Sermon
delivered on November 1st, 2015
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Text:
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
If
we go around our neighborhood and ask a hundred people, "What is the
biggest problem that mankind faces today?" the answers we would get would
be many and varied.
I
believe some of the answers would include lack of education, homeland security,
terrorism, violence, economy, poverty, hunger, disregard for human life, basic
human rights, racial tension, pollution, population explosion, global warming,
mortality, religion and the list could go on and on.
Now
each of these is a serious problem, and there are no quick and easy solutions
to any of these problems. But as serious as many of these problems are, still
none of these is man's biggest problem. So what is it? Man's biggest problem
is sin and how do we get rid of it.
Sin
is a tragic reality. It is universal. It is the ugliest thing in this life. It
is evil. It is destructive. Sin destroys individuals, families, churches and
nations.
So,
the greatest problem mankind is facing, is sin and how to solve and get rid of
it.
Ever
since the Fall, men have attempted to solve the problem of sin. In fact, our
first parents attempted to do so.
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make
one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.
After
Adam and Eve disobeyed God and discovered that they were naked immediately they
set about to make themselves a covering.
7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons.
"They
sewed fig leaves together." They gathered fig tree leaves and weave it together and
made coverings for themselves. This was a desperate attempt to cover their sin
and it proved to be a miserable failure.
8: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the
garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Our
first parents attempted to conceal their sin and guilt and hide from God.
Since
then, it has not changed, men have been trying to cover their sin and to get
rid of it by their own inventions and have never succeeded.
Today,
I want to look at two possible ways to get rid of sin, to possible ways of covering
sin.
I
want us to consider the Covering, the Consequence and the Call.
I - The Covering
There
are two basic ways of covering sin - man's way and God's way.
1. Man's Way
Just
like our first parents, men and women have "sewed fig leaves
together" to clothed themselves
and cover their sins. What are the ways men cover their sins?
1)
By Silence
When
David committed the sin of adultery and murder, he tried to cover his sin. For
the whole year he covered his sin by his silence. He tried to ignore his sins.
There was no confession, no acknowledgement of sin and because of this he did
not prosper.
People
cover their sin by their silence. They have never confessed to God their
sinfulness, their helplessness, their hopelessness.
We
may attempt to cover our sins by silence or by ignoring them but the Bible
says, we will not prosper.
2)
By Excusing sin
Another
way men conceal their sins is by excusing or minimizing their sins. A good
example of one who minimized his sin is King Saul. (1 Samuel 15)
God
had told Saul to kill the enemy, the Amalekites, and the animals but he
disobeyed God, he spared King Agag and best of the sheep and the oxen. When
Samuel came the next day, God had revealed it to him, Saul came to Samuel and
saying "Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of
the LORD" (1
Samuel 15:13). Then Samuel said "What
meaneth is this bleating of the sheep in my ears". (1 Samuel 15:14)
Samuel
replied, "Really, what then is this sound of sheep and cattle that I
hear?"
And
Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared
the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and
the rest we have utterly destroyed. (1 Samuel 15:14)
What
is Saul doing? He was rationalizing. He was downplaying his sin. Saul spared
Agag and he looked at those sheep and oxen and reasoned that to kill them,
would be a waste, for they could be used as sacrifice to God.
It
is no different today, like Saul, many downplay their sins. Today people commit
adultery and fornication and cover it by minimizing and saying,
"Everybody is doing it." "We are not hurting anybody." "Well, we live
in a different age, in a different society."
But
regardless of what Hollywood and our society says, adultery and fornication is
still sin.
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper ...
When
we cover our sins by minimizing it, we shall not prosper and we shall not find
mercy with God.
3)
Shifting responsibility
Still
another way of men hiding their sin is by blaming others and situations for
their sins. Here is something that is ingrained in our heart and it is obvious
we got this from our first parents because this is what they did when God
confronted them with their sin.
Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto
him, Where art thou? 10: And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I
was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11: And he said, Who told
thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee
that thou shouldest not eat? 12: And the man said, The woman whom thou
gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13: And the LORD
God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The
serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
In
stead of going to God for forgiveness Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin by
blaming each other, the Devil and God Himself.
Flip
Wilson's wife is in the habit of buying new dress to which Flip is not happy.
Another new dress? Why did you buy another one? I didn't buy it, the Devil made
me do it!
People
cover their sins by shifting responsibility. People blame their background,
their culture, the society, their personality, the way they were raised, what
their parents did or did not do.
"True
I lost my temper and I said words I should have not said, but if they had not
provoked me."
Instead
of going to God, "Lord forgive me for
my anger." We blame our
children, our wife, our husband, our parents and if we do that, the Bible says
...
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper ...
4)
Religious activities, rituals and deeds
This
is the most subtle covering for sin. Christians and non-Christians cover their
sins by engaging in religious activities, hoping that it would wash away their
sins.
