There is nothing secret about sin. EVER. God always
knows what you are doing. Someone else always knows about it. It is never
truly secret.
Luke 8:17: “For nothing is hidden
that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and
come to light.”
Your sin will always come to light. The longer you
try to conceal it and live a double life, the more people will be affected by it
and the more consequences you have to face for it. This is especially true of
those who profess to love the Lord and be saved, and yet they live their lives
in a manner which sins against Him.
Romans
6:22-23: But now having been freed from sin and
enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the
outcome, eternal life. 23For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Let me be clear, if it is a sin in the bible, most
specifically the New Testament, it is a sin today. There are no exceptions
because you are a good person or doing right in other ways. It is still an
abomination to God. More specifically, if you are a Christian and you know
the Truth.
Hebrews
10:26:
For if we go on sinning
deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a fearful
expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries
If you are in a position that teaches, mentors, encourages
and professes God’s love, you are held to an even higher standard. Why? Because
all eyes are on you as you profess your faith and sin with your heart. You set
an example that can cause others to stumble into sin. Others will justify it as
you do. Children aren’t the only ones that say to themselves, “If they can do
it, I can.” Broken people who are still stumbling around like toddlers and
learning what faith is, need exemplary guidance, not hypocrisy.
James 3:1: Not many of you should become teachers, my
brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater
strictness.
So what happens when a Christian chooses to live in sin and
does not step down?
It is a vast betrayal that affects many lives. The longer
you sin, the more people will be hurt by it. It is a sin against God. It
bruises and tarnishes those who are watching. They are misinformed and led
astray. If you are in a position of authority, you violate that trust from the
superiors all the way to anyone you have ever preached to and worked with in
that capacity. In fact, everyone that saw you take that leap of faith and was
led to Christ may be negatively affected by the fact that it ‘appears’ to have
been fake. They might wonder how you can profess your faith and continue in
sin, knowing all that you do about God’s mercy and grace.
1
John 3:4: Everyone who makes a practice of sinning
also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5You know that he
appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6No
one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either
seen him or known him. 7Little children,
let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is
righteous. 8Whoever
makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works
of the devil. 9No
one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’sb
seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of
God. 10By
this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the
devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one
who does not love his brother.
There are always natural
consequences that evolve from continuous sin. Perhaps it is loss of your
position, loss of trust, loss of income, your home, your car…. But more
importantly, loss of trust, respect, and mostly, continual sin will rob you of
God’s blessing. This will affect your ability to truly serve Him in the
capacity that He called you to serve. You cannot live in darkness and serve the
light.
But you are not the
only person affected by your choice to continue in sin. Everyone, even those
who do not know you feel the negative impact of your fall from grace. People
already have unrealistic expectations of Christians. Your actions, knowing God
and sinning anyway, affect the “Christian” image of unbelievers. They will
carry that judgment of you over to other Christians. It will have a negative effect
on the success of the program, the church and others related to your position.
So you see, your sin is never secret, never justified and
never without consequences. It may seem as if you are ‘getting away with it’
but in reality, it is probably already affecting people around you who know or
think they know what you are doing.
There is still hope. You can surrender to God, confess your
sins, plead for forgiveness and turn from that sin and be in His good graces.
