King David Sinned With
Adultery and Murder

Bible Truths Regarding David's Adultery With Bathsheba
(and Subsequent Murder)

Who was King David? King David was a most noteworthy man who was elevated from a humble shepherd to king over Israel! He was also the man who killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17), because of his great faith in God. David also penned many wonderful Psalms and other Holy Spirit inspired writings contained within the Holy Bible. On the other hand, King David sinned with adultery and murder! King David's affair with Bathsheba will forever remain a horrible blight on his life! Sadly, King David's affair with Bathsheba has been twisted into a common argument cited for the heresy of eternal security, (thereby implying its license for sin). That argument goes like this:

"King David lost only the joy of his salvation by his adultery and murder. In Psa. 51:12 he only prayed to have the joy of his salvation restored. Also, King David was a man after God's own heart and wrote part of the Bible."

So, when King David sinned with adultery and murder, did he really remain saved, as so many want us to believe? The answer is a definite categorical NO! David and Bathsheba committed sin unto death by their adultery (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Rev. 21:8; etc.)!

This Is What God Said About
King David Before He Repented

IMPORTANT: Click To Learn
How King David Was A Man After God's Own Heart

To say King David did not lose his salvation because of his sins of adultery and murder is to oppose Scripture (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Rev. 21:8; etc.) and at the same time, teach a license for immorality! Just because King David prayed to have the joy of his salvation "restored" doesn't mean he didn't previously lose his salvation, which according to the aforementioned verses, clearly occurred. NOTE: The context of Psalm 51 is after 2 Sam. 12:13 (where King David was declared forgiven). So after King David was forgiven he wrote Psalm 51 and asked for the joy of his salvation to be restored! He got his salvation back, but at that point the joy of it wasn't restored. The context changes everything!

Furthermore, Psalm 51:1 starts off with David's prayer which is almost identical to the humble prayer in Luke 18:13, which brings justification. Moreover, since the Prodigal lost his salvation by sexual immorality (Lk. 15:24,32), why would you think King David didn't lose his salvation through his sexual immorality and murder?

King David's Prayer Is NOT A Solid Argument For Eternal Security

Logically, even if King David did not lose his salvation (die spiritually) from his sins, there might be a more grievous sin which could be committed which could cause such! Therefore, it is impossible to prove eternal security from his prayer to have his joy restored after King David sinned and repented!

Also, did you notice that King David believed the Holy Spirit could be taken from him (Psa. 51:11), which is the very thing that happened to King Saul (1 Sam. 16:14)?

Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Apparently, from this alone, King David felt something far greater than just the joy of his salvation was clearly jeopardized by his sins!

King David Sinned With Adultery

Was King David a Bible-defined "adulterer" or "murderer" for approximately nine months or longer? To answer, we must consider how many times does one have to murder or commit adultery to be considered a "murderer" or "adulterer," according to the Scriptures? Again, according to the Bible, what is the answer? It is very clear! Lev. 20:10 states:

If a man commits adultery with another man's wife --with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

Clearly from this Scripture, a one-time act of adultery makes a person an "adulterer" or an "adulteress." Proverbs adds to that with this knockout verse, which ends the eternal security debate:

Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding; He who does so destroys his own soul. (Prov. 6:32, NKJV)

King David Sinned With Murder Too

Besides adultery, King David was also guilty of the murder of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, in an attempt to cover up their sin of adultery! So what about the identity of a "murderer"? In the book of Numbers, a murderer's identity is revealed:

If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. Or if anyone has a stone in his hand that could kill, and he strikes someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. Or if anyone has a wooden object in his hand that could kill, and he hits someone so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death (Num. 35:16-18).

As with the "adulterer," a one-time act of murder makes the man a "murderer," according to Scripture. There is no Scripture that states it would take two or five or twenty acts of adultery or murder before one is an "adulterer" or "murderer"! The definition of these words also fits the evidence in Lev. 20:10 and Num. 35:16-18 for a single act! Furthermore, regarding murder, 1 John 3:15 states:

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (NKJV)

According to Scripture, when King David sinned in that way he became a "murderer" and therefore, he did not have eternal life "abiding" (remaining) in him any more. You don't have to go any further than that. So, according to Scripture, when King David sinned he, therefore, lost much more than the joy of his salvation!

