No Hiding It

 “In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭7‬:‭14‬ ‭ESV

We freely admit our imperfection. We readily admit that we make a lot of mistakes. However, even though this is true, we have a tendency to cover up or to hide our sins.

We seem to think that, as long as no one knows about our sin, it’s no big deal. As long as it remains hidden, it doesn’t matter. And as long as no one finds out, our guilt is inconsequential.

We fail to recall, however, that God is all-knowing. We seem to forget that he is everywhere present. And we fail to recognize that nothing can be hidden from him.

What I’m saying is that, even if our sins are unknown to any other, they are known by God. Even if it seems we’ve gotten away with it, our guilt remains. And even if it seems we’ve escaped the penalty we deserve, we are deluding ourselves.

We see this in the passage above. God had commanded that, as he gave the city of Jericho to the people of Israel, no plunder was to be taken. Everything and everyone in the city was devoted to destruction.

This meant that every man, woman, and child was to die. It meant that every animal was to be killed. It meant that every material object was to be burned. And it meant that whatever could not be burned, such as gold and silver, was to be put into the treasury of the Lord.

A man named Achan, however, took some of the spoils. He took some of it and buried it in his tent. And it seemed that he’d gotten away with it.

The Lord revealed to Joshua, however, that this sin had been committed. And he instructed Joshua as to how the guilty person would be revealed. We see these instructions in the passage above.

As they walked through this process, Achan was singled out. And, at this point, he admitted what he’d done. The items he’d taken were found right where he said they’d be.

Achan, then, suffered the penalty of his sin. He was given the penalty of death. And he was stoned by the people.

Again, even if it seems that we’ve gotten away with our sin, it’s not unknown to God. Even if it seems that no one knows, and that we’re in the clear, it is not hidden from God. And even if we escape the consequence of our guilt in this life, we cannot escape it when we stand before God.

The only thing we can do is confess our sin. The only thing we can do is throw ourselves onto the mercy of God. The only thing we can do is trust in Christ, who bore our sin and died in our place, that we might live.

The Basis of our Appeal

 “Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!”

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭44‬:‭26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When we are experiencing a need, we pray. When we’re facing a crisis, we cry out to the Lord. And we do so, we look to him, knowing that he can help.

This is good. It is right. But when we appeal to God, we tend to do so on the basis of our goodness. When we cry out to God, we do so on the basis of our faithfulness. 

We believe and insist, in other words, that God owes us his help. We believe that, in light of our goodness, he is obligated to help us. We believe that, in light of our faithfulness, God is compelled to bless us.

This even leads us, at times, to accuse God. When we don’t receive the blessing for which we have asked, we believe him to lack justice. When we don’t receive the blessing of which we believe we’re deserving, we believe God to be unloving.

The problem, however, is that we are not good. What we fail to realize is that we are not faithful. What we fail to realize is that, if God’s help, if his blessing is dependent upon us in any way, we have no reason to be confident in it.

If his blessing is dependent upon us in any way, we’re left in a state of doubt and uncertainty. If his blessing is dependent upon us in any way, we’re without hope. In fact, if his blessing is dependent upon us in any way, we’re deserving of nothing but wrath.

As we look at the above passage, the Psalmist cries out to the Lord. And as he does so, he acknowledges the only basis by which we can appeal to God. He appeals to God, and he looks to God for help, based not on anything in or about himself.

He appeals to God on the basis of his (God’s) nature. He appeals to God on the basis of his (God’s) character. He appeals to God specifically on the basis of his (God’s) steadfast love.

He appeals to God for help because he is loving. He appeals to God for help because he is faithful. He appeals to God for help knowing that he is unchanging.

When we appeal to God in this way, the equation is completely different. When we appeal to God on the basis of who he is, rather than who we are, we know that our confidence is well placed. When we appeal to God on the basis of his nature and character, rather than our own, we can have a genuine hope.

As the Lord is God, his help is beyond question. As the Lord is perfect, his blessing is certain. As the Lord is sinless, his grace is certain. And as the Lord is unchanging, his favor is certain.

Set Free From Sin

 “Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.””

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

When it comes to sin, we have a tendency to excuse it. We have a tendency to believe that, as Christ forgives us, what we do no longer matters. We have a tendency to believe that, as his grace depends not on us or anything we do, we are free to do whatever we please. 

We see in the above passage, however, that this is far from the case. A crowd had brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery, reminding him that, according to the Law, such people were to be put to death. And they asked what he said.

He told them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. Hearing this, the people began to go away, from the oldest to the youngest. And they did so until no one was left.

Jesus then asked the woman who condemned her. She replied that no one had done so. And he declared that neither did he condemn her.

Although she had sinned, she received forgiveness. Although she deserved judgment, she received mercy. And, as we consider our own sin, this is something that is very comforting.

This, however, was not the end of the matter. After saying this, he said yet one more thing. He told her that, from then on, she was to sin no more.

The woman, you see, was not saved for sin. She was not saved that she might continue in sin. She was saved from sin. She was saved from the bondage and the condemnation of sin.

Although she’d received his forgiveness, and set free from the consequences of her sin, she was not free to continue her adulterous relationship. She was called to end it. And she was called upon to live a life of righteousness.

In saying this, Jesus was not expecting perfection from a sinner. He was, however, calling the woman to repentance. He was calling her to turn from her sin.

The same is true of us, as we receive his grace and mercy. We are saved not because of anything that we do, but by what Christ has done for us. We are, however, called to repentance. We are called to turn from our sin and, with his help and strength, to live a life that glorifies him.

Whenever we sin, we come to him, confessing our guilt, seeking his forgiveness. We receive the grace, obtained for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection. And we seek his strength, and we might live for him.