Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done.” (Josh. 7:20)
Shortly after Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, came out in theaters, the media started to report shocking stories of people who had watched the movie and were so moved by their sins that they actually turned themselves into the police! One of the biggest stories I remember hearing came from a man who had meticulously killed his pregnant girlfriend to make it look like she had committed suicide. He got away with the crime, until he saw the movie and was forced to come face to face with the sin in his heart. When asked why the man turned himself in, his spiritual advisor said, “Something between that and the movie, he felt in order for him to have redemption he would have to confess his sin and do his time.”
Achan thought that he had gotten away with the covetousness lodged deep in his heart. He must have been shocked to find out that God wasn’t kidding when he said that any sin in the camp would lead to defeat and ultimately death.
Because today we live under the dispensation of grace, it is very easy to dismiss sin as just one tiny mistake. Please reconsider this thinking a lie in light of what happened to Achan and his family. Confession is the only way to walk right with the Lord, regardless of the consequences.
Seek God’s redemption with a heart free from unconfessed sin.
Devon Smith is district superintendent of the Tri-State District of The Wesleyan Church, and founder/director of the CROSS Training ordination program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
