Love♥️covers sin.

The Bible teaches when we confess our sins to God that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.

Forgiveness is available to us in the church but what is required first is confession and admitting the truth.

God loves us and cares for us. He doesn’t want anybody to perish. He wants each of us to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need.

Jesus died to cover our sins with his very own blood. Charity covers a multitude of sins. Without it forgiveness does not exist. This is what this verse teaches us today. It is love in a person’s heart that forgives others.

1st Peter 4:8 says….and above all have fervent charity among yourselves for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

The Apostle uses the word “cover”.

A lot of people out there today might not agree with me when I say that I really enjoy Northern Minnesota winters. Sure it gets cold and can wreak havoc on our vehicles on the highways with all the salt that they put on the roads , but one of the nicest things I’ve always enjoyed about winter is how it covers everything up. It’s really a big giant white blanket that God puts over the Earth until the spring.

Maybe on your property there were things that you didn’t get to do in the fall, but God covers it up. Maybe your road had 3 inches of mud on it a few weeks earlier but what does God do? He covers it all up. There is a lesson to be learned here today everybody, God covers stuff up. He wants to cover our sin.

Remember I’ve talked in past studies that if you went out and talked to John the Baptist or to the apostles or preachers or ministers and you were to confess sin to them, it was a private matter. The church is a place that is filled up with repentant sinners who confess and admit their faults. God wants to cover our sin and to blot it out.

Sometimes I think about a janitor who works at a high school somewhere. He’s got a job weekly of covering things up. He walks into the janitor closet and he grabs a can of spray paint. Then he proceeds to open all the doors in the bathroom stalls and paint over all of the graffiti that the children have placed on the walls during the week. When he’s finished, the stalls look brand new. In the church God wants to cover our sins. And he shed his blood for that very purpose.

God loves this world so much that he sent his only begotten son Jesus to save it. But in order to be saved we’ve got a sin issue that needs to be taken care of. He desires to wipe our sins away, completely blot them out and forget about them but what we need to do is to return unto him and confess our own faults and wrongdoings.

God’s desire is not to condemn us, but that we would return unto him so we can get forgiven. He wants to save us from our condemnation that is caused because of our own sinfulness. That is how much he loves us.

That forgiveness and mercy from the Father is seen in what Jesus did for us at the cross. It is also taught in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

(Luke 15:11-24)

And he said, A certain man had two sons:

¹² And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.

¹³ And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

¹⁴ And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

¹⁵ And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

¹⁶ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.

¹⁷ And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,

¹⁹ And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.

²⁰ And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.

²¹ And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

²² But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

²³ And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:

²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

This entire parable teaches us about reconciliation with those whom you wronged. Upon the reconciliation what what happened? The father completely covered up the sin of the wayward son.

God the heavenly father wants to do the same for us and is waiting each day for people to come back home.

All of us have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, that includes me. The Apostle Paul refered to himself as the chief of sinners, but the truth is that each of us need to come home to God. We don’t want to frustrate God’s grace when he is so willing to forgive with open arms.

You know I’ve always really enjoyed wood heat, especially when you’re sitting in the sauna. That heat goes all the way through you right into your bones.

That is the kind of love that we need to have towards each other in the church. It’s a warm compassionate and never-ending flame that cannot be put out. That is what we call fervent charity.

When you possess this kind of love in your heart you are forgiving and compassionate with others. This is the kind of love that the father had for his son when the son reconciled with him and forgave him completely for his wrongs. Love forgives, but in order to receive that forgiveness we must confess and reconcile.

These are the same teachings found in James 4 :8

… draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to heaviness Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He Shall lift you up.

Can you see how the prodigal son was lifted up? All he needed to do was humble himself and come home.

It is Gods great love that covers our sins. It is his great love for us that covers a multitude of our transgressions and it is true love that readily forgives those who are humble.

I think that’s where I’m to stop for right now but Lord willing will talk to you some more later on bye-bye everybody.

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