Cover the Sin with Love

"But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. ⁸ And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." 

1 Peter 4:7-8

One little word makes a huge difference.  This is one of the verses from the King James Version I have been memorizing lately.  In the New King James Version, the last part of verse 8 is a quote taken from Proverbs 10:12:  "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."  I am most familiar with 1 Peter 4:8 in the NKJV which reads, "And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."  As I repeated the verse a few times according to the KJV, I began to consider the difference between the use of "a multitude" or "the multitude."  Though I am not a Greek scholar by any means, upon further examination the original Greek in this passage does not contain the definite article "the."  The English indefinite article "a" does not appear in Greek at all!  The text literally says, "...love will cover multitude sins."  In translating the Greek into English, "the" or "a" have been added as well as "of" to allow the verse to flow naturally.

One thing I refuse to do is to pit differing literal translations of the Bible against one another.  I do not believe I need to choose either the King James or the New King James version as divinely inspired and view the other as spiritually-substandard.  The words we read in English are intended to aid us in knowing God as revealed in scripture.  Both versions are fully supported with scripture.  With the help of the Holy Spirit granting us wisdom and discernment, we can know the heart of God because He dwells within us.  Love covers a multitude of sins, and love covers the multitude of sins.  This minor difference reveals two versions of a single, powerful truth.  As I read the scripture over and over to memorize it, the truth "love shall cover the multitude of sins" made a deep impression upon me.

Peter encourages the believers to above all have fervent love among them.  The Bible says Christians are to be known for our love for God and one another.  There are some in the world which ignorantly brand all Bible-believing, church-attending, Christ-professing people as hypocrites.  This is only partly true.  A more true and accurate statement is, "All people are hypocrites."  The great irony is that the only way to become a Christian is to first admit that you are a rotten sinner, doomed to eternal damnation and separation from God because of your own sin.  After confessing sin in repentance, a Christian is born again through faith in Jesus Christ and receives forgiveness of sins.  No doctrinally sound Christian could claim he is sinless through his own merit, as 1 John 1:10 says, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him [God] a liar, and His word is not in us."  As a follower of Jesus Christ, we are to forsake sin and walk according to Christ's precepts.  But no man clothed in human flesh can do this perfectly.  We all stumble and fall, and we are not hypocrites to admit it.  In fact, we begin to strip away our hypocrisy when we do this!

What comfort there is for Christians in 1 Peter 4:8:  "And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."  There are some people who have spent years looking for a church that meets their standards.  These same people would probably leave a church where Jesus Christ Himself was pastor because of all the sinners who attended!  Love does not just cover "a multitude of sins," but "the multitude of sins."  Even in church fellowships with only a few people, there are multitudes of sins represented.  Jesus knew and knows this:  people are sinners who need a Saviour!  I love the fact that Peter does not speak theoretically:  "If there's a multitude of sins, love will cover them."  No!  He says, "There are sins in abundance, and love covers them all."  Proverbs 10:12 affirms, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."  God knows our frame:  He remembers we are dust.  We do well to remember this too and refuse to stand in judgment of one another because a person's Bible translation of choice is a different translation than our own.

Proverbs 17:9 reads, "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends."  When the Christians in Corinth were taking private matters of offense before the legal system, he had strong words of challenge for them in 1 Corinthians 6:7:  "Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated?"  It would be better for me to allow myself to be cheated than to stray from walking in love.  1 Corinthians 13:4-7 gives us a wonderful description of this kind of love:  "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."  I can't count how many times I have read this passage, but it still blows me away.  What love is this, the love of God shown sinners through Jesus Christ!  We can't shed our blood to forgive sins, but we can cover them with the love of Jesus as we trust Him.  Let us be faithful to cover the multitude of sins with God's love.

Spiritual Fitness

Australians are very into fitness.  It doesn't surprise me that a large amount of children and youth in Sydney play sports.  What surprises me is how many adults play organized sports or join the gym, ride bikes, swim, or run around punching bags and lifting weights with a personal trainer in the park.  It's not uncommon for people to play sports on a team into their sixties!  My neighbor is passionate about fitness of all kinds.  He kayaks, hits the gym, swings a kettlebell, rides a bike, and does some boxing training as well.  Improving your fitness involves more than exercise, however:  it is a regimented lifestyle of remaining accountable to a healthy diet, faithfully going to the gym, setting aside time for training, and always seeking to take it up a level.  It involves pain, working through injuries, sacrifices, moderation with food and drink, and effort.  It means doing what you know is good for you, even when you don't feel like doing it.

When I drove by the gym on the way to church to pray at 5:45am on Tuesday, I could see 50 people through the glass jumping up and down and punching the air.  The thought crossed my mind:  "Those people have more drive to be physically fit than many Christians do to be spiritually fit."  How great it would be if churches had such excitement and energy from folks to faithfully attend a 6am prayer meeting!  1 Timothy 4:8 says, "For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."  I remember reading a book which told of a man who would rise at 4am to pray every day and was greatly shamed if he heard the sound of the blacksmith's hammer or ox carts passing by his home before he knelt and prayed to God.  His belief was that his effort and devotion to God in prayer should be greater than the faithfulness of other people simply pursuing secular work.

