What Are You Hiding?

For we have been consumed by Your anger, and by Your wrath we are terrified. You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance. (Psalm 90:7–8)

Today’s big question: what are you hiding?

Reality check 3: Nothing is hidden from God or outside His jurisdiction.

A misdirected message of love has softened today’s modern church. “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” is a statement used to try to help people become more enthusiastic about having a relationship with Christ. It is true God loves all humanity. We are His creatures. He gives us food, shelter, rain, and many other blessings. Every good thing we receive is a gift from God (James 1:17). Life itself is a gift.

While God is love (1 John 4:8), today’s verse tells us another aspect of God’s character: His justice. God is angry, and humanity is under His wrath. Not until we accept this truth can we know the glory of salvation. Unless under His grace through the Cross, every person lives as an enemy of God (Romans 5:10). In this fickle life that could end any moment, we are always one breath closer to standing before Him and being held fully responsible for our sin.

Through Moses, God warned of the unbeliever’s precarious position: “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly” (Deuteronomy 32:35 (ESV)). Jonathan Edwards used this verse in Deuteronomy to help people see their need of the Savior, in the popular sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” When we walk in our sin without care of repentance, we are on very slippery ground. We are essentially playing with eternal fire.

Today’s verse tells us that whether in public or in private we have sinned against a holy and pure God and are destined for His judgment. Our lives are in His hands, and all the clean living, healthy eating, or rigorous exercising will not prolong our lives one day more than what He has already destined.

The message for our human identity is clear. If you don’t think others see the evil within, God does. If you don’t think your sin matters because God is love, you have missed understanding His full character. If you think you can escape responsibility, you can’t. With God there is no secret sin, and without Christ, there is no escape from His judgment.

What is our identity? We are sinners in the hands of an angry God. We need a Savior. This humbling acknowledgment leads to the best news any human can hear. We have a Savior, and His name is Jesus.

Today’s big idea: we cannot hide our sin or our responsibility for it.

What to pray: confess your sin to God, and seek forgiveness in Jesus Christ.