Confessing a Secret Sin. Biblical Wisdom Literature.
by the Rev. Walter Snyder

Q: The Bible says, "God despises a liar and loves an honest heart." This bothers me because I
thought He loves us in spite of our flaws and weaknesses. I have lived with a lie for my whole life
and now I feel that I should "fess up" about this. However, I'm the only one who has been hurt by
this lie. It's an issue of pride, which I know is also a sin. Since no one else has been affected by
this directly, it should be my personal issue to work through with God as opposed to the masses
at large, right? Do you know in what context that Scripture was taken?

A: You are hearing God's Law, which all sinners (all people) need to hear. This Law always
condemns. Obviously, it's doing its work, since you have been afflicted by this.

Note that the passage doesn't talk about murderers, adulterers, or others because their sins are
addressed elsewhere. But at this time, these words have singled you out. You have not murdered.
You have not committed any number of other sins. Still, you are not perfect, and the Law finds
you guilty of dishonesty.

Your own honesty, no matter how hard you try, can never measure up to God's standards Only
the absolute truth that Christ lived and spoke is perfect, and anything less is unacceptable to God.
Thus, by God's grace in Christ Jesus, we must claim the Savior's honesty as our own.

This happens as we confess our sins to Him, trusting in His forgiveness. I don't know your
church, but situations like yours are why some churches and many individual pastors and priests
practice individual confession (which is actually individual absolution, or forgiveness). Some sins
seem to root themselves so deeply that not only the wrong, but also the guilt are extremely
difficult to hand over to God. Being forthright in confessing to God in the presence of one of His
called shepherds is difficult, yet it allows opportunity for God to reach past our pride and our
shame, snatch away the sin, and nail it to the cross of Christ. In so doing, He shows the truth of
your own words, that God loves us, "in spite of our flaws and weaknesses."

In sin's place, He offers full and free pardon, as well as strength to turn away from the sin. He
creates the "honest heart," just as we pray in Psalm 51. I would say that if you have not harmed
others, but are having difficulty confronting this privately with God, you could find a trusted
minister of the Gospel and ask if he will hear your confession and pronounce the Absolution.
While your sin is "personal," it's difficult to "work through" with God, since we naturally tend to
downplay the severity of the sin or while overestimating our ability to battle it. Going to God with
your pastor on your side makes it easier both to focus on the absolute wrong of the sin and to
receive the fullness of God's forgiveness.

Q: What are the books of wisdom in the Old and New Testaments?

Biblical "wisdom literature" is most practical and day-to-day in orientation. It isn't normally
deeply theological but deals with moral issues and living a good life. Depending upon who does
the classifying, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are usually considered by scholars as the major wisdom
books of the Old Testament. Often, Job, the Psalms, or the Song of Songs are also included. If
you also read the Apocrypha, several other books could be added to the list.

There isn't much in the New Testament that qualifies for the same category. However, if any one
book fits the "wisdom" classification, it's James, since it most closely parallels Hebrew wisdom
literature, especially in its nuts-and-bolts practicality.

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Walter Snyder is the pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma, Missouri and coauthor of
the book "What Do Lutherans Believe."

Ask the Pastor is copyright (c) 2001 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality,
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