But there is even more. The Sovereign God, who knows all there is to know about salvation, grace, his own keeping power and faithfulness, spoke from his throne after the infinite and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross:

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death (Rev. 21:8).

King David was unsaved when in unrepentant sin (as was Bathsheba), according to Rev. 21:8! If King David didn't repent, he would have missed the Kingdom, according to these clear Scriptures. Thankfully, King David did repent and got his salvation back, like multitudes of backsliders have over the centuries.

How Did King David Die?

Repeatedly in Ezekiel we read of the following warning about spiritual death:

If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it. (Ezek 33:18)

QUESTION: How did King David die when he turned to evil? His death certainly wasn't physical death! It was spiritual death (just like it was with the prodigal, who turned away from God for a time). That fact about his death also proves King David lost his salvation until he repented and got it restored like the prodigal did (Lk. 15:24).

Everyone Should Know This About Spiritual Death

A Man After God's Own Heart

Finally, since David was a murderer, how was King David a man after God's own heart? In Jer. 3:15, we read of this same phrase:

Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

This same phrase is used here and indicates spiritual leaders guiding people with godly knowledge and understanding. King David wasn't the only one! There is no fine print in Scripture that cites protection from the lake of fire for any writer of the Bible, King of Israel, man after God's own heart, or any other kind of person who would become sexually immoral and/or a murderer. Scripture just plainly states such will end up in the lake of fire (Rev. 21:8). The only hope they have is to repent as the Prodigal did. Hence, don't be deceived by any DANGEROUS false teacher, including John R. Rice, David Servant or anyone else teaching a license to sin. King David sinned and lost his salvation and it didn't take habitual, lifestyle or practice of sin to do that.

King David and Bathsheba Married

The shocking end to King David's sins is that David married Bathsheba! At that point, her husband, Uriah, was dead - leaving her a widow because of what David did. Sadly, King David and Bathsheba's marriage has been twisted in an attempt to justify an unscriptural remarriage! The mountainous numbers in remarriage adultery because of a divorce and remarriage are staggering. NOTE: Neither King David nor Bathsheba got divorced prior to their marriage! To cite King David and Bathsheba's marriage to justify a remarriage is to wrestle the scriptures to your own destruction! [Finally, Solomon's father and mother were King David and Bathsheba.]

What Could Except For Fornication Possibly Mean

The True Plan of Salvation

The true gospel of Jesus Christ is repentance towards God and faith in Christ Jesus (Acts 20:21). We prove our repentance by our deeds (Acts 26:20). [The Biblical repentance definition is to turn from evil.] The Lord Jesus taught the road to life is "hard" and only a "few" will find it (Mt. 7:13,14, NKJV). Many get saved, but afterwards fall away (Lk. 8:13; Jn. 6:66; 1 Tim. 1:19; etc.). In other words, after initial salvation we must endure to the "end" to enter the kingdom of God and escape the lake of fire (Mt. 10:22; Heb. 3:14; Rev. 2:10,11). Eternal life comes to the repentant the moment such believe on Jesus for salvation (Jn. 3:16; 6:47; 1 Jn. 5:12,13), but there is another important aspect of eternal life that many are totally unaware of in our day because of the false teaching of eternal security. According to true grace teaching, eternal life is also a HOPE (Titus 3:7), yet to be REAPED (Gal. 6:8,9) in the AGE TO COME (Mk. 10:30) for only the ones who PERSIST IN DOING GOOD (Rom. 2:7) and DO NOT GROW WEARY AND GIVE UP (Gal. 6:9).

If a saved person, King David or otherwise, sows to please his sinful nature he'll die spiritually (Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8,9). The prodigal is a clear example of this (Lk. 15:24,32). The end result of sin is spiritual death, so DO NOT BE DECEIVED (James 1:14-16).

Because of the teaching of once saved always saved, grace has been taught as a license for immorality for so long, and without challenge, that when Scripture is quoted, such as 1 Cor. 6:9,10 or Rev. 21:8, it is disregarded, and the giver of God's Word is falsely accused of teaching legalism, bondage, a works salvation, etc. This reflects how truly dark these days are! [Click here for the important ACID TEST question about King David to know if a ministry or local congregation is teaching a license for immorality.]