today’s chapter, David of Israel,
he’s asking the exact same questions that this young man was asking.
If you remember two weeks ago from today, our very own Pastor Kyhl, he walked us through
chapter 11 of 2 Samuel. And if you remember in that chapter through David’s own lingering
gaze he committed adultery with a woman that wasn’t his wife, Bathsheba, and he covered up
that adultery with lies and manipulation. And that cover up eventually led to the murder of
Bathsheba’s husband, David’s friend, Uriah. It’s a sobering chapter. And if you’re reading
chapter 11 for the first time you might honestly think, ’Is David going to succeed in covering all
this up?’ It kind of starts on a cli?hanger. But God, in love, exposes David. Second Samuel,
chapter 12, verse 1.Page of 2 8
2 Samuel 12:1-7
1 And the Lord sent Nathan, (a prophet)… the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and
he said to him, ‘There were two men in a certain city. One of these men was rich and the other
man was poor.
2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds. He had everything he needed.
3 But the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought, and this poor
man, he brought up this ewe lamb. He grew up with him and his children. He used to let the
ewe lamb eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms. This little ewe lamb was
like a daughter to this poor man.
Verse 4, Now there came a traveler to the rich man… (In Biblical times, hospitality is a huge
deal, okay? It’s really expected for you to be hospitable) A traveler comes to the rich man, and
Nathan says, ‘This rich man was unwilling to take one of it from his own flock or herd, though
he had many to prepare for the guest. But instead, he took the poor man’s lamb, and he
prepared it for the man who had come to him.’ And what’s David’s response to Nathan’s
parable? We see it in verse 5.
5 Then the king’s anger was greatly kindled. That word in the Hebrew means burning. David’s
rage is kindled against the man in the story. And he says to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, that
man who has done this, he deserves to die!
6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity.’
David’s completely repulsed by this story of the rich man. ‘Who could do this?’ Then comes
the haymaker…
Verse 7. The prophet Nathan says to David, “YOU are the man!” Like a beam of sunlight,
Nathan exposes David in his darkness, in his hypocrisy. Nathan’s saying, ‘David, this man that
you’re so up in arms against, this man that repulses you, you are him by what you did with
Bathsheba and Uriah!
So the first thing we see in this passage, and the first thing that’s required for any true
biblical repentance, is someone must speak up. I mean, think about this, right? Think about
the risk that the prophet Nathan is taking here, right? I mean, David already murdered Uriah,
one of his best friends, and it’s not like people are exactly lining up to confront the king of
Israel.
You remember in chapter 11, remember Joab? Joab was one of David’s generals and
remember Joab actually helps aid and abed everything that David does. Remember David
wrote a letter to Joab. He actually sends the letter through Uriah. Uriah literally carries his own
death sentence to Joab! Joab opens up the king’s order, and being the faithful general, he
sends Uriah to the front where not only Uriah is killed by the Ammonites, but a couple other
Israelite warriors are killed, as well.
But I want you to look at verse 21 in chapter 11 real quick. Joab, when he sends a messenger
back to David, he says, ‘By the way, if King David is worried about all these other soldiers that
died, just tell him this. ‘Uriah is dead, also.’ ‘ You see, Joab knew. Joab knew what David was
doing. He actually aided him in his sin. He doesn’t confront him. But Nathan the prophet, at
great risk to himself, he confronts the King in his sin.
Now let me ask you a Sunday school question. Who loved David better? Was it Joab who
ignored the King’s sin, or was it Nathan who confronted him in it? Well, duh… Colton! But
listen. Make it personal. Do you love people like Nathan? Do you love your friends, your family,
your co-workers like Nathan? Why is repentance a risky business? — because, out of love for
God, we have to love people’s souls more than their approval. I mean, if we’re honest,
right? — we love having Joabs in our life, right? We love those people that just… you know…Page of 3 8
they let us kind of get away with anything. But if we’re honest, we need more Nathans. I need
more Nathans.
A couple weeks ago… you’ve probably seen it before. Everyone’s… while the sta? will wander
around the auditorium before the sermon and just get to know people, just talk to people,
welcome them. And I was talking to a couple of visitors to our church a couple weeks ago and
just small talk, you know. But then eventually I asked them the question, “Well, what keeps
bringing you back to Saylorville?” And the husband looked at his wife and he said, “Well, me
and the wife, we just love getting punched in the gut every Sunday.” At first I’m like, “I’m sorry!”
But he was serious! You know what he was doing? He was a?rming Proverbs 28 verse 23
which says this:
Proverbs 28:23
23
‘Whoever rebukes a man (calls them out in their sin) ‘Whoever rebukes a man will afterward
find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.’
Why? Because unlike flattery, you know, we just kind of put the roses and the petals on
people… unlike flattery, a rebuke confirms what we often already know is in our heart.
