Covering Sin

In 1 Corinthians 13:7 Paul mentions four qualities of love that are closely related: bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, and enduring all things. That might sound like love is indiscriminate and accepting of anything that comes along, but "all things" in that verse is qualified by the context. Love rejects jealousy, bragging, arrogance, and so on (vv. 4-6), but it bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things that are within the parameters of God's Word.

"Love bears all things" speaks of love's willingness to cover sins and protect sinners from further harm. That's opposite our tabloid-mentality society in which gossip is big business and people seemingly have an insatiable appetite for exposes and "true confessions."

Love seeks to protect, not expose. It confronts and disciplines sin but never broadcasts failures or wrongs. It feels the pain of those it loves and is willing to take that pain upon itself when necessary—as Christ did when He suffered for our sins.

In the Old Testament, the mercy seat was the place where the blood of atonement was sprinkled to cover the sins of the people (Lev. 16:14). That covering prefigured the perfect covering of sin that Christ brought through His death on the cross (Rom. 3:25-26). All who trust in Him are forever covered with the mantle of God's love.

You cannot cover sins in the redemptive sense, but you can help protect and restore its victims. Proverbs 10:12 says, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions." First Peter 4:8 says, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins."

When you hear of someone's sin, what is your first reaction? Do you think the worst of him or even gloat over his failures? Or do you expect the best and want to protect him from further exposure, ridicule, or harm? Are you willing to confront sin when necessary and even help bear the burden that person might be carrying? How you react indicates the quality of your love.

Thank God for covering your sins with Christ's blood. Commit yourself to loving others in a way that truly bears all things.

John MacArthur's tratment of "Covering Sin"

Here we see how far from the truth a man's opinions can take him. John MacArthur is often right in matters, but in this brief discussion so grossly misrepresents the character and function of Christian charity--agape love--as to be a grotesque caricaturization of it.

There are instances too numerous to count throughout the Old (under the Law) Testament and the New (under grace) Testament/Covenant/Will that flatly contradict the concept that love covers sinfulness without first exposing it.

One only needs to read the story of Nathan bringing David's adultery with Bathsheba to both him and to everyone that ever reads the Bible through to contradict JMac's argument.

Rectifying even a small koinonia-destroying trespass--an act directly contrary to Jesus' New Commandment of John 13:34--is a process aptly described by Him in Matthew 18:15-17; and it expressly applies to "Christians."

God's love for us is shown in his chastening of the sinful son by Paul's admonition of Hebrews 12:3-11, where if He allows sinfulness to continue in someone by ignoring it for a time, it is a clear indicator that the human's profession is false, and he/she is not saved at all.

On the one hand, nit-picking and finding fault is not the habitual conduct of a Christ-refined citizen of heaven, but failure to dispose disabling error is merely enabling it to continue, and I do so to this doctrinal misuse of Scripture by John MacArthur.

We need to take heed to Hebrews 7:1-2, where the Christophany Melchizedek (Melek-Tsaddikim) is FIRST just and righteous (which conduct exposes error), and AFTER THAT is peaceful and loving (which balm heals the wounds made by error whether deliberately inflicted, or accidentally suffered without intention).

Come now, let us reason together (Is. 1:18) and let the sins be seen and identified, and not rationalized as merely being hidden by "love".

The blood of bulls and goats used to be accepted by The Mighty God as hiding sin, not removing it. But no longer--Jesus' Blood washes it away. The gracious love of Christ is availabl only under the disciple-indwelling Holy Spirit of God, which removes the power of Sin as a master, and thus conquers sinfulness as a lifestyle by choosing to defeat it as a habit, rather than ignoring it privately or publicly..

Let us reason, not ignore it, and apply church discipline whenever needed, rather than enable sin by looking the other way (1 Cor. 5:1-8, 2 Cor. 2:6-7). Wrongly covering sin by ignoring it is not agape or phileo, it is one of Satan's extensive devices (2 Cor. 2:11).

And be advised that John MacArthur as a fallible man is not always right.

God hates sin, root and fruit!

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