In the Old Testament, sometimes the word cover is used. Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins Proverbs Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends Proverbs Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered Psalm You forgave the iniquity of your people and covered all their sins Psalm In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been.
He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel Leviticus The word that speaks of covering here is atonement. Peter instructs us to have fervent love.
What is this fervent love? It means to be intent, constant, strenuous, intense; met: earnest, zealous. One way love covers sin is through forgiveness.
But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us Romans , AMP. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins 1 John Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him… And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him 1 John , Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you Ephesians Another way love covers sin is through the power of grace.
It forgives offenses and dispels hate Proverbs We see profound love in the life of Joseph —loving and forgiving his brothers who betrayed him. We see it in Jesus , manifesting profound love from the cross. Christians may not be able to change their circumstances, but they can overcome the barbs of evil—what Satan intends in offensive situations—with godly love and forgiveness.
Mature Christians know concealing personal transgressions does not lead to mercy. Concealing or ignoring offensive sins will not help offenders. The phrase usually implies that someone hid something that should have been exposed to the light of truth and justice. Usually, cover-ups occur when something significant is at stake when someone would stand to lose status, power, or reputation if the truth was revealed.
In contrast, to cover daily slights is a sign of Christian maturity. When a person sins, repents, confesses, and makes restitution to the injured party, the matter is done.
In love, the Father forgave us, and He wants us to forgive others through the power of His love. That should be our attitude as well. Jesus warned about stumbling blocks in our relationships. As we bump into brothers and sisters in the family of faith, we will not always be loveable. We might aggravate or offend one another often.
Learning to express the pain of a slight and then extend love and forgiveness is crucial for continuing unity and ministry. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Some believe love covers everything or nearly everything, and believers just need to toughen up and handle sins with patience or tolerance. These Christians say they love people too much to talk to them about sin, but others would argue they love too little.
A believer can continue to show compassion but sometimes must pursue the process of confrontation and exposure, all with the motive and goal of restoration. Carson wrote, in Love in Hard Places p. Not to be outraged may in such cases be evidence, not of gentleness and love, but a failure of love. But sometimes the offense is serious and the harm grave, and in these times we are to follow the instructions of Jesus in Matthew It can be abandoned altogether in favor of worldly methods of peacemaking that eschew the divine wisdom behind this one.
Even then, the process is all about love. As Challies further explained, rebuke is not to be used as a hammer, a means of gaining power, or for manipulation. Think about daily interactions with people—so many occasions for tense moments, misunderstandings, and knee-jerk reactions rather than wise responses. These are the times to cover others with love and forgiveness, and pray others do the same for us. Peter learned the lesson of forgiveness from Jesus Himself. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password.
Many counselors working with those in destructive marriages struggle with this same question. Jesus makes it clear. We are not to judge or condemn anyone Matthew —2. God instructs all his followers to forbear with and forgive one another. To bring up each and every offense in any relationship would become tiresome indeed. Love does cover a multitude of sins, but not all sins.
Paul tells believers that we are to distance ourselves from those who claim to be believers yet live immoral and destructive lives 1 Corinthians He instructs us to warn those who are lazy 1 Thessalonians , and that we ought not to participate in unfruitful deeds of darkness Ephesians Paul also encourages believers to restore someone who is caught in a trespass Galatians , and James exhorts us to bring a brother back who has wandered from the truth James Yes, we ought to forgive and forbear, overlooking minor offenses, hoping others will do the same for us.
Serious and repetitive sin is lethal to any relationship. We would not be loving the destructive person if we kept quiet and colluded with his self-deception or enabled his sin to flourish without any attempt to speak truth into his life Ephesians God is gracious to the saint and unrepentant sinner alike, but he does not have a close relationship with both.
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