Secret Sins

“For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Psalms 90:7-8 ESV).

I don’t watch as much football as I used to. But it is still a regular occurrence to hear the commentators exclaim,”He got away with one there!” Usually this means that someone committed a penalty without getting caught, or they were credited with a catch when they didn’t really meet the standards for a catch. Sometimes a little creative theater results in someone else taking the fall for a penalty for which they themselves were at fault.

I think we feel, sometimes, that we have gotten away with one. We think that, because there have been no immediate consequence for our sin, that God must have missed the call. Or perhaps He isn’t bothered by sin as much we have always been told?

But scripture is clear about how God views sin. In fact, that dealing with sin could be accomplished only by the sacrificial death of His Son, we should understand that God HATES sin. It’s not a soft hate either. And, in God’s eyes, sin has no gradations. James 2:10 makes it clear that any sin is all sin. “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10 ESV).

Our so-called secret sins are not secret at all! The light of God’s presence, the power of His holiness, shines in the darkness, exposing sin for what it is. We aren’t getting away with one!

I don’t know what your secret sins are; I know mine. And I know how we should view our secret sins–utterly sinful. We should not deceive ourselves that God’s longsuffering is somehow acceptance. We should not deceive ourselves into thinking that God’s grace is our excuse.

The days of Jesus Your Way are over. If Jesus is truly our Savior and Lord we need to re-calibrate our spiritual vision, re-sensitize our consciences, and re-prioritize the Word. Our secret sins don’t just hurt us, they hurt Jesus, and they hurt the Father, “since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt” (‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭6:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬).

Let’s recommit to our first love, and recommit to holiness.

Blessings on your week!