Silence of Guilt

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1Jo 1:8-10 AV)

Lack of confession could be the manner in which we say we have no sin.  Just because we do not defend ourselves verbally and with vigor does not mean we are innocent.  Silence can also be a form of denying wrongdoing.  In fact, it is our first response.  Lack of confession is just as evident of wrong doing as a full confession.  That is, if we are guilty.

 Coming from a large family has its advantages.  Specially when there was something broken or missing.  When there are ten other suspects, silence is your best defense.  As long as no one says anything, we are all in the clear.  As long as we can hide the guilt on our faces, the inquisition will not last all that long.  Silence is the friend of the guilty.  However, being a parent myself, we learn to read guilt.  If my father lined all eleven of us up and began the interrogation, it would not take long before he could look at our face and into our eyes.  He could correctly pick out the guilty party.  Lack of confession worked against us.  The lack of verbal confession only worked to expose our guilt.  Our lack of confession was the thing that ended with our conviction.   Not, if a person is innocent, then there would be no confession.  He didn’t do anything.  So, a lack of confession does not mean someone is automatically guilty.  That would be silly.  What John is saying is if we are guilty, the lack of confession become our admittance of guilt.  The original infraction is compounded by calling God a liar.  We call Him a liar when we quench the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

 Our first reaction to guilt is to hide and keep quiet.  This is exactly what Adam and Eve did.  However, when the voice of God found them in the cool of the day, they didn’t run again.  When the LORD began the interrogation, they engaged God in conversation.  They did not keep silence and make God a liar.  It is often said the believer should “keep short accounts with God.”  What is meant by that is we should confess sin soon and often.  By ignoring the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit and refusing to confess, we acknowledge our culpability, but in the process, make God a liar.  It could be our silence is our greatest evidence of guilt.