Proverbs 28:13 (NKJV)
"He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."
In Strong's Concordance, the Hebrew word for "cover" is...
h3680. כָּסָה ḵâsâ; a primitive root;
properly, to plump, i.e. fill up hollows;
by implication, to cover (for clothing or secrecy): — clad self, close, clothe, conceal, cover (self), (flee to) hide, overwhelm. Compare 3780.
AV (152) - cover 135, hide 6, conceal 4, covering 2, overwhelmed 2, clad 1, closed 1, clothed 1; to cover, conceal, hide
(Qal) conceal, covered (participle)
(Niphal) to be covered
(Piel) to cover, clothe to cover, conceal to cover (for protection) to cover over, spread over to cover, overwhelm
(Pual) to be covered to be clothed
(Hithpael) to cover oneself, clothe oneself."
A familiar story comes to mind of the first coverup.
Genesis 3:6-10 (NKJV) "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
The Hebrew word for "coverings" is....
h2290. חֲגוֹר ḥăg̱ôr; or חֲגֹר ḥagor; and (feminine) חֲגוֹרָה ḥagôrah; or חֲגֹרָה ḥagorah; from 2296; a belt (for the waist): — apron, armour, gird(-le).AV (6) - girdle 3, apron 1, armour 1, gird 1; girdle, belt girdle, loin-covering, belt, loin-cloth, armour."
So, the first thing that Adam and Eve had done was cover up their lower parts and then they both ran for cover when they heard the Lord walking in the Garden.'
The story speaks for itself.
There's a common pattern.
The commandment.
The responsibility to be obedient.
The false sense of security that nothing will happen if you sin.
The deliberate intentional commission of the transgression.
The discovery and conviction that sin was committed.
The fear of accountability and coverup.
The Law Giver searches and finds the lawbreaker.
Whenever a minister sexually sins before the Lord, he searches for ways to cover his sin instead of exercising discipline not to sin against God.
They suppress the commandment of God and yield to the temptation.
James 1:14 (NKJV)"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death."
Just like what happened to Eve in the Garden.
In desperation, a frantic church administration takes irrational steps to "circle the wagons," but it's futile before the Omniscient God. The spin and smoke screens are released in emails, social media posts, and YouTube press releases to get "ahead" of the story.
Not realizing that the God of heaven is watching or has seen it all unfold before time began. It only underscores that the fear of the Lord is nonexistent.
They never knew Him is the first place because if they knew the Lord, they wouldn't have considered attempting to cover up the pastor or the sin.
All sorts of phrases are used which only amount to lies.
In fact, before time began, He knew that we would break the law. He knew beforehand that Adam would sin.
You see, the Lord is prepared to go either way.
If we walk in obedience, He's pleased, and there's no need for punishment or consequences.
If we walk in disobedience, He's not pleased. Punishment and consequences must follow.
It's a mystery that we'll never grasp with our finite minds.
Ministries and executive leadership teams, elder boards, deacon boards, board of directors, trustees, and other organizational establishments rarely get it right.
With the many sexual scandals that have occurred over the centuries, some have gotten it right.
Upon discovery, you bring in the parties involved and SEPARATELY question the allegations.
If you have a question as to what to do, you call your attorney.
Upon establishing the facts, you immediately take appropriate action.
If criminal acts such as rape, and other sexual crimes are alleged, you contact the police and the district attorney.
No, we don't leave out Matthew 18:18-20.
And you don't wait as most ministries and churches do.
What you want to do is provide the correct Biblical and legal response to the allegations without "circling the wagons"as most ministries do.
When the law is brought to bear the way that it's supposed to work, it's the one thing you need to get right, 100% of the time. Because if it's discovered that you've participated in a coverup, you might be liable for "obstruction of justice"charges.
Adam and Eve violated the commandment of God and sought to hide because they've discovered that their sin was egregious.
How egregious? Their eyes were opened and when they've looked at themselves and each other, the shame of being naked became apparent.
So the natural thing to do is to "cover up."
But it was too late. Adam died at the age of 930 years.
The Lord's judgment came to pass, just as He said.
To properly put it in perspective, it's seen in Scripture that the Lord provided atonement for Adam and Eve by providing cover for them by killing an animal and making coverings of skin to cover their shame.
Then the plan was initiated (see Genesis 3:15) to save man by sending His Son to atone (cover) for the sin of the world.
By faith (trust), we fall on the mercy of God by repenting of sin and placing faith on Christ, then live by His commandments to abstain from sin for the rest of our lives.
If a ministry is involved in false teaching, they need to renounce, denounce, rescind, and destroy false teaching and come to the basic gospel message according to Mark 16:16, Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, and Galatians 1:6-9.
So when you see boards and other church administrations involved in protecting the minister, they may be involved in obstruction of justice.
The alleged victim is also afraid. He or she came forward and brought serious allegations against the minister. When they're brought in for questioning or they come on their own, it's a very serious ordeal.
But it's about getting the facts and then take appropriate action.
The charismatics and even denominational organizations, over the years, have been involved in coverups because it's embarrassing.
Their first level of sorrow is the fact that sin against God was committed.
No coverup.
No conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Coming clean is painfully ugly and the world will do what the world does, but when it comes to the Lord and His commandments, you do everything possible to get to the bottom of this and get it right with God FIRST.
The evil doers, should they refuse to repent, God will deal with them.
"Lord, in WRATH, REMEMBER MERCY." Said Amos.
Luke 8:17-18 (NKJV) "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light."
Anyone that makes even a hint of trying to cover it up, get rid of them quickly. They don't have God's righteousness working in them.
Hebrews 4:13 (NKJV) "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."
The Lord already has His hand on the situation.
Ezekiel 8:17-18 (NKJV) "And He said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here?
For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose.
Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”
The last thing you want when you remain pridefully impenitent is to fall into His hands.
Hebrews 10:30-31 (NKJV) "For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The LORD will judge His people.”
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
So why do people entertain the coverup when a pastor is caught in sin, in a confirmed sexual scandal?
Money.
Reputation.
Prestige.
Your preacher is bringing home the "bacon."
Everyone working in the ministry is depending upon the paycheck.
The church has established a reputation and if you lose the reputation, the people will walk. When people walk, the money goes with them.
The prestige of being recognized by your peers as a top notch ministry is pride.
As Proverbs 16:18 say, "Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall."
James 4:6 (NKJV) "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
1 Peter 5:5b-6 (NKJV) “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”
Until then, church administrations will engage in the coverups, and they will continue.
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