Historians weren’t sure if Reformer Huldrych Zwingli had been sexually promiscuous with the daughter of a prominent citizen. Misbehaving priests weren’t uncommon in the 16th century, yet such gossip seemed like something his Roman Catholic enemies might spread to discredit Zwingli.
The ambiguity lasted until the 19th century, when Johannes Schulthess discovered a letter written by Zwingli in the archives in Zurich. The Reformer’s words revealed that he had been guilty, but also that he had recommitted to living a chaste life.
Schulthess didn’t want to tarnish his hero’s legacy, so he showed the letter to his student and then held it in the flame of his candle. After a moment he had second thoughts, and he pulled the letter away to preserve what was left. He turned to his student and proclaimed, “Protestantism is the truth in all circumstances.”
It’s tempting to cover up a friend’s sin, but ultimately we’re causing more harm if we delay the inevitable. I know a missionary who sexually abused children. Rather than turn him over to the police, his missionary agency brought him home for unspecified reasons. Thirty years later, the now adult women are telling the world what he did. They’re still searching for healing, and the reputation of the man and the agency are shot.
Proverbs 28:13 states, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” We do our friends no favors when we cover for them or excuse their sin. They need us to confront their sin and pray for their repentance. This may lead to some hard conversations, but it’s what we must do out of love.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 13:1-21
More:
Read James 5:16-18 to learn what we should do with our own sins.
Next:
What embarrassing sin are you covering up for a friend? How might you confront that person in a way that respects both him or her and the person who was sinned against?
alli on August 8, 2013 at 9:19 am
This is tru but we should confess bc God asks us to, even though we receive mercy sometimes consequences linger, our motivation has got to come from a wanting to obey God only not if we confess we’ll get mercy yes we may but even if we experience negative consequences failure to confess would b much worse
Tricia Fry on August 8, 2013 at 11:14 am
This is such a good message as I have struggled with the consequences of my ex-husband who did confess to sexual abuse of my daughter. I am grateful for his confession but my pain continues. It has been 9 years since his confession and he is serving a 30 year prison sentence. Until this message, I didn’t see that he was obeying God so strongly. I just thought he was following God’s leading. I havent spoken to him since then and have been heartbroken and looking to quench the pain for 9 years. My church has been wonderful for me and supported him as well.
I guess my message is that even though the person who commits the sin has consequences there are often others that are victims also. Do you have any verses/groups that you can reccommend for me to look into.
Thank you for your ministry and help. Tricia
ehdlive on August 8, 2013 at 11:46 pm
Sin is detestable to GOD. That’s why He demands that a person who commits sin must be punished. A retribution must be served to meet God’s requirement for justice and holiness. But we should not stop from there. The need to extend mercy and forgiveness must also be served. This is inevitable to prevent the emergence of yet another sin like hatred, resentment, wrath, and the like.
We must hate sin, but not the sinner, for we were once an enemy of God, too, because of our sins. But God chose to pardon and save us because of His amazing love and mercy. He redeemed us not by silver and gold, but by His own precious blood.
Could we not do the same? Anyway, we don’t need to pour out our own blood anymore. Just merely forgive and the Holy Spirit will enable us to do so.