Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, nor hidden that shall not be known...”
Jesus, in Luke 12:2
It is a fearful thing to consider that, at some point, whatever is in our hearts is going to be exposed by Jesus. The only question is, “When?” We have no choice in whether or not it is going to happen. Jesus said that even the words we have said in secret are going to be “proclaimed from the housetops” (Lk. 12:3); in other words, God will one day bring to light everything that every one of us has done or said.
When God calls upon us to confess our sins, He is granting us the great favor of avoiding the humiliation of Him confessing our sins before all people. He is saying, “Everything about you is going to be known. Who do you want to expose them, Me or you?” If we submit to His call and “confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from every unrighteousness” (1Jn. 1:9). Then, in the day when all things will be made known, we can rejoice and not be ashamed.
God does not demand that we confess our sins so that He will know what those sins are. He demands it because, knowing that everything about everybody will come to light, He wants us to have the opportunity to confess our own sins and get past them. If we are wise, we will take advantage of God’s mercy, confess our sins, and be made pure in God’s sight by the blood of Christ. That way, when the books are opened on Judgment Day and all our records are made public, we will be extremely glad that the blood of Christ had erased our sins from those pages and only the good we did can be found.