My Story and the Book of Hosea: The Grace of Exposed Sin
This blog was written by a man who finished the group discipleship ministry at Harvest USA.
The first time I read the book of Hosea, I was struck by just how related my struggles with sexual sin were to eighth-century Israelite idolatry. In Hosea, the Lord takes his people to court for their disordered, idolatrous worship, which amounted to spiritual adultery. But in that process, they experience the grace of exposed sin.
Whether single, dating, or married, sexual sin is an outward manifestation of inward spiritual brokenness. Like Israel, when we bend the knee to sexual idolatry (pornography, fornication, homosexuality, adultery, and so on), we are saying that God himself is not worthy of our full devotion and worship. Our worship is disordered. But the message of Hosea is indeed one of hope for the weary sinner.
The Sinfulness of Sin
In Hosea’s day, idolatry was rampant in Israel. They had broken the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). Thus, as a sign against his people and their adulterous worship, God commands Hosea to call his second child “No Mercy” and his third child “Not My People” (Hos. 1:6–9). This was a declaration that God’s presence had departed from his people and judgment was imminent.
This is the state you and I were born into. We were born in sin, separated from God, without mercy, and a people not his own. Our disordered desire for sexual sin, expressed in its various forms, is an outward expression of an inward idolatry of the heart. We are actively choosing that which is not God himself. We were born worshiping the creature rather than the Creator.
But for those who have a relationship with Christ, consider Paul’s words, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute?” (I Cor. 6:15). Paul is saying that we are so united to Jesus by faith that when we give ourselves over to sexual sin, it’s as if we are implicating Jesus in the very same sin. This is why a wife whose husband has cheated on her is so grievously harmed. Her husband, who belonged to her in their one flesh union, has shared that union with another. It’s the same when we as Christians sin against our Lord Jesus. In fact, it is worse.
The Hand of God and Exposed Sin
Look at how God responds to Israel’s continued unfaithfulness: “Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one shall rescue her out of my hand” (Hos. 2:10).
God is the one who exposes sin. If you find yourself faced with your exposed sin, it is God’s hand at work. I say this to encourage you. If God has exposed your secret sin, he’s leading you toward restoration.
Friend, I know how painful this is. I’ve been there. In my season of discipleship at Harvest USA, the sense that everyone in my life knew about my secret sin was excruciating. One of the greatest griefs of my life is that my exposed sin finally led to the death of my beloved relationship. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, I found myself scrambling for the nearest fig leaves to cover my nakedness. But being in the hand of the Lord is the safest place.
It is God’s disciplining grace that exposes our sinfulness so that we will be cleansed, purified, and conformed into the image of Christ. This is why Jesus died. On the cross, he exposed the world’s sin through what he suffered, and when he rose again, he showed what we all shall be like when he finally gathers us home at the resurrection.
Restoration of the Sinner
As surely as God is the one who exposes sin, he is the one who restores the sinner to a right relationship with himself: “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her” (Hos. 2:14). God promises to renew his covenant with his people. And in verse 17 he says, “I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth.” This is why we can call exposed sin God’s grace. There is a purpose to it. It’s not simply to make us suffer; it is to renew and restore us.
It was only through the exposure of my deepest sins that I began to realize whose hand it was that held me. David Powlison said, “One of the deep truths of sanctification is that you get better and worse at the same time!” (102) The more our sin is drawn out, the more freedom we have from it—yet at the same time, we see how sinful we actually are.
What Now?
What then does this mean for our lives today as we continue to wrestle with indwelling idolatry?
- Understand the problem. While it may be manifesting as sexual sin, this is not our first problem. Our problem is disordered worship. We have broken the first commandment and set up idols in the place of God himself.
- Risk exposure. I praise God that he exposed my sin. For, even though I lost much through it, I gained far more in his glorious work of renewing grace. Therefore, if it is God’s grace that exposes sin, then we are undoubtedly safe to open up about our secret idolatry.
- Consider the One to whom we belong. Jesus has established his church and all who trust in him belong to him. We have the secure hope of future grace when the names of the Baals will one day be finally removed from our mouths
Dear sinner, I pray that you fall on your knees before our holy God, trusting in his exposing grace to purify you like gold in the refining fires of his great love. He is a faithful Husband. He will not abandon you to your shame. Even as you see how deeply sinful you are, trust the Lord and his goodness as you walk through the painful grace of exposed sin.
