How Not To Admit Sin
Ponder: The lengths to which we will go to avoid admitting sin.
Scripture: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16a).
Step one in overcoming sin is to acknowledge it. Prideful creatures that we are, that is profoundly difficult! ever since the first sin in Eden, people have been inventing ways to avoid admitting sin.
It’s Not My Fault!
Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the serpent (Genesis 3:12, 13). While both excuses contained a germ of truth, Adam and Eve were responsible for their own behavior. Remember, when you’re point your finger at someone else, three fingers point back at you!
I Don’t Know!
If you can’t pass the buck, you can feign ignorance like Cain. When the Lord asked him where his brother Abel was (whom he had murdered), Cain responded: “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). Of course Cain was lying. While he couldn’t fool God (nor can we), we may try to fool others by pleading ignorance. Just watch a politician in a tight spot – “I don’t know . . . I have no knowledge . . . I am not aware . . . I don’t remember.”
Huh? Who, Me?
Another way to avoid acknowledging sin is to simply deny it. After laughing in disbelief at God’s promise, Sarah “denied it, saying, ‘I did not laugh’” (Genesis 18:15). Like Sarah, we often fear to own up to our sins. But denial only makes things worse, compounding our sin with another lie!
Because, Just Because
If these tactics don’t work, just offer a carload of reasons why your sin was ok. The men in Jesus’ parable (Luke 14) made excuses for spurning the invitation to supper: “I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go see it . . . I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them . . . I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” Our excuses are no better – the Lord sees through them all.
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Song: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus”
Prayer: Father above, our sins are too many and too frequent. Help us to repent; and when we sin, help us not to make excuses, but to confess our sins and forsake them. And when we do, we plead for Your forgiveness through the blood of Christ. In His name, Amen.
Joe Slater (Justin, TX)