The Bible --- No Cover-ups Here!

One of the challenges that religious writers must face, is the challenge of being honest about evil. When we write, we should always want good to win over evil. But even the best people have flaws. So to be credible, writers must be honest about the evil that lurks even in good people.

One reason this writer believes the Bible is true, is that the Author did not cover-up the character flaws of His chosen people. God was honest about the failures of those He hand-picked for leadership positions. He didn’t excuse their bad behavior, minimize their failures, or look the other way. He reported their sins, judged their sins, measured out the consequences of their sins, and forgave their sins whenever forgiveness was asked for.

The most prominent example of this in Scripture is King David. Not only did he take another man’s wife (2 Samuel 11:1-5), he then took the man’s life to cover-up his adultery (2 Samuel 11:6-17). Yet despite his despicable deeds, when he was confronted, David repented (2 Samuel 12:13; cf. Psalm 51:1-4). He became the standard by which future kings of Israel were judged because his heart was right before the Lord (1 Samuel 13:14; cf. Acts 13:22; 1 Kings 14:7-8; 1 Kings 15:3-5).

God knows the motives of the hearts of all men (1 John 3:20; cf. Luke 16:15; Acts 1:24; Acts 15:8), and He is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; 1 Peter 1:17).

Although the truth of sin is painful (Psalm 119:67,71), when it’s confessed and forgiven (1 John 1:8-9), it can be used to turn our hearts toward God (cf. Psalm 51:10-17).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets