The Right Way To Cover Sin

"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;" Romans 4:7 (NKJV)

People who sin do not, as a rule, want their wrongdoing exposed to the light of truth and righteousness.

"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. {20} "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. {21} "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God." John 3:19-21 (NKJV)

This is especially true of people who make any pretension of doing right. There is something about sin that makes men want it covered, and there are two ways of doing that------------------a wrong way ------ and a right way.

"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV)

"You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah" Psalms 85:2 (NKJV)

It is our purpose in this study to consider both ways ------ so that we may do the right way and avoid the wrong way.

The reason why men want their sins covered

Because they do not want the disapproval of Him who will condemn and punish their sins. This is illustrated in the very beginning with Adam and Eve.

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden.... So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."... Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate." Genesis 3:6-8,10,12 (NKJV)

The physical covering came as a result of sin and covered our nakedness, therefore we no longer feel exposed to the world or to God.

"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. {13} And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13 (NKJV)

The first sinners were not able to conceal their sins from God and neither can we.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." Romans 7:7 (NKJV)

How do we learn of our sins------through His law.

The voice of God in the garden caused man to come out from his hiding place and confess his sin. We too, should hear His voice (through out His inspired Word), realize our own spiritual nakedness, and flee to the Lord Jesus for a covering.

The wrong way to cover sins.

Most everyone tries to hide or cover their sins, but unfortunately, a large percentage of the people try to cover them in the wrong way.

a: some deny spiritual things and life after death even the existence of God

b: some do not even try to cover their sins.

c: some even approve of others practicing sin.

d: biblical examples;

1. Adam tried to blame the woman

2. Achan tried to hide it among his possessions

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel." Joshua 7:1 (NKJV)

"Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff." Joshua 7:11 (NKJV)

"Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you." Joshua 7:13 (NKJV)

Now Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me." And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done:" Joshua 7:19-20 (NKJV)

3. David tried to push it off on someone else----when that failed he committed another sin. Anytime we try to hide a sin, it takes another type of sin to keep it hidden.

"Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child." Then David sent to Joab, saying, "Send me Uriah the Hittite." And Joab sent Uriah to David." 2 Samuel 11:4-6 (NKJV)

And he wrote in the letter, saying, "Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die." 2 Samuel 11:15 (NKJV)

"Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also." 2 Samuel 11:17 (NKJV)

"And when her mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD." 2 Samuel 11:27 (NKJV)

Prehaps the easiest and subtle way to cover sins is the passing of time. Time seems to mend a lot of problems for a lot of people, but we must remember that any sin not repented of will cause us to miss heaven no matter how long ago it took place.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV)

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NKJV)

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:31 (NKJV)

The right way to cover sin.

We must realize that no sin is covered unless it is forgiven.

The terms of forgivness for erring Christians.

They must confess and acknowledge their sins. We have many examples of this in scripture.

"And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, "I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and my people and I are wicked." Exodus 9:27 (NKJV)

"And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back." Numbers 22:34 (NKJV)

"Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice." 1 Samuel 15:24 (NKJV)

"So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." 2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV)

"And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly." 2 Samuel 24:10 (NKJV)

"please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father's house and I have sinned." Nehemiah 1:6 (NKJV)

"I said, "LORD, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You." Psalms 41:4 (NKJV)

"I will bear the indignation of the LORD, Because I have sinned against Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light; I will see His righteousness." Micah 7:9 (NKJV)

"saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Matthew 27:4 (NKJV)

"'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you," Luke 15:18 (NKJV)

"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' Luke 15:21 (NKJV)

"Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will do no more." Job 34:32 (NKJV)

"So Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned." Numbers 12:11 (NKJV)

"And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, "Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!" Numbers 14:40 (NKJV)

"Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people." Numbers 21:7 (NKJV)

"Then you answered and said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.' And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain." Deuteronomy 1:41 (NKJV)

"And the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, saying, "We have sinned against You, because we have both forsaken our God and served the Baals!" Judges 10:10 (NKJV)

"And the children of Israel said to the LORD, "We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray." Judges 10:15 (NKJV)

"So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the LORD. And they fasted that day, and said there, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah." 1 Samuel 7:6 (NKJV)

"Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.' 1 Samuel 12:10 (NKJV)

"yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness';" 1 Kings 8:47 (NKJV)

"yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness';" 2 Chronicles 6:37 (NKJV)

"We have sinned with our fathers, We have committed iniquity, We have done wickedly." Psalms 106:6 (NKJV)

"Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the LORD, He against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, Nor were they obedient to His law." Isaiah 42:24 (NKJV)

"You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned; In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved." Isaiah 64:5 (NKJV)

"We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God." Jeremiah 3:25 (NKJV)

"Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, And let us enter the fortified cities, And let us be silent there. For the LORD our God has put us to silence And given us water of gall to drink, Because we have sinned against the LORD." Jeremiah 8:14 (NKJV)

"O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name's sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You." Jeremiah 14:7 (NKJV)

"We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You." Jeremiah 14:20 (NKJV)

"The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned!" Lamentations 5:16 (NKJV)

"we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments." Daniel 9:5 (NKJV)

"O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You." Daniel 9:8 (NKJV)

"Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him." Daniel 9:11 (NKJV)

"And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly!" Daniel 9:15 (NKJV)

"He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV)

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

"So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die." 2 Samuel 12:13 (NKJV)

They must repent of their sins and ask forgiveness

"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." Acts 8:22 (NKJV)

"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:16 (NKJV)

The terms of forgiveness for alien sinners. (non christians)

They must have faith in Jesus Christ and God.

"Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."John 8:24 (NKJV)

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17 (NKJV)

They must repent of their sin and put it away forever.

"I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." Luke 13:3 (NKJV)

"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent," Acts 17:30 (NKJV)

After confession of this faith and repentance one must be baptized for the removal of those sins.

"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:16 (NKJV)

"Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days." Acts 10:47-48 (NKJV)

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. {16} "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV)

"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." {37} Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" {38} Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:36-38 (NKJV)

Have you been trying to hide your sins or will you take the courage to acknowledge your sins and ask God to forgive them?

Return to the Sermons page