David and Paul: Forgiven in the Bible
The greatest honour that God could say of any person was to say that such a man or woman was “after God’s own heart!” (Acts 13:22). David’s story reveals that he was not always the kind of person described, but he truly repented after being admonished by the prophet Nathan and was forgiven by God.
In the Old Testament, David committed adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and plotted a devious plan that killed Uriah. Yet, every one of the kings of Israel and Judah was judged before the Lord by the standard man – David! They either walked in the godly ways of David or the ungodly ways of Jeroboam.
We see that in the Book of Kings and Chronicles, much is repeated concerning the kings of Israel and Judah and their shortcomings; however, David’s moral sin was not repeated in detail except for one verse in 1 Kings 15:5.
In the New Testament, we see the example of Paul calling himself the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). Paul described himself as the paramount, highest-ranking, worst-of-all sinner. It was Oscar Wilde who said, "The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."
Before his conversion, Saul a.k.a. Paul was breathing out threats and persecuted believers. He attacked the church of God and tried to destroy it. However, at his conversion, Paul believed God had called him and had chosen him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This he did faithfully accomplishing much in his missionary journeys.
Moreover, of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul. This is only possible because he was forgiven and saved by God’s grace.