{"id":20057,"date":"2020-02-19T16:33:12","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T22:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=20057"},"modified":"2020-02-19T16:33:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T22:33:12","slug":"sins-i-do-not-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sins-i-do-not-see\/","title":{"rendered":"Sins I Do Not See"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Whit Sasser<\/p>\n

A line of a Christian hymn reads\u2026 \u201cForgive the secret sins I do not see.\u201d The mercy of our God is so great in the forgiveness He grants for sins we are unaware of\u2026the sins we do not even see. Wow!<\/p>\n

\"\"There are sins I do not see due to ignorance\u2026I didn\u2019t know. Whether as a new Christian just starting out, or one full-grown in the faith, and at any stage along life\u2019s way, I am ignorant of perfectly all of God\u2019s will for me and thus need forgiveness. God says if anyone says he knows anything, he knows nothing as he ought (I Corinthians 8:2). God says at one time He overlooked ignorance, but now commands everyone, everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). I am glad God forgives me of the sins in my ignorance\u2026those sins I yet do not see.<\/p>\n

There are secret sins I do not see. Maybe they are secret because of my deceitful heart that does not want to accept something as wrong, but which is. I can lie to myself so much that I believe it to be true and become blinded to the reality which I know. This is akin to sins of ignorance, but maybe a bit different. I cannot truthfully say to God in judgment, \u201cI did not know\u201d but rather I did not believe it. As the Scriptures say, \u201cI received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief<\/em>\u201d (I Timothy 1:13). Psalm 90:8 reads, \u201cYou have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.<\/em>\u201d Thank you, God, for forgiving my secret sins\u2026the sins I do not sin.<\/p>\n

There are sins I forgot, and of course, then, do not see. Sometimes I forget right away \u2026 literally. Sometimes I forgot at the end of the day to ask God to forgive me of that transgression earlier in the day. Sometimes it is forgetfulness due to injury or disease. I may forget due to my past abuse of alcohol and drugs affecting my mental faculties. Dementia may rob me of the ability to recall well. I am so glad God is merciful to forgive me of the sins I forgot \u2026 the sins I no longer see.<\/p>\n

There are sins of weakness and shortcomings I am incapable of seeing \u2026 at least not clearly. We all fall short of God\u2019s glory (Romans 3:23). But, to what degree? I am commanded by God to be hospitable, to be in self-control, to be loving peace, etc. Am I? Am I meeting His standards and expectations? I do not know. Am I trying my best along these and many other lines, or am I not? I do not know. I may think I am trying my best \u2026 but am I? God urges me to add to my faith, virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, etc. Well, am I? And if so, am I doing so to His approval? I don\u2019t know. The apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 4:4, \u201cI am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.<\/em>\u201d God may see what I not see.<\/p>\n

Thank God for His wondrous mercy, forgiving sins I do not even see if I am in compliance with His conditions of pardon. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Whit Sasser A line of a Christian hymn reads\u2026 \u201cForgive the secret sins I do not see.\u201d The mercy of our God is so great in the forgiveness He grants for sins we are unaware of\u2026the sins we do not even see. Wow! There are sins I do not see due to ignorance\u2026I didn\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-20057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":30738,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sins-of-ignorance\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":0},"title":"Sins of Ignorance!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Russell H. Dunaway via\u00a0Guardian of Truth\u00a0XXVII: 12, pp. 372-373, June 16, 1983 Perhaps one of the most controversial issues among brethren today is that which arises concerning the child of God and his sins of ignorance. Some brethren teach that if a child of God sins through ignorance, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93131,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-old-law-unintentional-sins-and-the-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":1},"title":"The Old Law, Unintentional Sins, and the Christian","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Timothy D. Stringer via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 1993 In Leviticus 4:1-6:7, God, through Moses, gives the Israelite nation provisions for the forgiveness of sins. The priest, the congregation, the leaders, and the common people are given different sacrifices and rituals to perform to receive forgiveness for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52229,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-explain-continual-cleansing\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":2},"title":"Could you explain “continual cleansing?”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you explain \"continual cleansing?\" Answer: Continual cleansing is the concept that Christians are Teflon-coated, so sins don't stick them; instead, the blood of Christ continually cleanses them of all sins, even if they don't ask for forgiveness. It is based on a misunderstanding of I John 1. \"This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42439,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-be-forgiven-for-knowingly-sinning-by-having-sex-with-a-prostitute\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":3},"title":"Can I be forgiven for knowingly sinning by having sex with a prostitute?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I am a young man, age 22. I came upon this woman, who was a prostitute. I decided to invite her to my place and we slept together. Since that time I became a Christian. I haven't committed fornication since, but I am scared that God will not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36285,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-sin-of-ignorance-keep-us-out-of-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":4},"title":"Can a sin of ignorance keep us out of heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I was reading through the website again and came across a subject, which in short was discussing things that are sinful that we may do and don't know or understand the teaching. You mentioned to me that you think that is where God's mercy comes in. You stated:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39700,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-willful-sins-irremissible\/","url_meta":{"origin":20057,"position":5},"title":"Are willful sins irremissible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I repented wholeheartedly and believed that I would never (willfully) sin again.\u00a0 I was determined to not sin.\u00a0 I was overjoyed to be baptized for the forgiveness of my sins because I knew what Jesus went through to make it possible, and I thought that surely I would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20057\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}