Friday, January 4, 2008
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It's one of the most popular convention locations in the United States - Las Vegas. We can each guess as to what some of the reasons for its popularity might be. But it's become a popular destination for people other than conventioneers. A recent advertising campaign is offering Las Vegas as the place to go if you want to get away with something. Using some scenes that suggest some covert relationships and secret romantic liaisons, the tantalizing promise that flashes across the screen simply says: "What you do here stays here." Wrong!
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Myth of Secret Sin."
This isn't about a particular city or an advertising campaign. It's about that dark side of all of us that the idea of "getting away with it" appeals to. There is this instinct in us that seems to say, "What you do when you're alone, when you're away from home, when you're 'off duty,' when no one knows you, you can do it and no one will ever know. It doesn't count." What a lie!
Hebrews 4:13, our word for today from the Word of God, assures us that "nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." It couldn't be more blunt. God has seen it all. And if God knows, and He does, you're caught. Oh, the consequences, the judgment may not come instantaneously, but be sure they will come. In the words of Numbers 32:23, "Be sure your sin will find you out." There's no such thing as anonymous sin; as sin you get away with.
What we just read describes God, the great Creator of the universe and the Creator of you, as "Him to whom we must give account." You will stand before God one day, and no one knows when their appointment with God is. There will be no excuses, no rationalizations, no cover-ups, no plea bargains—only reckoning. What you think is a secret is not a secret with the only One who really matters. Romans 2:16 says, "God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ" ( Romans 2:16). Maybe you've fooled everyone. You can't fool Him.
The thought of facing the judgment of the God against whom we've all rebelled is nothing short of terrifying. As the Bible says, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" ( Hebrews 10:31). But the amazing good news Jesus brought is that you and I don't have to pay the awful, eternal death penalty for our sin. Someone already did. Jesus did. In the words of the Bible, "He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" ( 1 John 4:10). Imagine, God's love for you is so great that He poured the hell for your sin against Him on His own Son so you would never have to pay for it yourself. So you could spend eternity in the heaven that you could never deserve rather than the hell you do deserve. He really, really loves you. He went a long way to forgive you.
But you have to first face your sin and see it for what it is - the defiant hijacking of your life from the God who made you. Then you have to decide you're ready to turn from the sin that killed Him and place your life in His hands, which is where you were created to be anyway. And the weight of a lifetime of sinning the weight of a lifetime of secrets and darkness can come off your shoulders this very day because, as the Bible says, "The blood of Jesus His Son, purifies us from all sin" ( 1 John 1:7). He is alive today. You can tell Him right now, "Jesus, Your death for my sin is my only hope and I am Yours."
If that's what you want, I want to encourage you to visit our website where I think there's some things I’ve put there that will help you be sure you've begun your relationship with Him. I hope you know how to do that. Here's the website. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I have a little booklet called Yours For Life with that information in it, and you can call toll free for it at 877-741-1200.
This can be the day of your new beginning, when God's spiritual shower makes you clean and every sin of your life is erased from His book forever. This could be the day that your judgment is cancelled.