Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sin shall not proper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Proverbs 13:15 “Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard.”
In the Gospel of Luke chapter fifteen, Jesus gives what is called the Parable of the Prodigal Son. “And he said, A certain man had two sons: 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. 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. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.” Our Lord gives an outstanding illustration of the truth found in Proverbs13:15 and 28:13 that the way of the transgressor is hard and he that covers his sin shall not proper.
These same realities are true of the back slider as pictured in Christ’s parable of this wayward son. Over the years, I have observed the lives of those who have been raised in God-fearing, Christian homes who have walked away from their families and from God to try to live their own lives without God. They invariably come to the place where they blame others-- whether parents, preachers, friends, family members, or God Himself--for their hard and defeated lives. Some have even died in their sin. While it is true that they have chosen to live a hard life, they try to cover the sins and transgressions which brought about this hard life of their own making. The blessed life they seek and long for comes only from confessing and forsaking the sinfulness of their way of life. They must, like the prodigal son, "come to themselves" and understand their hard life is caused by their own doing. And, like this prodigal's father, God is waiting and willing to forgive them and restore them to fellowship and blessing. They must see themselves as sinners standing in need of salvation and the restoration that comes only from God through the blood of Jesus Christ.
As John 6:37 says, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me I will in no wise cast out.” Like the father in the parable, God will receive the repentant one back with open arms and restore completely.
The mercy of God comes only through repentance.
Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sin shall not proper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Proverbs 13:15 “Good understanding giveth favor: but the way of transgressors is hard.”
