But since you have shown total contempt for the Lord by this affair, the son that is born to you must die.
2 Samuel 12:14
All sin is against God. Sure, others might be involved in or around it, but even if people get hurt and lives get messed up, sin is still an act of violence against God, and that’s the real tragedy. A lot of times when you sin you ignore the fact that your rebellion was a rebellion against God’s law and because of that against him. You get caught up in the feelings of guilt associated with the people you have hurt or what you have done, and you ignore the main one you have turned against. But you can find great freedom from guilt in standing up courageously and honestly to say what David said, and that is the simple statement, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13). In that moment David came back to his senses and called sin what sin was, and his sins were forgiven. And because of that he was set free from their stranglehold but not from their consequences.
See, a just God doesn’t let his children go without discipline. So even though freedom comes to you when you confess, a price still has to be paid in the natural world. But don’t confuse that price with your guilt. Once a sin is confessed, even if the pain of it still stings and the consequences still belong to you, you are guilt free (see 1 John 1:9). You have passed from enemy of God to forgiven. It’s when you hold on to that guilt and nurture it like you were in charge of your own discipline that you remain chained up. Forgiveness is instantaneous, not long and laborious. You might have a long road of consequences in front of you, but it is good for the soul to know that your guilt is no more.