A huge part of exercise is simply exercising.  Sometimes it is a physical condition due to poor fitness, the fact that our clothes no longer fit, or disgust over our appearance that moves us to make changes in our lives to diet and exercise.  The typical routine is we are faithful until we begin to notice some improvement.  We become satisfied with the fruit of our labour and begin to slowly neglect the disciplines which brought success.  Before too long we are eating too much, exercising too little, and the familiar cycle begins again.  It is the same way in spiritual matters.  We lay hold of the victory God has given us in an area of our lives or rejoice in a spiritual gift He has granted us.  But over time our reliance on God turns into self-confidence, gifts become dusty and rusty through neglect, and we wonder where our joy, peace, and fulfillment has gone.

There are many ways to improve fitness, and the same could be said concerning the life of a Christian as well.  However, there are some staples which cannot be neglected if we desire a closer walk with Christ, resting in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Prayer is a massive key.  Ephesians 6:18 says Christians ought to be "...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..."  We also must seek close fellowship with other believers, sharpening one another and remaining accountable.  This means we must ask and agree with being asked tough personal questions so we might examine our lives closely.  The study and reading of the Bible empowered with the Holy Spirit is a must.  It is one thing to hear sermons, but studying the Word for yourself is a critical step in personal, spiritual growth.

One aspect of spiritual fitness I have recently "re-discovered" is that of memorizing Bible verses.  In my younger days, memorizing scripture was something I did both at school and in my home.  By first grade I knew the books of the Bible and could recite Psalm 1 and 23 by heart.  Over the years I memorized a lot of other verses too.  But as I went into adulthood, focusing on Bible verse memory was not a top priority.  I always agreed with the practice of storing God's Word in my heart so the Spirit could bring it to remembrance to govern my life.  But the thing I didn't realize as a young person is memorization should not be simply viewed as the storage of information.  God's Word is living, and it goes right to work on our hearts and minds when we meditate on it.  Over the past few weeks I've been memorizing some verses, and God has used them mightily to impress new truth upon my life.  Same old truth, new application and power.  I am recognizing more and more the power of God's Word and delight to memorize it - not so I can earn a gold star, but so God will make me spiritually fit to do His work.

What does the scripture say?  2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."  If I believe the Bible is truly as powerful and necessary as God claims it is, then I must do something about it.  Anyone can write a verse on a card and repeat it word for word, but it is God who makes the Word come alive and actually complete us, thoroughly equipping us for every good work.  Memorizing scripture was a missing part of my spiritual fitness regimen for some time, but no more.  Psalm 34:8 says, "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"  Enough with the junk!  Put something good into your mind, heart, and soul for a healthy change!  Do it - and keep doing it!

Deadbeat No More (by God's grace)!

Back in the '90's, the unfortunate term "deadbeat dads" came into vogue to define dads who didn't rise to the subjective expectation of what a dad should be.  Dads who refused to pay child support, denied they even had a child, or shirked their responsibility to raise their children in the eyes of their ex-wives, girlfriends, or the courts, were labeled as such.  Now I read the politically-correct revised term is "deadbeat parent."  Whether it is dad or mum who chooses to neglect the God-given privilege and responsibility to raise their children, the kids are the biggest losers.

I have lately been thinking about my responsibility to disciple my own children, striving to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the LORD.  Kids need more than food, water, love, and affirmation from their parents; they need much more than quality time, holidays, recreation, schooling, sport, social interaction, and a bed to sleep in.  Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  Because this is true for all people, it is true for kids as well.  Job proclaims the indispensable nature and necessity of God's Word in Job 23:12:  "I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."  In the ongoing battle in courthouses throughout the United States, the 10 Commandments are being removed off the walls while "deadbeat parents" are cited and fined for not providing money for their children's welfare.  That is ironic, seeing that the Word of God is more important and necessary to both body and soul than food or water! 

Amos 8:11 is a scripture we see fulfilled in our day.  "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD."  The brutal irony is not that God's Word is neglected by unbelievers, but by professing believers.  It is not only certain churches where this famine is rife:  it is a blight in the homes of solid Christian families.  I speak candidly when I say I was once a "deadbeat dad" spiritually.  There have been days in our home when we did not open the Word of God and read it together with discussion and explanation.  Years ago, even as a pastor, I committed the training and discipleship of my young children to Sunday School teachers.  I had shirked God's command to make disciples in my own house, a grave sin.

