Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper
Proverbs 28:13 - Whether you personally choose to publicly confess your sin or make confession just between you and God, it will open the door to His mercy.
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13 NIV
Have you ever tried covering up a sin? It’s perfectly normal to try to conceal our sins; it’s an instinct that seems to have been ingrained in our DNA by Adam and Eve. If we have a conscience (and some people don’t), we’re ashamed of what we did and we definitely don’t want others to see it. The biggest problem is that we think we can hide our sins from God.
Charles Spurgeon, in one of his sermons about this proverb, described the many ways in which we try to conceal our sins: excuses and justifications, secrecy, lies, schemes to evade responsibility, time, tears, ceremonies or sacraments. All of these tools of concealment fail. Sure, we might be able to conceal our sins from another human being for a lifetime, but we’ll never be successful in hiding them from God.
Bruce Waltke, in the New International Commentary on the Old Testament, noted that it is pride that makes us try to deceive others and God: “Out of his sinful pride he pretends before God and people that he has no need to confess; instead, he seeks to deceive.”1
This comment from Charles Bridges (19th century British theologian is quite stunning: “God and man each conceal sin — God in free unbounded grace, man in shame and hypocrisy”2
God gives us a path to mercy — to confess and repent (or renounce) our sin. As 20th century British pastor J.B. Meyer so eloquently said: “Confession is to take God's side against sin. It is the lifting out of one thing after another from heart and life, and holding them for a moment before God, with the acknowledgment that it is our fault, our grievous fault.”3
In the early Christian church, confession was done openly in front of the others in the congregation. The Catholic church and other churches since that time have placed the priest or pastor in place as a confession intermediary. New Covenant believers understand that confessing through an intermediary is described nowhere in scripture, and that we can confess directly to God as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice. From 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus”.
Yet public confession — in the sense of making your sin known to another person or persons — can further unburden one’s soul from guilt and shame. Enduring Word has some guidelines (in italics) to follow for those who wish to publicly confess:
Confession should be made to the one sinned against.
Confession should often be public (group confession).
Public confession must be discrete (in other words, it can be enough just to say, “I’ve sinned, and I need your prayers to help me battle through it”. Baring all of the details isn’t necessary.
Distinguish between secret sins and those which directly affect others. From J. Edwin Orr, “If you sin secretly, confess secretly, admitting publicly that you need the victory but keeping details to yourself. If you sin openly confess openly to remove stumbling blocks from those whom you have hindered.”4
Confession is often made to people, but before God. Once again, confessing your sin to others needs to be a request to those others to pray for you to get things right with God.
Confession should be appropriately specific. If openly confessing sin, make it specific, don’t just say “If I made any mistakes, I’m sorry.”
Confession should be thorough. Make the confessions to the person(s) concerned, make restitution where appropriate, and outline plans for how you will repent.
Confession must have honesty and integrity. Confessing with no real intention of repentance mocks God.
One need not fear that public confession of sin will inevitably get out of hand. Rather than getting overly emotional about your sorrow for sin, focus on Jesus and forgiveness.
Those who hear a confession of sin also have a great responsibility. Those hearing the confession (friends, a prayer group, a pastor or priest) should focus on providing loving intercessory prayer, not providing unnecessary advice or gossiping about the sin.
Whether you personally choose to publicly confess your sin or make confession just between you and God, it will open the door to His mercy.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I know that I am a sinner. Yet I also know that thanks to the work of Jesus on the cross, I can receive forgiveness for my sins. Help me to not conceal my sin, to confess it to you or others if I feel shame or guilt, and to repent fully of that sin. Your mercy is greater than my sin! AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica US, Inc.®. Used by permission.
Commentary quotations from Enduring Word are used with the written permission of the author
Waltke, Bruce K. "The Book of Proverbs: Chapters 15-31" (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2005)
Bridges, Charles "Proverbs" (The Crossway Classic Commentaries) (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2001 edition of 1846 original)
Meyer, F.B. "Our Daily Homily: Psalms-Song of Solomon" Volume 3 (Westwood, New Jersey: Revell, 1966)
Orr, J. Edwin "Full Surrender" (London: Marshall, Morgan, & Scott, 1951)