Resurrection Lutheran Church, St Catharines

Where is your favourite hiding place? Is it a dark, closed in spot that you only go to when you are afraid, and desperately hoping that nothing will get you? Or is it a bright and open place where you are comfortable knowing that nothing will interrupt your sense of peace and security? They are two very different types of places where we may be hiding.

 

After Adam and Eve listened to the temptation of the devil who was hiding in the serpent, they too went into hiding. They sewed together some fig leaves to cover their nakedness and hid themselves from the LORD God (Genesis 3). Like them, our sins drive us into hiding from God. Our conscience tells us that we have sinned and in fear of how God will react to it, we hide ourselves from Him.

 

We know that Adam and Eve could not hide from God. He sought them out and confronted them with their sin. The Bible tells us in the Book of Hebrews that “no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). We must face up to God for each and every one of our sins, every single time we have listened to the temptations of the devil instead of listening the words of warning from our heavenly Father.

 

And His eyes see through every sort of cover up. What kind of fig leaves do you try to fix together in order to hide from God’s call to face up to your sins? Sometimes we hide behind the delusion that God does not know everything. We think that perhaps He is too busy to pay attention to what we are up to. Or that He has bigger issues to deal with and we can slip past His notice.

 

But God has His eye upon every creature of His. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing about it (Matthew 10:29). So He also sees every time one of His children fall into sin, every single time. There is nothing that He does not know about. We may be able to hide it from the world and from our friends and perhaps even from our spouse, but we cannot hide any sin from Him. Don’t grasp for that flimsy fig leaf.

 

In a similar way we might hide behind the denial that there will be a day of judgment against all sin. After all, sometimes it looks like we have gotten away with it. There haven’t been any immediate repercussions so maybe we will get off free this time. Maybe God will just let it go or come to agree with us that it is no big deal, it is just a little white lie, no one got hurt, it doesn’t really count. But God never says that they don’t count.

 

Rather, he tells us that we will all be held accountable for every sin no matter what size it may seem to be to us. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The wages of any sin is death. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12). That flimsy fig leaf falls to the ground also.

 

So we grab another to patch the hole and try to explain why it was necessary for us to sin, why it was actually a good thing that we did it. This is what happened to Eve in the garden, and it is a favourite way that the old evil foe tries to inject his venom. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6).

 

Surely this foliage will fasten into place and cover us. But no. None of her keen observations or reasonable conclusions was allowed to overrule the decree of God: “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

 

“But it produces fruit like all the other trees in the garden that You said we could eat from. But it looks so good, even better than the trees that You said we could eat from. But this tree not only feeds our bodies it will also feed our intellect.” NO, NO, NO. None of the arguments and excuses that we come up with can dismiss the declaration of God that it shall not be done.

 

These fig leaves do not come together to form any kind of effective Ghillie suit to conceal ourselves amidst the brush and brambles. God can spot us regardless of any kind of camouflage. Like you might quickly spot a grasshopper in your garden and deftly bring your hand down to capture it, so God’s hand comes down heavy upon us sinners when we try to hide ourselves from Him. The heavy hand of God crashes down upon us with such force that we know He could crush our bones to powder.

 

He calls to us in His Word, like He called to Adam and Eve and He confronts us with our sins like He confronted Adam and Eve. The Holy Spirit at work in the Word of God exposes us sinners, and all the fig leaves fall away. We are naked before the eyes of God and everything that we are ashamed of is brought into the light of day. We are forced out of hiding and must confess our transgressions unto the Lord.

 

Yet it is not as if there is no hiding place. We are not left without a place of sanctuary and safety. But it is not a place to hide from God. It is a place to hide in God. We have something more durable than fig leaves to clothe us. We have something more encompassing than loincloths to cover our guilt and shame. Even as the devil continues to attack us with his temptations and accusations, THE offspring of the woman has become our hiding place. “Our life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).

 

Through Holy Baptism, we are clothed with Christ, not with fig leaves. Since Baptism unites us to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He covers all our sin and shields us from the devil’s accusations. If Baptism were just an act of obedience with no divine power, it would be just another flimsy fig leaf. But within our baptism is the power of God’s Almighty Word. He declares us to be washed clean of every sin and shameful stain.

 

In Baptism we are also given the Holy Spirit who renews and regenerates our lives through the powerful Word of God, so that as He declares us to be His children, cleansed and purified, we are strengthened to resist the temptations of the devil. We do not so easily fall for his deceits when we are kept in the faith that our Lord God is our one and only Saviour. In place of fig leaves, God gives to us His mighty armour (Ephesians 6), clothing us with the One who was victorious over the old evil foe, both in the wilderness of temptation and upon the cross of salvation.

 

When you are fearful, do not forget you have an effective and secure sanctuary in which to hide. Do not grab for fig leaves, but go to Christ through the promise of your Baptism. You don’t have to search for another place to hide. God is not hiding His gifts from you. He lays them out before you so that you can easily receive them.

 

His Word is freely available. He calls all of His children to share the message of Christ crucified for sinners. He directs His people to speak words of forgiveness and He even calls chosen servants in the Church to to forgive in the stead of Christ Himself. Your hiding place is to return to the promises given to you in your Baptism.

 

Find your refuge in the Word of God that restates these promises to you and tells you of the victory that your Saviour has won for you. As your champion Christ Jesus stepped forward to battle the giant with his deadly poisoned darts. He didn’t dodge them. He didn’t deflect them. He quenched them with the same Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11) that is placed into your hands and into your heart.

 

Your hiding place is with Christ in God. With Christ there is no need to hide from God. There is no need to grasp for fig leaves. You are completely clothed, even armoured to stand against the attacks of the devil (Ephesians 6). This clothing will last through all temptations, through every fall and standing again. This clothing will last through death and resurrection so that you will stand fully covered in the righteousness of Christ when you stand before the Lord at the Day of Judgment.

 

We are hidden not from God, crouching down behind bushes in the dark. Rather we are hidden in the comfort and light of God Himself. He hides us from the accusations and attacks of the devil. He shields us from the devil’s temptations to despair. He armours us from the evil one’s accusations of guilt. He covers us from the shame of our past, by declaring us to be His children through Holy Baptism.

 

When I came out of hiding in that dark and closed in place behind bushes and fig leaves, “I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:5), giving me a hiding place with Christ that is bright and open, and still a place where the evil One cannot touch me.

 

Here in the Church I am reminded of my baptismal covering. “Baptismal waters cover me as I approach on bended knee” (LSB 616). My sins are forgiven. I have the protection of God’s Almighty Word. I am surrounded with the singing of salvation. “You are a hiding place for me. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance” (Psalm 32:7).