Week 25 - When A Christian Sins

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but who so confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13, KJV)

It happens again — the cover-up!

First it was the SARS and then the bird flu. In a 2006 newspaper report, a World Health Organization spokesman said: “The current outbreak might have first surfaced in April last year, even though Asia’s first cases of the virus (bird flu) were reported in South Korea only last month.”

As Christians, we have to deal with a cover-up of a different kind — the cover-up of sin and transgression. Adam and Eve attempted the first cover-up in the Garden of Eden by using fig-leaves to cover their nakedness after they had sinned against God. It seems natural for fallen people like us to react in similar manner. The Bible teaches that believers have the responsibility to confess sins, which repairs or restores fellowship with God (1 John 1:9 ), and not to cover or hide them.

When we cover or hide our sins, God will not hear our prayers. How pitiful we would be if God doesn’t hear us. Like a father who refuses to listen to his children when they are naughty, God our Heavenly Father will not hear us if we harbour sins in our hearts. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm 66:18 , KJV).

Besides that, sin also paralyses us from serving Him, deafens us from hearing His voice and blinds us from seeing His glory. We would not be able to be what God wants us to be. Getting rid of our sins should therefore be our prime concern if we are seeking to grow in Christian mutuality. But how do we get rid of our sins?

The remedy for this cover-up is to “confess” and “forsake” our sins. If you were to drive along the street of Henderson suburb in Auckland city (as I have done) on a Thursday morning, you would be greeted by rows of green trash bags, boxes of recycle bottles and bundles of newspaper and cardboards haphazardly lining the sidewalks. Such an unsightly scene would not go very well with any Singaporean who is used to litter-free streets. However, this weekly sight takes place because this is the way they dispose their garbage. The garbage truck would swing by before noon and the whole street would once again be neat and clean.

What a vivid picture of how to deal with our sins! We must not hide them in the secret corner of our hearts but lay them before the Lord. David reflects the change that comes over a man when he ceases to hide or cover his iniquities and comes out into the light of God’s presence, confessing them before Him. He knows the blessedness of transgressions forgiven and sins covered by God (Psalm 32 ). David confessed his sins but Judas covered up his sins. David found mercy but Judas found misery.

Several years ago, I had a Bible study with a Christian friend. When we came to the topic of sin and forgiveness, he shared with me about his homosexual tendencies. At the end of the study, he confessed his sins, weeping as he prayed. After confessing his sin, he told me that a great burden was lifted from him as he experienced God’s forgiveness. This beloved brother has been a faithful disciple of Christ ever since.

Isn’t that wonderful? After we uncover our sins, confess and forsake them, God will cover our sins. He will remember them no more (Jeremiah 31:34 ). In his commentary on Psalm 28:13, Matthew Henry wrote: “When we set sin before our face God casts it behind his back.” But lest we forget, Bill Bright reminds us, “God takes sin seriously, so much so that it cost the life of His Son. So should we.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s not cover up our sins when the Holy Spirit convicts us of them. Rather, let’s confess and forsake them. Have you cleared your trash bag?