God
may cover a man's sins but a man may not cover his own sins. To cover is to
hide. When God covers a sin, He forgives it and erases the sin completely (Heb
10:17). It is because of His mercy that He covers a man’s sins. But man cannot
hide his sin and hope to receive forgiveness from God. God’s forgiveness comes
with conditions. Man must confess and forsake sins in order to obtain
God’s mercy.
A
person cannot conceal his sin forever. Adam tried to cover his sins; but God
knew it (Gen 3:11). Cain tried to cover his murder; but God knew about it too
(Gen 4:10). David tried to cover his adultery; but God uncovered it (2 Sam
12:7). God uncovered all their sins. There is no way for anyone to hide his
sins from God.
When
we sin, we have a choice. We can keep the sin to ourselves, hide it from
others, not mention it to God, and do it again when the urge hits. Or we can
drop to our knees, confess it to God, make restitution if it involves others,
and take the necessary steps to avoid committing it again. Our choice in this
matter will greatly affect our life.
When we sinned, what is the right way to do?
1.
REALISE IT - The first step in the "covering" of sin is to realise it
is sin. Have you tried talking to someone who did not think he had done
something wrong in spite of all the evidences against him? The Pharisees in the
days of Jesus did not think they had done anything wrong. On the contrary, they
felt they were righteous (Luke 18:11-12).
In
the Parable of the Prodigal sons, the younger son “came to himself,” (Luke
15:17). It means he came to his senses and realised his wrong doings.
Sometimes, in our speech, we say, “Hope one day he will wake up.” We mean he
will come to his senses and realise his error of ways.
2. ADMIT IT – Some want to give excuse for their sins. King
Saul, when confronted with his sin, made excuse and blamed it on the people (1
Sam 15:21). Adam gave excuse and blamed it on God for giving him the woman (Gen
3:12).
Sometimes,
instead of admitting our sins, we blame it on the devil: “The devil made me do
it”; people: “It’s their fault”; and circumstances: “While in Rome, do as the
Romans do.”
But
in the judgement day, we have only ourselves to blame; we can’t pass the blame
on others. There will be no excuse. We are all responsible for our own actions:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one
may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor 5:10).
3.
CONFESS IT – If it is a private sin, we can confess it to God privately. We can
approach only the person to whom we have offended and seek forgiveness. If it
is a sin that has gone public, we need to confess it to the church.
Pride
is a hindrance to confession of sin. It takes humility and courage to confess a
sin. I like this quotation: “When you have done something wrong, admit it
and be sorry. No one in history has ever choked to death from swallowing his
pride.”
The
scripture says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
4.
FORSAKE IT - The final step is forsaking. This is true repentance. Repentance
is a change which says “I’m not doing it anymore.” In order to find victory
over sin, there must be a forsaking of that sin. One must leave the sin
completely. Our Lord told the woman who was taken in adultery: “Go, and sin
no more” (John 8:11).
Our
God is a merciful God and He will forgive any sin that has been confessed and
forsaken. If we have sinned, let us make a conscientious effort to confess it
before God, seek for forgiveness, and sin no more.
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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