I recently heard about the phrase “secret sin.” But what actually is a secret sin? I searched all over and I could not find a clear answer. All I found talks about the consequences of it, but there’s no explanation of what it is. Please explain it to me.<\/p>\n\t
You are looking for a particular type of sin, but all “secret sin” refers to are those sins an individual does that he thinks no one else knows. “You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence<\/em>” (Psalms 90:8). Of course, no sin is truly secret because at a minimum God is aware of all that we do. “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known<\/em>” (Luke 12:2). “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God<\/em>” (I Corinthians 4:5).<\/p>\n Some sins are secret because we refuse to acknowledge them. We hide them from everyone, including ourselves. “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults<\/em>” (Psalms 19:12).<\/p>\n The most common “secret sin” is usually the viewing of pornography, but it isn’t limited to that. In the days of Ezekiel, it was idolatry. “Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land’<\/em>” (Ezekiel 8:12). For some people, it is drinking or drug use. Basically, any sin a person keeps hidden from other people is a secret sin.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I recently heard about the phrase “secret sin.” But what actually is a secret sin? I searched all over and I could not find a clear answer. All I found talks about the consequences of it, but there’s no explanation of what it is. Please explain it to me. Answer: You are looking for…<\/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":[20],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-47756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63395,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-right-to-privacy\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":0},"title":"A Right to Privacy?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 15, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 5:8-17 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In our society the concept of a right to privacy has taken on a significant role \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A few years back, two men arrested for committing homosexual acts won their case by arguing that what was done in the privacy of their home\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10041,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-your-sin-is-also-a-crime-should-you-turn-yourself-in-when-you-repent\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":1},"title":"If your sin is also a crime, should you turn yourself in when you repent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the example of the murderer, would God expect him to turn himself into the authorities if his crime was not known or found out? Answer: One aspect of repenting of sin is demonstrating a complete change in life. \"For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to\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":39385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-the-bible-say-that-sins-should-not-be-hidden-but-exposed\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":2},"title":"Doesn’t the Bible say that sins should not be hidden but exposed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Sir, This is in regards to Am I not able to get pregnant because I didn't tell my husband about my adultery years ago? My writing to you is that there is nowhere in Scripture that God encourages secrecy when it comes to sin. In fact, Scripture does the\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":39827,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/confessing-our-faults\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":3},"title":"Confessing Our Faults","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I John 1:8-10 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Forgiveness of our sins is not automatic. God has always required action on our part to gain His forgiveness. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In this passage we learn that God wants us to confess our faults. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Confession has always been required by God\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20057,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/sins-i-do-not-see\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":4},"title":"Sins I Do Not See","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/blind-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":91133,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/digging-through-the-wall\/","url_meta":{"origin":47756,"position":5},"title":"Digging Through the Wall","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Cleve Stafford Some of the most uncomfortable parts of Scripture are the ones that feel a little too close to home. One of those moments shows up in the book of Ezekiel, in a vision that doesn't get preached on very often, but maybe should. Ezekiel 8:7-12, \"And he\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47756","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=47756"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47756\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}