The Enemy in the Camp Part 14: Hiding Sin
There seems to be an epidemic of hiding sin amongst the body of believers today. I’m not speaking of them hiding their own sin, but it appears to be commonplace to hide the sin of others solely to avoid confrontation or conflict. I ask, “How can these be the godly acts of a believer or follower of Christ?” This often manifests in a lack of church discipline.
This is plain and simply an act of fear—not addressing sinful acts and or behavior—and, as I understand the Word, is itself a sin. Have we not read in Ezekiel 3:18 If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.?
The exact phrase “fear not” is stated in the Bible 71 times, and similar phrases teaching us not to fear are mentioned 365 times. If God inspired the writers to speak this so often, it must be something very important for His followers to learn.
Fear comes from a lack of confidence and courage. The actor John Wayne once said, “Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.” If we allow our outward action to be dictated by our inability, then we easily become fearful.
Some fear conflict; they fear it because they lack a depth of knowledge of God and confidence in the promise that He goes before us and will fight for us. I often say that I have no expectation of the lost, but I hold those that proclaim the name of our Lord Jesus to the same high standard I hold myself to.
There was a time that I would outwardly say that I don’t care if it upsets someone when speaking the truth of the Word or truth in principle of the Word. I do care, it hurts my heart when people are offended by the truth, and so I have stopped saying that I don’t care.
However, I will continue to teach, preach, and proclaim the truth of God’s Holy Word knowing that some will get angry, some upset and offended, and some will shut me out. The reality is, those that reject truth are in fact rejecting Jesus and not me or whoever is presenting the truth.
There are beneficial fears/respect such as the fear of falling or of other dangerous things. These fears instill caution, but we should not allow them to hinder us. Many professing believers fear conviction, and so they avoid some teachings; even clergy members fear preaching, teaching, and even speaking on topics that will cause conviction in people.
These men of God fear the reaction of the flock more than they fear the chastisement of God. At this point, I often ask the question, “Whom do you serve—is it people or the Lord?”
Fear of conviction is illogical for the Christian. We should never fear conviction but should rejoice in it! Conviction shows us where we need improvement, so we can make correction and become better followers of Christ.
I am very thankful for conviction. I want to be as close to the man God wants me to be as I possibly can. Sadly, the fear of conviction in some is a fear of becoming exposed; they don’t want to admit, even to themselves, that they fall short in some area. This is hiding sin, and hidden sins are the building blocks of evil strongholds.
2 Corinthians 10: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
I have seen and heard some that take offense when fearing the Lord is taught. This is an internal fear of exposing the idol of self, because if we submit in fearing the Lord then we must surrender our self in recognition of our lowliness compared to the majesty of God.
There are far too many that just can’t seem to do that. A healthy fear that I have not touched on is the lack of being well-versed in the Word. Weakness in the Word leaves us vulnerable and prone to attack and failure.
This begins a circle of fear in the lack of understanding, which brings exposure to spiritual attack, apprehension of becoming exposed in weakness, and losing false status. That idol of self is a strong evil, and it strives to remain hidden.
Hidden sin is the adversary’s way of robbing us of the grace and blessings of God, and it maintains an infantile state of Christianity, even a false belief that we are saved. Hidden sin manufactures strongholds, and strongholds consume.
Once consumed with hidden sin, the person will soon find themselves devoured. Ephesians 6: 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
When we intentionally hide sin we are not serving God; we are serving Satan. John 8: 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
“If you don’t have it in the 66 books of the Bible, God didn’t say it.”
-John MacArthur