See, that’s the brilliance of Nathan here. It’s brilliant! Notice, Nathan doesn’t automatically go
for the jugular. He doesn’t start o? with, “You’re the man!” No… He tells this story. He actually
plays on David’s own sense of justice and David’s own guilt. Notice in verse five and six,
David, he demands of this fictional character. He says,
2 Samuel12:5
‘The rich man needs to restore that lamb “fourfold!” That’s a direct quotation out of God’s law
in Exodus 22. David says, ‘This demands justice!’ But then David says something wild. He
says this man deserves to die! Why the visceral response? That seems to be an exaggeration.
But you know what helps us? During this time when Nathan had confronted David, David
eventually wrote Psalm 51, which is a cherished Psalm for many of us. And in that Psalm, look
what David says of his sin.
Psalm 51:3, ‘… my sin is always before me.’
You know what I think is going on with David’s heart when Nathan comes and rebukes him? I
think David, over the last couple of weeks, the last couple of months, I think he’s been haunted
by the face of Uriah, the man he murdered, haunted by Bathsheba, the woman that he violated.
David’s like a balloon, just filling up, filling up, filling up more and more pressure of shame and
guilt and Nathan, like a sharp needle… [Pop!] David’s cover is blown! But watch this. Nathan’s
punch to the gut, though painful, got David back on his knees, which is exactly where God
wants us to be. You see, God calls David out that he might call David back. In verse seven
in chapter 12, Nathan said to David;
2 Samuel 12:7-15 (paraphrased)
7 ‘David, you are the man! Thus says the Lord…’ Now Nathan’s talking the actual Word of God
to David… “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel.” Notice what God’s saying here. “I anointed
you King over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul,
8 and I gave you your master’s house, and your master’s wives into your arms, and I gave you
the house of Israel and of Judah, and if this were two little, David, I would have added to you
so much more.
9 Why have you despised…” Why have you forgotten? — Why have you held in contempt…
‘the Word of the Lord to do what is evil in His sight? David, you’ve struck down Uriah the HittitePage of 4 8
with the sword, and you’ve taken his wife to be your wife and you’ve killed him with the sword
of the Ammonites.’ Then the Lord of hosts declares the judgment…
verse 10, “Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you’ve
despised Me and you’ve taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”
11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I
will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your
wives in the sight of the sun.
12 For David, you covered this up. You did your sin in secret, but I will do this thing before all of
Israel and before the sun.’
The book of Numbers says, ‘Your sin will find you out.’ But what does David say? As soon as
he’s rebuked:
verse 13, ‘David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
No exaggeration, no frills, no excuses. ‘I’ve sinned against the Lord.’ And what does Nathan
say to David?
‘The Lord has put away your sin. You shall not die.’
What? Such is the compassion of our loving God.
14 ‘Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD, the child who is
born to you, that baby shall die.’
15 And then Nathan went away.’
Nathan speaks up, and David finally ‘fesses up. Friends, I don’t know about you, but a huge
question I’ve had when I’m studying this passage, when I heard from our very own Pastor Kyhl,
why did David do this? I feel like that’s what really bothers us, right? I mean, David’s sin with
Bathsheba and Uriah, it’s horrific, right? It’s terrible! But as we’ve seen, David has made
mistakes before in his life. What’s di?erent? It’s the cover-up. It’s the cover-up that really
bothers me. Why did the man after God’s own heart do this?
You remember that young man from the beginning of the story? — the young man that was
gonna give his testimony? — the young man that was burdened down by his sin, haunted, by
what he might have to do? He actually confided in an older gentleman in his local church, and
this gentleman did something radical. He said to that young man, “You know what you need to
do? You need to confess your sin to that pastor that gave you the opportunity.” You can
imagine what the young man said. “I can’t do that! That’s way too radical. What will that pastor
think of me? — and even worse, what if he finds someone else to share their testimony?”
You see, I think David’s asking similar questions here, and maybe, if you’re honest, some of
you are, too. You know why I think David covered up his sin? — because he’s doing what you
often do, what I often do. He’s forgotten how he got his crown in the first place.
See if you go back to chapter 11, David is playing king really, really well. There’s actually a
central word in that chapter that kind of brings it all together. Go ahead and check some of
these verses out. It says that David “sent” and inquired about Bathsheba. He “sent” word to
Joab to get Uriah. He “sent” for Bathsheba and got her into his house. What’s the same? It’s
good to be the king. David’s flaunting his authority. He’s using his crown to not only do his sin,
but to cover it up. In fact, there is no less than five times where David sends someone to help
him commit this sin. He’s using his power as the king to sin and to cover it up. But notice how
chapter 12 starts:
2 Samuel 12:1, “And the LORD sent Nathan to David.”
What is the author saying? What’s he trying to… What’s he trying to make abundantly clear?
