I will never forget the day that the secrets about the late Ravi Zacharias came to light. For those who don’t know him, Ravi was a Christian evangelical minister and apologist. I was so heartbroken and angry, and confused. He was such a powerful teacher. He was skilled in answering the hard questions of life. Such as the notion of the Bible being contradictory, or Jesus not emphatically stating the words, ‘I am God’. There was a lot of talk on not placing your hope in preachers who are in the public eye. Though this concept is very true, what also stood to me was the idea of hidden sins.
Two Lessons Learned
Apart from the idea of hidden sins that stood out to me, I also realized that we don’t follow Jesus because of any man. Though we can admire men/women of faith, we don’t put the basis of our walk with God in them. Human beings will disappoint you sorely. When you look up to someone spiritually, it is easy to be misled once they do something that isn’t very Christ-like. It may lead you down the road of deception because you have tied your walk with God with your perception of another person’s righteousness. In the case of Ravi, it means when you learn about heartbreaking news, it would mean that your foundation in Christ would be shaky.
While men/women of God should be held to a higher standard as the Bible tells us (Titus 1: 6- 9), it also doesn’t mean they cannot falter. It is evident that what was represented in the Bible was an ideal situation, and believers are far from the ideal picture. Look throughout Scripture, be it Abraham, Noah, David or Solomon. None of them fully represented God as He expected of them, but they were still used by Him. God’s aim has never been to use faultless men. If that were the case, He wouldn’t have sent Jesus to die for a humanity that is already full of faults. Apart from Jesus, no one has ever remained faultless. It is through intimacy and frequent fellowship with God that we begin to resemble more and more of Him and radiate His glory. This is equally true for any man of God.
Exposed in Light
The secrets about Ravi didn’t correlate to the type of person he appeared to be publicly. I wondered how he could be doing all this in the dark and still make a public spectacle of himself as a reputable teacher of the Word. I didn’t judge him with my mouth, but in my heart I thought he wasn’t acting like the person he was professing publicly. The Holy Spirit began to rebuke me. What He told me in that instance was, ‘how would you feel if all the secret things you did were put on display’. It was truly a humbling experience; humbling enough to know that judging others of their sins is truly hypocritical. I also knew that I never want to live with hidden sins.
From that day, I didn’t want to keep the things I struggled with to myself. At that time, the persistent issue was p0rn. I started pondering on exposing my sin to the light and was led to fast and pray. Afterwards, I was led to tell a friend about what was going on. I had never exposed this before, but I felt a very strong sense to tell her. So I opened up to her, and we prayed. A few days after, I still got the urge to watch it. Seconds after I began watching it, I just found it to be the most disgusting and degrading thing that anyone could ever do. For the first time in my life, what I found so enjoyable, was now vile. It was a thought I had never experienced in my life. As days turned to weeks and months, the desire just disappeared.
What Would You Do If Your Sins Were on Display?
This is an encouragement for us not to safeguard the sins we are struggling with. It can be a very vulnerable moment to open up to someone. It can really be a scary moment. But I want you to ask yourself, ‘If my sins were put on display how would I feel?’. This is not to say go and expose your sins to any and every one. Rather, you should not purposefully try to hide the things that you’re going through. Once you do that, you deny yourself of the power that the body of Christ offers. James 5:16 tells us to, ‘Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed’. The fear of holding back can lead into a much longer battle than there needs to be.
The power of Satan dwells in darkness while the power of God is light (Acts 26:18). As believers we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. Those who will eventually be condemned are those who love darkness rather than light. Those who practice evil are those who hate the light because they do not want their deeds to be exposed. However, as believers we are no longer in darkness. Therefore, there is no room to stay hidden in evil deeds. Unbelievers will be condemned because they don’t want to be exposed. However, believers expose their deeds because they are not of the kingdom of darkness (John 3:19 – 20).
Don’t Live in Darkness
As believers, we are positioned as children of light who dwell in the kingdom of light of our Father. Don’t allow hidden sins to destroy the position you have been granted by divine right. It is a privilege to have a Father who offers us grace and mercy. He is ready with open arms to embrace us in His love. Therefore, expose every hidden sin, with Hands Lifted High.
Verses
Acts 26:18 (ESV) – ‘to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
John 3:19 – 20 (ESV) – And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
Titus 1: 7 (ESV) – For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain,