Dealing with sin . . .

Hiding and covering them up are useless ways to deal with my sin. These tactics give me headaches, knots in my stomach and the reputation of being a hypocrite. It is very opposite to the heart of God. He has a better plan.

“O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” (Psalm 97:10–12)

Dealing with sin is about loving God. On a human level, if my hubby asked me to have supper ready for 6:00 so he could get to a 7 o’clock meeting, and I totally ignored him, what does that say about my love for him? If my children are sick or in trouble and I went shopping rather than going to their aid, what does that demonstrate?

Loving God begins a new way of life. One of the changes is a total shift in my opinion of evil. While it drags at my pant legs like an annoying stray dog, hating evil means not stooping to pet it, not feeding it, not thinking it is attractive. While a swift kick cannot rid me of sin like it might discourage that stray, God gives the solution, from both the Old Testament and the New.

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)

“If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:6–10)

Clearly any hiding or concealment does not fool God. This tactic usually does not fool others either. The solution is confessing or ‘saying the same thing’ as God says about sin. Nor can I deny it lest I fall into self-deception and lies.

The promise of God is forgiveness. It requires confession, but it also requires the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus died to pay my penalty for sin. God does not forgive in an arbitrary way but only on the basis that Jesus has satisfied His wrath and taken upon Himself God’s righteous judgment of sin. This is important. Hatred of sin begins with God. He knows what it does to us; it separates us from Him and that is not what He wants. It also destroys our lives.

Today, Tozer writes about persecution. Sometimes we are opposed because of a godly life, yet the opposition may come because of an obnoxious personality or other traits that irritate people. Tozer points at Christians who hide their unpleasant traits behind verses of Scripture. He also mentions that a believer might live without doing what we might call the “biggies” like murder or adultery, but can be guilty of greed, self-righteousness, or other ‘socially acceptable’ behaviors. That believer might even be unaware of this, nevertheless, those sins will turn others off to God even more than more visible sins.

For me, this is important. I’ve said that God begins pruning with a large axe, then uses pruning shears, and finally goes at me with a small scalpel. His hatred of sin is there only because of His love for me, His desire that I am blessed and become all that He created me to be.

^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You know the sins I need to confess before I know them. You are so gracious to expose them to me at the right time so that I will hate and confess them. I realize this is a life-long process, but with each confession comes forgiveness and cleansing. I also am lighter, can see more clearly, have greater energy for the things that matter and am able to drink more deeply from the water of life. You are such a great blessing. Thank You from the depths of my heart.