Monday, May 07, 2007

Secret Sins

on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
(Romans 2:16 – ESV)

There are no secret sins to God – Paul was finishing his thought here and saying that hypocrites have secret sin, some they know about, and some they don’t. Have you examined yourself by the standard of the Great Physician, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 13:5)? We can follow Him on that gospel road by faith. We will not walk it perfectly, but His walk not our walk is what saves us. That is the gospel and out of gratitude for it and love for Him we attempt to walk that same path, knowing that our walk will be imperfect and that we will stumble and fall, but that God will pick us up and if we will get up and want to walk again He will empower us to do so. Your walk cannot be a secret walk; it must be a sanctified walk.

For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14). For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light (Luke 8:17). Each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done (1 Corinthians 3:13)…who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart (1 Corinthians 4:5).

To the backslider we would say get back on repentance road, which leads down submission street, which you will find on your knees. Just because you know the truth doesn’t mean you are trusting in it. Those that do not walk the path at all are saying that they have no faith. Justice or mercy, which do you want? To those that know Jesus is the only way and that now want to move on in Him: are you sure your motives are pure? You can’t hold back your best and expect God to pour His blessing out.

Let’s get real, and let’s get right today, that is what Paul was saying to them, and what God is saying to us today. You may fool the preacher, you may fool the public, you may fool your parents, you may fool your partner, and you may even fool yourself, but you can’t fool God. We can never be sure of our motives completely, that is why we have to ask God to help us see ourselves as we truly are (Psalm 19:12-14 / 139:23-24).

You don’t need a secret code, you won’t find a secret way, and you can’t hide a secret sin. There are no secrets with God.


6 comments:

Annette said...

on a day where i feel like running away and hiding... not sure i wanted to read this. probably though good that i did. :)

Even So... said...

Yeah, it can be tough, but His grace is enough...

donsands said...

Amazing when we think of our Savior having perfect motives. He always purposed to please the Father with perfect holy love and obedience.
No hidden agendas with our Lord.

And by His grace we can walk the walk that He walked. Never will it be to the degree of Christ's perfect loving holy obedience to the Father, but it should be in like manner.

This is a scary post, and also edifying.

Even So... said...

Right on, Don...all of grace, but that grace given walks in faith...

Anonymous said...

Hey, JD, Are you back in town yet? If so I hope your visit back home went real well.
Your post is one of those ouch and thank God type things, I'm just glad the ouch comes before the thank you Lord part. The other way would not be a good turn out.

Marcian said...

This is DEFINITELY something to keep in mind, always. There will not be a single person, myself included, who will ever "get away" with anything. We must ALWAYS examine our motives. And stay sober. Let the reality of the moment keep us in check. May everything we do be pleasing to the Lord.