"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13
The uncoverted sinner lives in sin and loves it. The born-again believer hates sin and yet may often fall into it. The sinner looks for sin and pursues it; while the saint is often overtaken by it even thought he tries to flee from it. Paul admonishes us in Galatians 6:1: " . . . if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness."
This is quite a different thing than wilfully living in sin. The believer cannot "continue" in sin (Romans 6:2). As long as we are in the body and our old nature is still with us, we live in constant danger of falling into sin. We should not sin (1 John 2:1a), but provision has been made for us in case we do sin (1 John 2:1b). We must be careful not to judge those who fall into sin. Think of Noah, Abraham, David, Solomon, and Peter. There is a simple test which we may apply to determine whether it is a Christian "falling," or a sinner "planning" his sin. How can we distinguish? Suppose a pig is so cleverly clothed with the wool of a sheep that we cannot tell the difference. Let both fall into the same mudhole and become besmeared with mire that you cannot tell the one from the other. The swine will be perfectly content, and put up a loud squeal when any attempt is made to extricate him. And when pulled out, he will go right back in. The sheep on the other hand will cry, struggle, and bleat for help, and when delivered will never go near that slough again. The genuineness of a man's repentance and confession of his sins is proven by his forsaking of them.
"Bread For Each Day"
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