Most Christians should be familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba. Indeed, I wouldn’t even be surprised at the number of unbelievers who have heard of David’s illicit actions. In Psalm 51, a psalm written after David committed adultery with Bathsheba and had Uriah murdered, David says something curious.

Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

Psalm 51:4 (NIV)

If you’re like me, you might wonder why David says he only sinned against God. After all, he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband, Uriah, murdered. In addition to all those men who were with Uriah when he was killed, there are a lot of people David sinned against. Therefore, why does David say he only sinned against God?

The Bible is full of the literal and the metaphorical. Thus, sometimes God’s word is literal, and other times it might be symbolic. Given that we are dealing with a Psalm in the poetic genre, we might be tempted to think that David’s words are hyperbolic. However, we would be in error if we thought this verse was merely poetry. Indeed, the concept of sinning only against God is something we can see elsewhere in the Bible. Consider this verse from Genesis 39.

“No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

Genesis 39:9 (NIV)

The speaker in this verse is Joseph, who has been confronted by Potiphar’s wife, who wants to have sex with him. If Joseph did commit adultery with Potiphar’s wife, he’d be sinning against Potiphar and his wife. However, Joseph doesn’t include them in his statement. Instead, he points out that he’d be sinning against God.

Genesis 39 is not poetry, so there’s little room for a symbolic interpretation. Indeed, consider David’s own words from 2 Samuel regarding the incident with Bathsheba.

Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.”

2 Samuel 12:13 (NIV)

As with Genesis 39, 2 Samuel isn’t in the form of poetry. Thus, we know David does not use metaphors because the context doesn’t support them.

There are other places in the Bible where people point out that they sinned against God.

Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done:

Joshua 7:20 (NIV)

Achan acknowledges his sin against the Lord here instead of saying he sinned against those Israelites who died because of his sin. Therefore, we can see that David’s “case” isn’t unique. So, why did these people say they sinned against the Lord?

When we commit a sin against someone, we do, indeed, sin against them. Furthermore, we can go to them and ask for their forgiveness. Although they may forgive us, ultimately, God is our judge. Not them. God is the one we must give an account to because he is the judge of all the earth.

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 96:13 (NIV)

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.

Matthew 12:36 (NIV)

Therefore, when we die, we must all give an account to God for everything we have done. Not only that, but God is the one who created us and has given us life. Thus, when we sin, there are people involved in that sin, and we should reconcile ourselves to them, but the reality is that our sin grieves God the most, and it is to him that we must give an account.

As Christians, it’s potentially even worse when we sin than it is with non-believers. Consider Jesus’ words from Matthew.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)

If people can glorify God in heaven because of the good things we do in his name, they can and will curse God in heaven for the wrong things we do, too.

As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

Romans 2:24 (NIV)

While these folks may curse God, the worst part isn’t that they curse God. The worst part is that their hearts may harden to the point where they never embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and, in that case, instead of being saved, they end up in hell.