“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
(John 8:44)
Some sins arise suddenly under the force of temptation, but others are deliberately conceived, carefully arranged, and patiently pursued. The plotting of another person’s harm belongs to this latter and more dreadful kind—one in which the heart desires the injury and the will employs the mind to conceive it.
Such deliberate sin reveals how deeply corruption can take root and work within the heart. When a person plans how to wound another, conceal his own intentions, spread discord, or bring about another’s downfall, evil has become more than a passing impulse. It has been welcomed, considered, and cultivated by one who has allowed his thoughts to become a workshop in which intended harm is designed.
Christ describes the devil as both a murderer and a liar. Cruelty and falsehood belong together because injury often depends on deception. The harm must be concealed, the victim misrepresented, motives disguised, and appearances manipulated. To indulge either malice or deceit is therefore to imitate the works of the evil one rather than the character of Christ, for even natural justice itself teaches that one should not devise against another what he would dread having devised against himself.[1]
This sin is especially grievous when directed against the people of God. The saints are precious to Him, redeemed by the blood of Christ and regarded as His own. To seek their ruin is to strike at those whom God loves.
Christianity is marked by meekness, harmlessness, sincerity, and openness. Those who depend on God do not need secret schemes to secure their interests. They wait on His providence, speak truthfully, and endure wrong without plotting retaliation. Deception, malice, and calculated injury are in direct opposition to the simplicity and godly sincerity that should characterize the children of God.
Believers are by no means incapable of deliberate sin, however. David’s treatment of Uriah proves how terribly a godly man can fall when sinful desire is permitted to mature into a settled design. But such sins dishonor God, injure others, grieve the Spirit, and often bring bitter consequences. They must therefore be confessed as willful departures from truth, love, and holiness.
Contemplations:
- Confessing Deliberate Sin. I sometimes allow sinful thoughts to remain in my heart when I should have rejected them immediately. Instead of resisting resentment, I have made space for it, justified it, and even considered how I might act upon it. Forgive me for every sin I have committed knowingly, Lord. And cleanse my heart from every purpose I entertain that opposes Your holy will.
- Confessing Malice Toward Others. I confess every desire to see another humbled, wounded, or exposed. Such thoughts are contrary to love and reveal the sin that remains within me. Forgive me for nurturing resentment or welcoming another’s trouble. Help me seek my neighbor’s good and to grieve rather than rejoice when harm comes to them.
- Confessing Deceit And Concealment. I have sometimes hidden sinful intentions beneath carefully chosen words or outward appearances. I have wanted to appear harmless while permitting untruths, exaggeration, insinuation, or secrecy to serve my purposes. Forgive me for every likeness to the father of lies, and let my speech be governed instead by a clear and honest conscience.
- Confessing My Lack Of Meekness. I confess that I have not always displayed the gentleness and harmlessness that should mark a follower of Christ. When offended, I have been tempted to defend my own interests through anger, manipulation, or retaliation rather than waiting on You. Forgive my unwillingness to suffer wrong patiently, and give me grace to walk in meekness, trust Your providence, and overcome evil with godly sincerity.
Prayer (Confession)
Holy and righteous God, I confess the malice, deceit, and deliberate sin that have found a place within my heart. You know every thought I have entertained, every resentment I have nurtured, and every purpose I have hidden from others.
Forgive me for allowing evil thoughts to stay alive until they became settled intentions. Forgive every occasion when I have desired another’s pain, spoken with hidden motives, encouraged discord, or taken satisfaction in another person’s distress. These things are contrary to Your love and bear the likeness of the murderer and liar whom Christ condemned.
Cleanse me from secret and calculated sin. Make me harmless yet wise, sincere, truthful, and meek under attack. And teach me to leave my reputation, interests, and vindication in Your hands.
Where I have harmed others, grant me repentance that is honest and thorough. Restore the joy that deliberate sin has disrupted, and let the character of Christ increasingly govern my thoughts, words, and actions.
Preserve me from plotting, retaliation, and concealed hostility. Cause me to walk openly before You with a tender conscience, loving my neighbor and seeking peace. And may simplicity, godly sincerity, and holy meekness distinguish my life.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
1 John 3:8; Gen. 3:4; Matt. 13:38; John 8:34-38
[1] Thomas Manton, One Hundred and Ninety Sermons on the Hundred and Nineteenth Psalm, (London: Printed for T.P. & C. and are to be sold by Michael Hide, bookseller in Exon, 1681), 738-740.
