Exposing sin that has been repented of?

[21centpilgrim]

Is it biblical to expose sin that has been repented of?

Does Christ expose His bride sin that she has walked through? Could it be for her healing or is forgiveness healing enough? Is the church's - Christ's bride's- reputation of any concern or is it more profitable in being authentic and real? Is it healthy for scandalous sin that has been confessed to be exposed to the body at large?

any thoughts would be great.
Jesus is precious!

[benstenson]

I thought of this passage. It's not an answer but maybe relevant.

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting." (1Tim 1:15-16)

[Perry]

I think it depends on the situation. If it's a sin for which restitution can be made, then it may be a good idea to come forward, confess the sin, and make restitution.

However, I can think of situations where a sin could be repented of, and yet it really wouldn't do anyone any good to publicize it. In some cases, discretion may be the wiser choice.

[RICHinCHRIST]

This passage was what first came to my mind:



Although it says people are currently "sinning", I think this could refer to sin that has been repented of. When sin is committed it has a corrupting influence on the rest of the body of Christ. It might be a wise decision for a leader to publicly address a certain sin in a gathering of believers in order to warn everyone of the weaknesses in the body. Where there is sin in the camp, it has the effect of corrupting the rest of the camp. A little leaven leavens the whole lump... (1 Cor 5:6)

[21centpilgrim]

Although it says people are currently "sinning", I think this could refer to sin that has been repented of.

I am not getting this. You state accurately that the passage talks about those who are currently sinning then go to say that the passage could refer to the opposite?

Any passages come to mind about God not exposing Israel's past sins or anything like that? Where are some statements of God protecting the honor and character of His bride?

thanks

[RICHinCHRIST]

That passage came to mind in regards to a different spiritual truth. I was focusing more on the second aspect of the verse, where the other people who weren't sinning were being warned.

I'm considering the spiritual truth that the body of Christ is made of many members, and that we are "members of one another" (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:25). Since we are 'members of one another', sin can adversely affect people in the body of Christ in a spiritual sense. In other words, certain sins could bring about heavier propensity upon other members of the body of Christ to commit those same sins. We see this, for example, when the author of Hebrews mentions the sin of bitterness' ability to corrupt many people.

Many could become defiled by the one sin of bitterness. Even if this sin had been repented of, it had the possibility of spreading through the congregation.

There was also the case of the man in sexual sin in the Corinthian church who was put out of the church for the preservation of the rest of the congregation.

Paul is speaking of a little bit of sin corrupting the whole church in time. A little sin brings a lot of sin in time.

I'm just considering the possibility of bringing up a certain issue of sin may be profitable for the entire church since it would warn the members of the church to be on guard against certain temptations that the rest of the body is currently experiencing (1 Pet. 5:9). I'm not saying that it is profitable to address issues of sin that had been repented of many months or years in the past. We can think of God's attitude toward past sin in His dealing with Israel:

[Perry]

It seems to me the chief thing here is that the sin has been repented of... and is not an ongoing problem... if that's the case, then I caution against making things public unless there's a good reason to do otherwise.

Consider:


and also...

[Jacob]

I agree with Perry, Those were great verses btw. One of the things Steve has said that helps me a lot is to take an idea to its logical extreme. If it doesn't make sense then something isn't right. It this case, the extreme would be to expose all sins. I would have to tell my wife if I have ever lusted after other women and all their names and tell everyone if I had any bad thoughts about them at any time. All sin is against God and It should all be confessed to him. I don't think any man has the fortitude to even hear all the things that have been done against him.

Now, even when we confess our sin, there is still the issue of the man's heart. Just because a sin is confessed and repented doesn't mean there aren't consequeces. For instance, if my daughter keeps getting into the candy jar, no matter how sorry she is, the candy jar will probably be placed off limits to her. Also, Adam confessed his sin, but he was still kicked out of the garden. Cain killed Abel and he was marked and kicked out of the country. When there is sin, there has to be walls put up for justice's sake. If a married man is flirting with a woman, they might not be allowed to see eachother again, and he maybe shouldn't be around women alone in any circumstance. There are any number of situations. So, when there is repented sin there is grace, but there is also justice.