Exception Or Rule?
When God removed Saul as king, He raised up for them
David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said,
“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own
heart, who will do all My
will.”
Acts 13:22
Most of us are familiar with the saying,
“The exception that proves the rule.” That is,
when something out of the ordinary happens,
it “proves” the ordinary (the rule) exists. We
even apply this idea to personal behavior.
The biblical character David is an example of an
exception proving the rule. The Bible characterizes
him as a man after God’s heart who
lived doing
God’s will.
There was a dramatic exception to the rule when he
was involved in adultery and murder. The question
then arises whether to judge David by the exception
or by the rule.
And the same question applies when we judge others.
Do we judge them by the exception or by the rule? We
answer that question by remembering how God looks
at us—not at our sins but at our standing in Christ.
If you are tempted to judge another by the exception
rather than the rule of faithfulness in their life,
remember how God looks at you.
"True forgiveness breaks a
man, and he must forgive."
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