— that no one out “sends” God… That though David is the king, and though he has all thisPage of 5 8
authority, and all this wealth, and all this power, he is still only a servant of the King of Kings,
and that everything that he has… even his own crown… was given to him by God. And look,
God reminds him in verse seven. I emphasized this as we were going through it. God says:
2 Samuel 12:7, ‘I anointed you. I made you king. Why have you despised Me, the One that’s
given you all these things?’
It’s almost like God’s saying, ‘Why are you grasping after sin when I’ve given you so much by
grace?’
Why is repentance risky?
—
because we have to give up our crowns to the true King.
Think about over the last couple decades, the last couple centuries. Think about the leaders in
the church… men who have amazing ministries with thousands of people, men who have
vibrant preaching ministries, men who have written best-selling books, and the entire time…
they’ve been living in unrepentant sin… some of them for years, some of them for decades.
How, how does this happen? Some of you have been hurt by the ministries of these men. I
think they’ve grown to love the shimmer of their own crowns more than Christ. Frankly, for
these men, and maybe for some of you, the risk of repentance has become too high. But
notice what David says in Psalm 51. He says this to God. He says:
Psalm 51:6, ‘Almighty God, behold, You delight in truth in the inward being…’
See, God is not concerned with externals. He’s not concerned to how we appear. He’s
concerned with who we actually are. You know what I think David’s saying in this Psalm? ‘I’m
done with externals. I am done just acting the part. God, everything I have, everything that I’m
clinging to, it’s just a gift from You. Have mercy on me, a sinner.’
What about you, dear friend? Whose crown are you looking at? Are you afraid of what your
repentance will cost you? Are you weighing the risks? Are you afraid of what repenting will do
to your reputation? — what it’ll do to people’s perception of you? — your comfort? Dear friend,
what do you have that you did not first receive from the Lord of glory? I’m pleading with you,
God’s pleading with you in His Word, what is lost in repentance, what you have to give up,
what is lost in repentance is never worth the cost of not repenting.
And what is the cost? Some of you are in it right now. In Psalm 32, David says:
Psalm 32:3, ‘… my bones are broken, my body is destroyed because of the weight of my sin.’
Friend, cast it o?, cast it o?, and give to God whatever He needs, and find mercy in the Lord
Jesus. But notice something here in verse 13. Notice the simplicity of David’s confession. It’s
beautiful!
2 Samuel 12:13, ‘I’ve sinned against the Lord.’
There’s no comparison. There’s no excuses. In fact, if you compare David’s confession to King
Saul in 1 Samuel 15, they’re almost identical. But right after he confesses, Saul blames the
people for his sin. Not the man after God’s own heart. Not David. In Psalm 51, David says to
God:
Psalm 51:4, ‘Against you, and you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.’Page of 6 8
You see, David’s not looking around for someone or something to blame. He’s not mourning
what he could possibly lose through his repentance. No, he’s looking up. He’s looking to God
who’s never left him, and he’s mourning the broken fellowship, the broken intimacy that he has
with his Maker, the lover of his soul.
Friend, that’s what all of our sin does. It separates us from God. It breaks our intimacy. Go
back to Him. Which is what David does. Psalm 51, David says:
Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your
abundant mercy blot out my transgressions…”
David’s no longer counting on his crown to save him. He’s not counting on his cleverness. He’s
not counting on his external righteousness. No, he’s counting on the big love of a big God, and
if we’re honest, that’s all we have. And how does God respond? This is amazing! Verse 13.
What’s the immediate next thing that God says to David when he says he’s sinned?
2 Samuel 12:13, ‘… I’ve put away your sin. I’ve put it away. You won’t die.’
And friends, that’s the same for you today if you would just but come to Christ. I’m reminded of
first John where it says:
1 John 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins, He, God, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
cleanse us of all unrighteousness.’
But notice what it says. It says all unrighteousness, not all consequences. Why is repentance
risky? — because you and I, if we are to repent, if we’re to go just bow down before the king,
we have to rest in his judgment… both the good and the bad. You see, chapter 11 and chapter
12 here, this is like a lynch pen moment for David. His life is completely changed. It’s a turning
point in his story. And if you look at [2 Samuel 12] verses 10-14, God just gives him a litany of
consequences that’s going to happen because of this sin. “The sword will never depart from
your home.” David and his sons are constantly battling each other throughout the next couple
chapters. ‘David, you’re gonna face public humiliation,’ which again, we’ll see as we continue
through the story. But the one that really stings is the child.
I know that some of you have experienced the same terrible pain that David is right now… the
loss of a child. And I want you to know that I understand that pain. You’re looking at a father of
two miscarried children. And you might be repulsed by God’s actions here. You might be
screaming in your heart, ‘God, why would you do this? This isn’t fair!’ But, dear friend, I want
you to know something… three things. God in heaven is just, but He’s also good. But most of
all, He’s King. Listen, God is not punishing the child here. He is not punishing that baby. He’s
punishing David! And some fates are worse than death. But God is good, and David knows it to
be true. So what does he do? He goes to God. In the next couple of verses, David throws
himself at the mercy of God, and he fasts and prays. And if you read the story, his advisors are
watching him do this. David is fasting for so long, seven days, that his advisors think he’s
gonna die as he petitions the King of Kings to spare his son. And on the seventh day, the child
dies. The advisors share the news with David, and then we see this beautiful scene, verse 20.
2 Samuel 12:20-23
20 ‘Then David arose from the earth. He washed himself. He anointed himself. He changed his
clothes. He went into the house of the Lord, and he worshiped. He worshiped. He then went to
his own house and when he asked, they set food before him and he ate.Page of 7 8
21 Then his servant said to him, “What is this thing that you’ve done? You fasted and wept for
the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and you ate food. Why are you
doing this?’
David says in verse 22,
22, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept for I said, “Who knows whether the Lord
will be gracious to me…”
Again, David is at the mercy of God. He knows who God is. God is the king. Maybe God will be
gracious to me that the child may live.
23 “But now he’s dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but
he won’t return to me.’
You see, David’s words here are great comfort to me as a father, and I hope they’re a comfort
to some of you. David says, “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Listen, God is just, but God’s also good. And David knows it well. And whatever it means,
David is counting on seeing his child again. Repentance is risky, because we have to rest in the
King’s judgment, both good and bad.
Let me ask you, are you at rest? Is your heart full of worship? — because, see, if we’re honest,
some of you have the opposite problem as David. See, you don’t struggle with accepting
God’s judgment, God’s discipline. You know you deserve that. You know that you deserve the
pain that’s coming on through your sin. What you struggle with, my dear friend, is accepting
God’s forgiveness, accepting His grace, and then resting in it. I know you’re out there, ’cause
that’s how I am.
You wanna know what the good news of David’s story is and the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ? If you’re in Christ, if you’ve confessed your sins and put your whole life on His finished
work, if you’ve repented and you’ve accepted the consequences of your sin, David’s story
screams to us, you can worship. Look what David says in Psalm 51, he says to God:
Psalm 51:7b-8
7 “… Wash me, O God, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; Let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”
Rejoice! Friends, whatever you’ve done, Christ’s finished work is su?cient for your cleansing.
Return to your worship. Repentance is a risk, but is the risk worth it? Let’s go down to
[2 Samuel 12] verse 24. After his confession, after the consequences, David comforts his wife,
Bathsheba, goes into her and they bore a son, and he called his son Solomon. And the Lord
loved him. What is the reward of true repentance? Why is repentance worth all the risk? He
names his son Solomon. You know what Solomon means in Hebrew? Peace. Peace. Peace.
Why would David call him that? That’s what David gained after his repentance… Peace! And it
outweighs all the risks. So my dear friend, do you have peace? — ‘cause if not, you can…
today. Romans chapter five says:
Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
You see, even in David’s sin, even in all the ugliness of his sin, God had a plan. A thousand
years later after David’s sin, a descendant of Solomon would be born, and his name was Jesus
of Nazareth. He was God incarnate, and He came to this broken world. He came down to us,
those of us who can never live up to God’s standard, and Jesus lived a perfect life that David
could never live. And then we put Him on a cross and He willingly took that cross as a sacrifice,
as a payment for our sin, and three days later He rose again. And He promises, if we just putPage of 8 8
our faith on that finished work, He raises us up to life, as well. Listen, the most amazing thing
about this entire story is that what David meant for evil, God meant for good. By David’s
shameful act, God brought about the very One that would bear David’s shame… and yours
and mine… on the cross.
You remember that young guy that I’ve been talking about throughout the message? He did
confess to the pastor. The pastor told him the Gospel just like I told you. He reminded him who
he was in Christ. And that young man went to that youth event. He shared his testimony and
he worshipped. You wanna know how I know? I am the young man. I am the man. Just in case
you don’t know, Colton Willey is not the hero of this sermon. And David is not the hero of this
story… Only Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Let’s pray.
Father God, Lord, we need it, and You willingly desire to give it… peace. Lord, I pray, God, for
all the souls in this room, Lord, that they might come out of the darkness if they’re living in it.
They might come out of just the cloud that they’re living in, come out of the shame and the
guilt, and they might just throw themselves at Your mercy, Lord, and You, You’re willing to
catch them. Lord, You’re willing to cleanse them, to wash them clean, Lord, that they’re the
bones that you have broken, Lord, they might rejoice. So Lord, I pray for all these souls, Lord. I
pray, God, that we might, in humble obedience, confess our sin, and find forgiveness, And in
Your Son find peace, because Lord Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. Be glorified. Thank you
for Your love, in Jesus’ name. Amen.