Can My Sin be Private?

Clearly Season 6
Written By Jimmy & Kelly Needham

Some cheery news: Your sin is worse than you thought. More than an offense to others, the Bible teaches that every sin (even the hidden ones we don't think hurt anyone) is an assault against God Himself. How is this cheery?? 🤔 Cause as we'll see, though we're far worse off than we thought, our God is far more gracious than we could imagine. Praise Him!!

The Short Story:

God is the main character in our repentance.

If you think losing your temper with your kids only affects your kids, you’d be wrong.

If you think gossip only affects the one gossipped about, you’d be wrong.

If you think eating too much only affects you, you’d be wrong.

The primary person we offend in our sins of anger, gossip, and gluttony (and all sin for that matter) is God. 

Let’s see what the Bible says about this…

Psalm 51

King David committed adultery with the wife of one of his friends. Tried manipulating his friend and after that didn’t work, David arranged his murder.

Yikes.

This psalm is David’s prayer of repentance and it starts off like this: "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.”

Our initial response: Um, no David, you KILLED someone! Someone LOVED by others! You drastically changed a family’s life! Your sin was against them!

So why does David pray this way? He was emphasizing that the primary person injured by our sin is God. All sin against others is first and foremost a sin against their Creator. 

Genesis 39:7-9

Joseph is serving under Potiphar. Potiphar’s wife is attempting to seduce Joseph. Joseph refused.

Look at Joseph's logic: "Potiphar trusts me...so how could I sin against God?"

This shows us again that sin (and resisting sin) is about GOD - more than our fellow human beings.

Matthew 25:41-45

This passage clearly shows how our sin against others is an offense against Christ Himself. What's the offense in hurting people? It's hurting their Maker.

Application questions:

  • Remember book reports in middle school (or maybe your kids’ book reports)? Can you identify the author, main characters, and plot of the Bible? ✏️

  • Our sin isn’t about our relationship with others as much as it is about our relationship with God. Think about what this means for the sins we commit that we think “aren’t hurting anyone.” How does this argument lose its power?

  • How has this discussion influenced your view of sin? Have you been believing the lie that your sin can be “private”?

  • Dedicate some time to memorizing 1 John 1:8-2:1. This is a little bit longer than we usually suggest, but you can do it!

Want to ask us a question? Email question@clearlypodcast.com.

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Jimmy & Kelly Needham
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Saved for God's Sake!