This
is the most subtle covering for sin.
Isaiah 58:1 Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a
trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
sins. 2: Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that
did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me
the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. 3:
Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we
afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your
fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. 4: Behold, ye fast for
strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast
as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. 5: Is it such a fast
that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his
head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call
this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?
They
were not church absentees, or they were not out there playing golf on Sundays?
They come to the Temple regularly, they were eager to know God's ways, they fast
regularly, and they did not fall asleep on the preacher. They were active. But
the problem was that all their activities were nothing but a cover up for the
sin of their own hearts.
Are
you covering your sins with religious activities? Church attendance, prayer
meeting, soul winning, teaching, preaching, praying? No amount of religious
activities can cover or wash away sin.
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper ...
2. God's Way
God
covers sin and how does He cover sin?
Isaiah 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9: For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts.
1)
He uncovers it
Before
He can cover our sins He must uncover us and our sins. God wants us to get rid
of all the "fig leaves we have sawn together to conceal our sins."
Oh,
how different is God's way of covering sins.
In
the process of covering our sins, He uncovers it. He exposes it. This exposing
of sin is a manifestation of the mercy of God. He convicts and when He convicts
we know that mercy and forgiveness is always offered? He does not convict to
condemn, He convicts to forgive and to show mercy.
Let
God uncover it.
Psalm 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and
know my thoughts: 24: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting.
2)
He covers it
After
God uncovers our sins in mercy and grace, bringing in us into a place where we
get rid of the "fig tree leaves" we have sewn together, then He
covers our sins in mercy and grace.
There
is a wonderful statement in ...
Psalm 85:2 Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou
hast covered all their sin. Selah.
There
is the covering made by God in His grace. That is the blood of Jesus Christ.
Our sins are covered when God forgives our sins for the sake of His Son.
Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered. 2: Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Romans 4: 6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the
man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7: Saying, Blessed are
they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8:
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
When
God covers sin, the sin is not just concealed, but the covered sin is wiped out
and forgotten by God.
Micah 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his
anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. 19:
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness,
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Do
not cover it. Let God uncover it. This is the way of mercy. Only God can cover
our sins. Men cannot do it. Do not attempt to do what you cannot do. Do not
attempt what God alone could do.
II - The Consequence
Two
very different outcomes to each of the covering of sin.
1. Outcome of man's covering
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper,
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Shall
not prosper that is, those who attempt to sew "fig tree leaves for
covering" shall not prosper.
We
shall not prosper in the sense that we will not succeed in hiding it. We may
try to hide and bury our sins but we will not succeed. We cannot hide it
from ourselves, because our own conscience will testify against it.
And ultimately, we cannot hide it from God, and God will call us to give
an account for it.
We
shall not prosper in the sense that we will not receive mercy and forgiveness.
Listen
to the confession of David in ...
Psalm 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long. 4: For day and night thy hand was heavy
upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
While
David kept silent, his bones waxed old. David felt the hand of God heavy upon
his soul. His health was affected. He was spiritually, emotionally and
physically exhausted because he covered his sin by silence.
David
did not succeed because his conscience testified against him and as a result for a
whole year he had no sense of forgiveness, no peace of mind and no clear
conscience.
2. Outcome of God's covering
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Those
who expose their sins by confessing and forsaking them shall prosper. They
shall receive mercy and forgiveness full and free.
Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose
sin is covered. 2: Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Who
wouldn't choose prosperity? Who wouldn't choose success? Who wouldn't choose
blessings? Who wouldn't choose mercy? Who wouldn't choose forgiveness?
None
of us would choose failure over success? So, why do we? What is it about
covering our sins instead of confessing them? Could it be because we love our
sins more than forgiveness? Could it be we are too proud to expose them?
III - The Call
Proverb 28:13 He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
God
calls us to repentance. God calls us to confess and forsake sin. The promise of
mercy and forgiveness do not apply to those who "sew fig tree leaves for
their covering". The promise of mercy is for those who uncover their sin
by confessing and forsaking sin.
Psalm 34:18 The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken
heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Mercy there was
great and grace free
Pardon there was
multiplied to me
There my burdened
soul found liberty
At Calvary!
IV - Closing Thoughts
I
close with this reminder and invitation. Jesus Christ came into the world not
only to confirm that God is just but also merciful and ready to forgive.
Do
you need forgiveness? Turn from your sin this morning, trust in Jesus Christ as
your Saviour and Lord, and you will find a wideness in God's mercy like the
wideness of the sea.
He
that covers his sins before God by silence, by rationalization, and by shifting
the blame and by religious activities shall not prosper now and shall never
know the joy of forgiveness and shall not know the delights reserved for the
people of God.
Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon
him while he is near: 7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon
him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
AMEN!