Secret Faults and Presumptuous Sins

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me of secret faults. Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins. Let these not have dominion over me, then I shall be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression (Ps.19:12-13) 

Secret faults, or “hidden” faults are only hidden to ourselves. These are the matters that are more of a “heart” nature, rather than outward deeds.  These secret faults are so ingrained in our corrupted nature that they lay hidden from our eyes, “our perceptions”, and continue unnoticed for years.  Though they may be hidden, they are influencing us and our perception of ourselves and others.  Our ego justifies these hidden qualities and as a result, these faults remain in darkness, deep within us, resisting God and ensnaring us. 

Only God can expose them, and when He does, how grieved we are to discover the depths of corruptions and sin that yet remains unyielded to God.  These faults are most often camouflaged, and we are skillful to keep them hidden.  Who can understand his errors?  Who among us can see so objectively into our hearts to hand select those faults, and tease them out from what has been the better part of our personality?  All that is of the flesh, that is, that which has not yet been circumcised, encrusts our hearts making it impossible to truly love others, nor fully love God. 

If we are honest with ourselves, we find we must admit that we may love others, but only up to a degree that certainly falls far short of God’s standard…putting the needs of others above our own, thinking they are better than ourselves, and can we honestly say we love our enemies?  Those who continually do us harm? 

It is a fruitless to exercise ourselves to love others in our own strength, we will only come so far before realizing we’ve not the stamina to keep it up, and we find our hearts become burdened with resentments and self-preservation for some people exhaust us.  After numerous failures to meet God’s standards, we discover the impossibilities and throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus saying “this is impossible with me, but nothing is impossible with You”.  Jesus the Christ is the Great Physician and He is ever willing to address those places in our hearts that obstruct the flow of His Holy Spirit of love.  Not only this, but to release our hearts from their contracted prison.

No one finds the key to this prison door and the keys to heaven who have not yet put away known sin.  Often we are quite skillful in engaging in sin and justifying ourselves in the process.  So-called “white-lies” violate God’s standards as fully as any other lie.  Our actions borne of desperation testifies of our lack of faith and everything that is not of faith, is sin (Rom.14:23).  Every sin justified by ourselves has not been confessed and repented of and as a result, disqualifies us from the blessings we seek, for we stand at enmity with God whenever we yield to the flesh and sinful behaviors.  Integrity is so vital in our Christian journey.  We must bring everything to the light of God’s judgment and humble ourselves, being ever teachable and yielding to the potter’s hand, lest we be found to be dried up clay, useless to the potter.

We must utterly forsake sin and stop justifying it in ourselves.  Justifying our sinful attitudes and behaviors only damages us and renders us useless to God and leaves us struggling against darkness.  No true Christian should ever feel comfortable in sin that is knowingly indulged, a true born again believer will sense the charge of “hypocrite” and have a sense of dread for his outlook knowing how Jesus felt about hypocrites.

But we have a patient and merciful God who empathizes with our struggles and is ever willing to help us in our walk and sanctification, so if when we sin, having been convicted and then repent in response, confessing our sin to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.  Never presume that this is a license to sin, for being a hypocrite puts a person in a whole different class of people.  Let us examine ourselves and invite God to expose to us those sins we have long embraced if we are to be fully surrendered to God.