Squeezing Out the Boil

Squeezing Out the Boil

“There is no one to look after you so he squeezes out your boil.” Jer. 30:13.

“‘They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, “Peace, Peace!” when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down,’ says the Lord.” Jer. 6:14-15.

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” Gal. 6:1.

There is a great difference between being overtaken by a sin and living in it. There is also a difference between acknowledging your sin on your own and others having to force you to acknowledge it. When a person is forced to acknowledge it, then it is not really an acknowledgment.

It is evident that it is difficult for someone who has fallen in sin to be cleansed from it. If sin is to be cleansed away, it has to be acknowledged. 1 John 1:9. Those who are sinning want to get away with it as easily as possible, and those who are to help them tend to plaster the sin with untempered mortar to avoid any inconvenience. This is what the prophets did in the days of old. Ezek. 13:10-19.

When you have sinned, you have a boil. If you go to someone who cares for you, he will squeeze it out. This causes pain, and most people shrink away from that. Consequently, some of the pus is apt to remain in the boil. It appears to heal and after some time it is almost forgotten. However, because you have not thoroughly acknowledged it—because the boil was not squeezed out—you have received a spot, a blemish. This blemish keeps gnawing at your conscience, and you do not have perfect rest. It takes true humility not to end up with a blemish after you have sinned.

It is evident that most people want to be let off as lightly as possible, which is why they confess their sin to people who seemingly show such great love. Such people “have also healed the hurt of My people slightly.” And it is also evident that those who are healed in this way “were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush.” They may have fallen in adultery, and as soon as they are let off with a superficial confession, they begin to testify in the assembly as if nothing had happened. This is pure impudence, which goes to show that they have not grieved over their sin, for what could such a person possibly give to an assembly?

Miriam also wanted to be let off lightly from the sin she had committed, but God said that she should sit with her shame for seven days outside the camp. Num. 12.

It is worse when a servant of the church sins. If he is truly humble, he can have his sin cleansed away by the blood of Jesus so that he will be without blemish. However, it will take a long time for him to regain the confidence of the church so he can again be a servant in the church. A servant in the church must be blameless, yet he must also first be proved before he can serve in the church. 1 Tim. 3:10. If a servant in the church sins, this proves that he is no longer a servant in the church, and he should be so humble that he withdraws from being a servant until he has regained the confidence of the church.

We realize from this that sin is terribly destructive, and we must affirm the understanding with which Jesus came, that it is more dangerous to sin than to lose an eye or a hand. Matt. 5:27-30.