Monday, November 1, 2021

Why Do People Sin In Secret?

Being Weak Requires Us To Resist Sin

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13 NIV). "...for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known".

Brethren, this week's article essentially appeals to born-again Christians and being the minister on this platform, it was revealed to us by the Lord that there are some Christian folk in general who sins shamelessly in secret. In a vision, I heard the Lord saying about those who sin in secret, "For that is when sinful behaviour is utterly expressed and when human desire is being fulfilled".  Did you ever hear somebody say, “I am just human and I am weak, so I sinned”? This is a very common excuse that most of us we make after we opted to disobey the Lord and commit a sinful offence, isn’t it? Well, it is true, we are weak and just human, but the word of the Lord says, “Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, "Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?" (Isaiah 29:15). Brethren, by writing these articles does not mean that we are not human or have struggled against the deceitfulness of sin, instead of being in this sinful body (Romans 7:24) requires us to be on our guard against the deceitfulness and addictions of sinful habits. As Christians, we have been called to wage war against sinful desires by not giving in to its passions of lusts (Galatians 5:16-17).

Our Daily Struggle Against Sin

Scripturally, we are not guaranteed a smooth path without any hindrance from sin (Genesis 4:7), we are however commanded to master it (1 Corinthians 9:27) and such mastery over sin comes through a consciousness of sin's presence and tempting advances. You may ask, how do I recognize that I am about to sin? Sin is driven by our desires and urges and it appeals to what may benefit our physical nature (James 1:14-15), also our urges defies all logic and authority, and being opportunistic, sin often creates inflated feelings with strong urges to gratify the passions we experience at the opportunity. To present a point with a strong argument, urges and passions to sin are always present in us, however, the Holy Spirit who convicts us, helps us overcome sin (Ephesians 5:18-21). Furthermore, we need to add, sin operates much more powerful when there is no restraint, in other words, sin is laid bare and operates unashamedly when it happens in secret (Ephesians 5:12) and every Christian who loves sinning operates in the dark (secretly) (John 3:20). Below, we share a short testimony of a brother who sinned secretly, take heed and be warned!

Additionally, with permission, a very close brother whom I greatly admire in the Lord recently shared with me how the Lord gave him a strong rebuke for sinning secretly. In his experience, brother J recalled how he opened his soul to shameful and appalling sin in secret and the more he realized that nobody was seeing him the more he engaged in this sickening habit. He further described that the more he indulged, the more his soul yearned for more and more, and after the defilement of his righteous soul, he felt guilty and the urge to repent like Adam and Eve in the Lord’s garden (Genesis 3:8) and after repenting, he did not escape the Lord’s rebuke.

Now, without giving too much detail he said that the Lord appeared in a vision to him and told him that he acted flippantly and that he did not take his salvation serious and the Lord further told him that he may have deleted those offensive files from his notebook, but the guilt of his conscience cannot be erased or deleted. Brethren, we can tell that this brother is living very close to the Lord and the rebuke he received from the Lord is proof that his actions greatly displeased and hurt the Lord.

In closing, are you operating in the dark (secretly) and flippant at the expense of your salvation? We urge you not to allow the secret addiction(s) of sin to drive you underground and away from the love of the Lord. Like our brother J, repent and join the light to receive favor and forgiveness (2 Corinthians 4:6; John 8:12). Therefore, let us not allow the weakness of our disobedient attitude as an excuse to sin.

Finally, if you are not yet born again, here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance to get you started. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Brother Glenn