I am thankful that God opened my eyes to see what I loser I was, spending most of my time discipling other people's children and not making it a priority to train my own.  Our family has made many changes in our home over the years, but the best has been a commitment to read the Bible together every day.  There is always room for improvement.  Don't get me wrong:  you do well if you feed your children, provide for their physical needs, and spend time with them.  1 Timothy 5:8 reads, "But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."  But the real question is this:  Dads, what are you providing for the spiritual nourishment and admonition of your wife and children?  Mums, how are you using God's Word to train your children in the way they should go according to God's will?  Grandparents are not off the hook either!  Titus 2 contains a great list of exhortations to believers of all ages summed up with, "Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you." (Titus 2:15)

As long as a man remains on earth by God's grace, it's never too late for God to transform a willing person through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Because God changes the hearts and minds of people, it is never too late to change the way we do things.  Shedding the spiritual deadbeat moniker starts with agreement with God, confession of our neglect as sin, and taking steps - even radical ones - to disciple our own children to following Jesus Christ. Men, take charge of the family God has committed to you.  God has called parents to teach and train their children.  He has given us the power through the Spirit, and the discernment and wisdom of God to address the deepest needs of our children:  to know God, to love Him, and to love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Jesus Christ the Author

Humans have a tendency to focus on the wrong things.  Sometimes it requires a near-death experience before we realise our priorities in life are skewed.  It takes losing something to appreciate what we had.  In the Bible we see this same shortsightedness demonstrated.  2 Chronicles 16:12 documents the case of king Asa:  "And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians."  God is the one who heals, but Asa looked instead to men God had given wisdom and understanding.  When Peter was called by Christ to step out of the boat and onto the Sea of Galilee, he took his eyes off of Jesus and instead focused on the waves and was filled with fear.  Even the crippled man who lay by the pool in Bethesda didn't recognize the power of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  When Jesus asked him if he wanted to be well, listen to his answer in John 5:7:  "The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  The man focused on the obstacles, while Jesus Himself could only provide the healing and restoration he desperately sought.

We can even focus on the wrong things in studying and interpreting scripture.  God gave me some wonderful insight into a passage sometimes taught by preachers adorned with conjecture and theories.  In John 8, the Pharisees and scribes brought a woman before Jesus who had been caught in the very act of adultery.  They were not concerned about righteous judgment, but desired to use this occasion to trap Jesus.  The passage is found in John 8:5-11:  "Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. ⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" ¹¹ She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

In my opinion, there is an aspect of this passage which receives much undo attention.  It is not the fact that Jesus could have stood in judgment but refused to, even though He is perfect.  It is not the over-emphasis upon Christ's remarkable, timeless exhortation:  "Go and sin no more."  The part of the story which has elicited all sorts of theories and discussions is this - wait for it, though I'm sure you already know - "What did Jesus write on the ground with His finger?"  All sorts of ideas have been concocted.  But because they are merely ideas and not based upon scripture, they are all red-herrings and a waste of time.  This is not to say that Jesus writing on the ground was insignificant.  In fact, it is most significant.  Yet if it was critical for our understanding of the passage that we know what was written, the Bible would have explicitly stated it.  The fact Jesus wrote on the ground is more significant than whatever He wrote.  To understand this, we must go to the beginning.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is the Word become flesh, Immanuel, God with us.  John 1:3 reads, "All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."  When Jesus wrote on the ground, it was not the first time He made calculated designs in the dust.  Genesis 2:7 tells us, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."  Jesus reached down to the dust of earth and formed man with His hands.  He breathed into man a living soul.  It was not long before man corrupted Himself with sin and was thus separated from God.  Yet God, in His great mercy, sought to reconcile man to Himself.  He chose Abraham and his descendents as His special people.  He gave the Israelites His laws so they might know Him and His righteous judgments, words written with the finger of God upon tablets of stone (Exodus 31:18).

Jesus created man from the dust of the ground.  He later wrote His laws upon stone tablets with His finger.  So what is the significance of Jesus writing in the dust?  John 8:9 reads, "Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst."  The men left, not because of anything they read, but through what they had heard.  They had been convicted by their conscience.  Jesus was fulfilling the promise that He made in Jeremiah 31:31-33 by the institution of a New Covenant through His blood.  "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- ³² not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. ³³ But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."  Jesus created man, wrote His laws, and also gave man a conscience which agrees with His righteous judgments.  Though self-righteous, the Pharisees and scribes knew they could not rightly throw stones because they were sinners.  Each man's conscience affirmed this fact.

Galatians 3:24-26 confirms, "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. ²⁶ For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."  In the John 8 passage, we see a microcosm of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The Bibles teaches us that when we are born again by the Holy Spirit through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we are no longer under condemnation:  the blood of Jesus has cleansed us from all sin.  Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."  It makes perfect sense that Jesus would then say to the woman, "Go and sin no more."

Let us keep the main thing the main thing.  Instead of debating over things which cannot be known because of our limitations or focusing on what really doesn't matter, let us fix our eyes and hearts upon Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  In Christ we find that according to His divine power, Jesus has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  That is why He wrote on tablets of stone, why He wrote in the dust, and why He has written upon our hearts.  He has engraved His truth upon the conscience of man so all might turn from sin and trust in Him for salvation.