“He’s an incorrigible little imp!”

How many parents have glossed over their precious child’s bad attitudes and actions with a humorous application of the word incorrigible? Except it’s not funny when “little Johnny” becomes a grown up with bad attitudes and actions. Quite often the word is then used by a judge or prosecutor sending “big Johnny” off to prison, along with the phrase, “throw away the key”! Since incorrigible means “not reformable : depraved,” and “In-capable of being set right; irreparable”, it’s not funny even when Johnny is little.

When Israel had become completely incorrigible God sent Hosea to tell them He was withdrawing His mercy and they would be carried off into captivity (think prison but far worse) and God would throw away the key. He wanted their attention enough to have Hosea name his wife’s second child Lo-ruhamah, which means no mercy. This child wasn’t his because his wife was unfaithful – like Israel. God had worked diligently sending prophet after prophet to reform the nation, but they would not listen. They assumed their status as “God’s people” would cover their sin. They were wrong.

Today’s Throwback Thursday edition of Morning Minutes in the Bible on An American Missionary reaches back to January 1974 for a discussion of the deadly results of covering sin.

Throwing Away The Key by Dan Shipley. From PLAIN TALK Magazine.

Sin is bad but covering sin is even worse. If deliberate sin is like putting oneself in jail then covering such sin is like throwing away the key. The covered sin, the one a man attempts to hide and refuses to confess, shuts one off from spiritual prosperity and divine mercy. “He that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh sin shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). There can be no trading on Gods mercy because it does not ignore sin. It is not a question of whether His mercy saves the sinner; but whether the sinner will allow it by confessing and forsaking his sins. In covering sins the sinner spurns the mercy through which forgiveness and salvation are possible. If a merciful God provides the feast, sets the table, and invites all to partake, then how can He be faulted by those who choose to starve themselves? No, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, neither can limitations be placed on His mercy - except by the rebellious sinner who refuses it. What sin could be more pernicious than the one a man will not acknowledge nor repent of? Little wonder God says such an one shall not prosper.

But not only does the covering of sin preclude forgiveness, it easily becomes the launching-pad for yet other sins. Nothing encourages sin like sin. Lies and deceitfulness are popular camouflage for hiding evil. This in turn leads to the development of a compromising attitude toward all sin, both in self and others. The unwholesome attitude that permits one sin will soon permit another. Why? Because it involves more than one’s disposition toward a certain unlawful act; it involves his attitude toward God Himself —the One whose law is violated! When tempted by Potiphar’s wife Joseph reminds her of his obligations to his master then asks, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9) To wrong his master was bad; to wrong God was worse. How men need Joseph’s perspective of sin —and regard for God. Ungodliness (Gr. asebeia) is essentially a wrong attitude toward God, the expression of which is lawlessness (Gr. anomia) which is sin, 2 Jn. 3:4. (See Vines on ungodliness) In view of this, no sin can be considered as isolated or insignificant. (Notice carefully Jas. 2:10-11 in this connection, especially For He that said..., v.11) One just as well talk about the size of God as to make distinctions in sizes of sins for the deliberate practice of sin constitutes a rejection of Him and His law (1 Jn. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:8). It is not difficult to understand why no man can prosper while perpetuating disrespect for God in the covering of sins.

Finally, and logically, the practice of covering sins has the effect of hardening the heart (Heb. 3:13). How could it be otherwise when one persists in violating a truth-trained conscience? Who could court such ungodliness without a corresponding adverse effect on the inner man? “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Prov. 6:27) Surely anything that can so harden a man’s heart while causing him to dishonor God and shun His mercy is a dangerous sin. It may be that the worst sin is to hide sin.

Thanks for the reminder Dan. A necessary one today as many are enamored with God’s grace, and act as if they’re the first to discover it. All while claiming the regular call to obey by their fathers (preachers like Dan and Robert) turned would be believers away from the Lord. Yet never see their own inconsistency of insisting on obedience to their preferred doctrines. Don’t be “an incorrigible little imp” because God demands we accept His correction.