Being Real With God
Being Real With God
Probably the hardest thing for us fallen sinners to do, is to be truly honest--with others, with ourselves, and (especially) with God. The very first effect of sin on our souls, is to be dishonest, deflecting, and insecure. Once Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, they, (and we, along with them), were seeking ways to hide from God, make excuses for sin, and race from bush to bush to seek to escape the gaze of the Holy One.
Before we begin to beat ourselves up too much over this, which tends to only add to our troubles, let us recognize that sin really does bring shame; and shame is an appropriate response (before our pristine Triune Deity). So, the way to get "real" with God, is to deal with the "shame" issue. It is a real problem, and it must be addressed. And, the way to cancel the shame dynamic is by alleviating the sin issue. And the way to eliminate the sin issue, is via forgiveness (from the Ultimate One against Whom the sin was committed). And the way to get forgiveness, is by drowning one's heart and sins in the one sufficient blood sacrifice that was made for sin (by Jesus Christ). And the way to do this, is by faith: believing God's gospel promise, that those who come honestly before Him, confessing their utter sinfulness, and casting themselves upon the Messiah and His atonement--will indeed be completely forgiven, and received by the Father (with open arms of love, grace, and mercy).
. . . So, it is literally impossible to be truly honest with oneself, others, or God, without the forgiveness of sins, and the assurance that one is actually pardoned by the great and powerful God of glory, wonder, and awe.
Someone might say, "OK, I hear you; but I am just too scared to do this. What if God calls to mind my sins. Surely, He would punish me and condemn me. How can I be sure that God would be merciful with me, if I was actually honest with Him?" The gospel of grace promises that God will be merciful. Everyone who has ever availed themselves of this good news will attest to the same thing: that God received them in Jesus; and that He was kind, merciful, gracious, generous, and even joyful--to forgive their sins (in Jesus' blood alone). Someone else might say, "Yes; but I am a very 'accomplished' sinner. Are you sure God would accept me? You have no idea how sinful and wretched I have been." Again, the answer, is, "Yes; God will receive you in Jesus Christ."
Maybe there is someone who sincerely believes in Jesus; but he or she is still not comfortable being completely "honest" with God--because there is still some "shame" that he or she just cannot seem to "get beyond." The gospel answer, is, "Come honestly to your Heavenly Father. He already knows everything about you. You cannot hide anything from Him. If you come to Him in Jesus, freely confessing your sin and sinfulness, He will receive you."
Perhaps there is somebody else who self-professedly has no love for Christ at all; and who wishes to be considered "honest" with oneself; and hopes to be thought of as a truly honest person. Is this possible? The answer, I think, is, " 'Yes,' and 'no.' 'Yes,' in that, if you are willing to accept the truth about yourself, that you really are a vile sinner; but you just like being one--I suppose, in this sense, you are being honest. But, 'No,' in that, your very acknowledgement of your sinfulness admits that you are a liar. You know you have sinned against God; but you have no desire to see that situation altered, even though true integrity demands it." . . .
"Being real with God" is the highest form of liberty. It leads to more and more joy and freedom in Christ. The Lord loves an honest sinner, who now (down here in this life, in the church militant) becomes a sinner/saint. When the Prodigal Son was walking home, rehearsing his lines of repentance, the Exuberant Father was running out to him, to welcome him into his (ultimately, God's) embraces, kingdom, and love, (Lk. 15:17-24).
If you are a sinner, you qualify for grace. If you are a "good" person who needs no forgiveness, (or so, you so wrongly think), you have made yourself your own worst enemy.
"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price," (Isa. 55:1/ESV).
Rev. Mark J. Henninger
Treatise #82
14 March 2026
Amen!
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