Know That Your Sin Will Find You Out!
There is one verse in the Bible that is the most frightening and threatening verse I have ever come across. It is found in Numbers 32:23:
23 But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23)
“You may be sure that your sin will find you out!” This verse is not only sobering; it is something that actually happens in real life. It is something my grandmother tried in every possible way to press into my heart while I was growing up.
The deception of sin is that we can commit it and there will be no consequences from it in our lives. The truth, however, is exactly the opposite. Sin is like a seed that, once sown, gives birth to punishment and death.
Galatians 6:7-8 says:
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
This can be seen throughout the whole Bible. And not only in the Bible, but in our own lives as well. When we commit some sin, we try to cover it up. We do not want others to find out about it. But can we hide anything from God? Hebrews 4:13 says:
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:13)
Know That Your Good Will Find You Out
You may be sure that your sin will find you out… This is true, but it is not the full message we have for you this morning. I believe that if we turn this verse around, it will still remain true: “You may be sure that your good will find you out!”
Let me ask you: when you think about the fact that God is all-knowing, that He watches and sees everything, what do you suppose interests Him more — all the bad things we do, or all the good things we have done? What is our mental default when it comes to the fact that God sees everything? Usually we think about our sin, don’t we? But today let us look more carefully at some of the verses that remind us that nothing is hidden from His eyes.
Do you remember the scene from Job 1:6-8?
6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” (Job 1:6-8)
Here God boasts about His servant Job — about his righteousness and blamelessness, about his fear of God and his goodness. But notice here the words of Satan. He roams throughout the earth and goes “back and forth” on it. For what purpose? To seek out evil, to seek out sin and corruption, to tempt people, so that afterward he can accuse them before God. Satan is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters,” as Revelation 12:10 says. It is he who accuses us “before our God day and night” — not God.
10 For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. (Revelation 12:10)
I love this expression “back and forth.” In the whole Bible it is used only once of Satan and only once of God. And when it is used of Satan, it says that he roams the earth and goes “back and forth” on it to seek out evil and to seek out someone to accuse; but when “the eyes of the Lord” range “back and forth” throughout the whole world, it is so that He may find hearts inclined toward Him, hearts full of faith, which He may bless (2 Chronicles 16:9):
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)
The question is: when Jesus comes, will He find faith on the earth? In Luke 18:8 Jesus asked this question:
8 However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)
What is Jesus looking for? He is looking for the good; He is looking for faith!
So let us grasp and soak this in well this morning in our hearts: “Satan is the one who seeks out evil; God is the one who seeks out the good.”
God Finds the Good He Seeks!
It is told of the Greek philosopher Diogenes, who lived around 400 years before Christ, that in broad daylight he would walk about with a lit lantern in his hand. And when someone asked him what he was doing, Diogenes would answer, “I am simply looking for an honest man.” As cynical as he was, he never found the man he was looking for.
But God finds the good He seeks.
- Even in the days of Noah, when everything people thought about was continually only evil (Genesis 6:5), God found righteous Noah, who walked with God and gained His favor.
- Even in the midst of the wicked and ungodly cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, God found righteous Lot.
- Even when the other spies proved faithless, God found Joshua and Caleb — men in whom there was “a different spirit.”
- Even when Elijah felt as though he were the only servant of God left on the earth, God said to him (1 Kings 19:18):
18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18)
God is always seeking the good. We see this in the New Testament as well.
Matthew 6:3-4:
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:3-4)
What is God looking for in secret? The good!
Matthew 6:6:
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6)
What is God looking for in secret? The good!
Matthew 6:17-18:
17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:17-18)
What is God looking for in secret? The good.
Oh yes! I know it is true that God knows my sin and that I am accountable before Him. I know that He knows even my darkest secrets and my worst transgressions, but these are not the ones God seeks first of all. We cannot hide our sin from God; yet it is not sin that He is interested in and looks for first. First of all, God seeks the good.
In the most famous questions in the book of Proverbs, the good is also what is sought: “Who can find a virtuous woman?” Or the even harder question: “Who can find a faithful man?” These questions show that although a “virtuous woman” and a “faithful man” are very hard to find, this is precisely what God is seeking — the good. Proverbs 15:3 says:
3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. (Proverbs 15:3)
In this connection, and in connection with our readiness for His coming, the Lord Jesus told an interesting parable in Matthew 24:44-51. In this parable the servant who does good is called “faithful and wise.” He will be blessed, because when his master returns He will find him doing good and will “put him in charge of all his possessions.” But if the servant is wicked and thinks that because no one sees him he can do whatever he pleases, and begins to do evil, imagining that he will somehow get away with it, that servant will be surprised, punished, and condemned. His lot will be with the hypocrites — there, where there is everlasting weeping and “gnashing of teeth.”
44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. 45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, “My master is staying away a long time,” 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:44-51)
When we read these words, my hope is that we will be among the blessed — those who do the will of their heavenly Master in spite of His delay. Today I thank all those who help in our church and whose service does not go unnoticed. I thank the spiritual council and the audit committee for their wisdom and support; I thank sister Silvana for cleaning the building. I thank brother Stoyko for his care of the church garden and yard. I thank brother Malcho for lighting the stove; I thank the people who take part in the worship, and those who care for the children in the children’s ministry. All of these people have done good and continue to do good, and we all can see it.
But think about all the good things you have done in secret, the things you have done anonymously — without your name being mentioned — the good things that only God has seen.
- That secret gift you gave,
- that extra mile you walked,
- the long hours you spent in prayer and service to God,
- the favor you did,
- the peace you helped to restore,
- the conflict you avoided,
- the forgiveness you extended,
- the kindness you showed,
- the advantage you did not take,
- the praise you gave,
- the work you did for God,
- the hospitality you showed,
- the thanks you expressed,
- the temptation you resisted,
- the sin you overcame in your life,
- the sacrifice you made for the sake of others,
- the people you influenced,
- the soul you won for eternity,
- the good words you spoke.
God has seen all of this! Hebrews 6:10 says:
10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10)
What does God remember? The good. The good, “your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
So this morning, know that your good will find you out, and be encouraged to keep on doing good and to gladden the heart of our loving heavenly Father!