“Here is what Adonai says: ‘I will generate evil against you out of your own household. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor; he will go to bed with your wives, and everyone will know about it.'”-2 Samuel 12:11
Let me remind you…
There is a HUGE difference between trust in the Lord versus mere belief in Him.
There is also a HUGE difference between the forgiveness of sins…
And paying the earthly consequences for our actions.
Recall that even the demons believe in God’s existence.
But that belief doesn’t in any way lead to the worship of or obedience to the Lord’s commands.
Trust, on the other hand, leads to a transformation in our hearts that results in proper worship of God and then obedience to His commands.
Obedience is the key that opens the door to grace, which leads to forgiveness.
The Apostle Paul referred to this transformation as the circumcision of our hearts.
Onward.
So the takeaway here is to understand the difference between forgiveness of sin and the consequences of our sin.
When you repent, you receive the former, but can’t escape the latter.
Ya feel me?
See, forgiveness of sins is something that occurs in the spiritual dimension of heaven.
This is because all sin, at its heart, is first and foremost a trespass against God.
Nevertheless, we will have to pay the earthly consequences for what we did.
The serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, is a good example of this.
You’ve heard about this guy, haven’t you?
He murdered 17 young men and boys between 1978 and 1991.
His crimes involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia, and cannibalism, making him one of the most notorious and disturbing criminals in modern history.
He was finally caught and arrested in 1991 after a potential victim escaped and led police to Dahmer’s apartment, where they discovered gruesome evidence of his murders.
In 1992, Dahmer was convicted and sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms.
Now here’s where things take an interesting turn.
Jeffrey Dahmer claimed to have come to faith in Jesus Christ while in prison.
After his conviction and imprisonment, Dahmer reportedly expressed remorse for his crimes.
He began reading the Bible and eventually requested to be baptized.
In May 1994, he was baptized by Roy Ratcliff, a minister of the Church of Christ, in the prison’s whirlpool facility.
According to Ratcliff, Dahmer was sincere in his faith.
They held regular Bible studies together, and Dahmer often asked deep theological questions, particularly about forgiveness, sin, and salvation.
He acknowledged the horrific nature of his crimes and said he understood that he deserved punishment but believed Jesus had forgiven him.
According to his prison minister, Roy Ratcliff, Dahmer once said:
“I’ve come to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God, and I believe that I, as well as everyone else, will be accountable to Him. He died for my sins, and I am thankful for His forgiveness.”
Understandably, reactions to Dahmer’s conversion were mixed.
Some folks viewed it as a testimony to the power of God’s grace…
That even someone like Dahmer could be redeemed.
Others were skeptical or outraged…
Feeling it was unjust that someone who had committed such heinous acts could claim salvation.
Whether one accepts the sincerity of his faith is ultimately a matter of personal belief…
But the records from Ratcliff and Dahmer’s own words suggest that he genuinely sought forgiveness through Christ before his death.
But here’s the thing.
Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in prison on November 28, 1994, at the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin.
That morning, Dahmer and two other inmates—Christopher Scarver and Jesse Anderson—were assigned to clean a bathroom and staff locker room in the prison gym.
The three men were left unsupervised for a short time.
According to reports, Christopher Scarver, who was serving a life sentence for a separate murder, attacked Dahmer and Anderson with a metal bar taken from exercise equipment.
Dahmer was struck multiple times in the head and face.
He was found on the floor, severely injured and barely alive.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.
So, assuming that Dahmer’s repentance was sincere…
He was indeed forgiven for sins…
But he paid the earthly consequences for his horrific crimes by being beaten to death.
And as I said yesterday, 2nd Samuel Chapter 12 is also a perfect fleshing out of this principle.
David was told that his sin had been forgiven and that he would not die.
However, as a consequence of what he did, his infant son ended up dying, and the sword never left his household.
Verse 11 says it all:
” Here is what Adonai says:
‘I will generate evil against you
out of your own household.'”
God is telling David, “I’m gonna generate evil against you.”
The Lord isn’t leaving any room for misunderstanding here.
He’s making it very clear that it will be HIM who brings about horrific disasters in David’s life for what he did to Uriyah.
Nevertheless, David was still forgiven.
He would not suffer eternal damnation.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul.
Rather, be afraid of the One
who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
-Matthew 10:28
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