Sermon: David and Nathan, 2 Samuel 12

Billy Sunday preached the sermon of David and Nathan often during 1915-1916, using it in Kansas City, Baltimore, Philly, and Omaha.

Billy was fond of using narrative passages of Scripture to apply to a gospel sitting.

In this sermon, Billy Sunday argues that the Bible’s credibility is demonstrated by its honesty in revealing both the virtues and sins of its central figures. This transparency proves Scripture is not fabricated but divinely truthful. From this foundation, he emphasizes the universality and progressive nature of sin, showing how it enslaves individuals and shapes character over time. Sunday rejects the idea that morality, religious rituals, or personal effort can remove sin, insisting that only Christ provides true forgiveness and transformation. Genuine salvation, he argues, results in a changed life, not mere outward reform. The sermon builds toward an urgent appeal for repentance and new birth, calling listeners to abandon self-deception and receive the cleansing and renewal that only God can provide.

Here are some noteworthy quotes from the sermon

“God tells both sides of the story. He doesn’t whitewash His saints—He shows you the black spots as well as the bright.”

“A man doesn’t become a criminal in a day; he practices himself into it. Sin is a habit before it is a headline.”

“You can’t whitewash your heart with good works—sin soaks through. It takes the blood of Christ to make it clean.”

“If a man is born again and lives like the devil, then either he isn’t born again—or the Bible isn’t true.”