Augustine prayed, “Lord, save me from my sins, but not now.” There was no answer. Later he prayed, “Lord, save me from all my sins, except one.” There was no answer. Finally, he prayed, “Lord, save me from all my sins, and save me now.” The Lord answered immediately. Augustine later became one of the greatest theologians who ever lived.
A lady once asked an evangelist for help with a besetting sin. She said, “I have an awful habit of exaggerating. Can you help me?” The evangelist replied, “Yes ma’am, I can tell you what to do. Call it lying!”
Name sin what it is!
Don’t call gossip a prayer request. Don’t call adultery an affair. There are no “little white lies”. All sins are enmity against God. When we name them what they are and repent of them, we will be forgiven of them.
In many years in the gospel ministry I have counseled thousands of people. I learned by experience that in just a few minutes I could tell whether the counseling was going to help the counselee or not. When a person claimed to want help but persisted in pointing the finger of blame in every direction, I knew he would receive no help. On the other hand when someone came for counseling and confessed their own faults and took responsibility for their own actions and was willing to change, that person would without fail receive help.
Covering over sin with excuses and blaming others leaves one as a victim. Calling sin by its proper name, confessing and forsaking it leads one to a life of victory. Call sin by its proper name and confess it to God and you will be forgiven every time.
1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”