Covering Sin - Devotional

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. For Further Study

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2
For my cleansing this I see—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this my plea—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
3
Nothing can my sin erase
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Naught of works, ’tis all of grace—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
4
This is all my hope and peace—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
This is all my righteousness—
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Good study.

One little thing.

God created Paradise for those who obeyed his law in the Old Testament times, and Covered their sin by the blood of a lamb, bull, or goat.
Their sin was still “stuck” to them, but Covered, like sweeping dirt under a rug. You can’t see it but it is still there.
Because of that, those believers in O.T. times could not be in God’s presence, so in His great mercy, He created Paradise, which was right across a large, deep pit from Hell. (Luke 16:19-31).
This was also the place that Jesus told the thief who believed on Him that he would be that day.(Luke 23:39-43).
So, as the scripture says, that he descended into the earth, He did, just not in to Hell, but Paradise, like he said.
When he died on the cross, He spoke the greatest words ever spoken on this earth. “It is finished”. When he said that, the price to forgive our sins was paid in full. Gods justice was satisfied. Our sins could now be FORGIVEN!.
When Jesus rose from the dead, he overcame death and the grave, giving those who believe in Him the hope of overcoming death and the grave, just like Jesus did, but through the same power that raised Jesus alive from the grave.
So, our sins are now Forgiven, not covered, but Gone. That is why when Jesus rose from the dead, the spirits of those in Paradise could now be in Gods presence, because their sin, too, was now Forgiven, gone. Paradise is now empty.
That is why Paul could say, “to be absent from the body is to be immediately present with the LORD.”
This is the greatest thing to ever happen to the human race.

Amen.

One more little thing:

Since the Day of Peter's Pentecost preaching and the coming into believers of the Holy Spirit, ALL the born agains have GOD abiding int heir born again spirit, so the new spirit cannot sin for God abides therein. The Word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, able to separate soul and spirit.

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