WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
MAY 13, 2025
TOPIC: GOD WILL JUDGE YOUR SECRET LIFE
BY T. O. BANSO
“And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life” (Romans 2:16 New Living Translation).
Our lives can be divided into two – private and public. A secret life refers to the aspects of our lives that others don’t know about. They could be good or bad. You should not have a sinful secret life – a life different from what people know about you. You should not have something sinful you’re doing that you don’t want others to know, something you’re hiding from people, or something you’re doing that you won’t be proud of if people should know about it. That is duplicity; it’s a double life.
It’s possible to lead a double life and succeed for a long time or sometimes till you die. That may be hidden from human beings but not God. The Bible says God knows what you do in secret. Jesus says, “Pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6b). In verse 18, Jesus says we should not appear to men to be fasting, but to our Father who is in the secret place and our Father who sees in secret will reward us openly.
What applies to prayer and fasting also applies to other departments of your life. If God sees you in secret when you pray, He also knows other things you do in secret that others don’t know. God doesn’t need to find out what you do in secret; He knows. He is the Omniscient.
If God asks you a question, it is not because He doesn’t know the answer. It would be stupid to lie to Him. When He asked Adam in the Garden of Eden, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), it wasn’t because He didn’t know. He knew when Adam and Eve were eating the forbidden fruit. He just didn’t talk or stop them – they were free moral agents; they were free to make their choices.
If you have a sinful secret life, evil deeds that are hidden from others, you may deceive people about who you truly are; they may think you’re living a holy life whereas you’re not. But God is not deceived. “He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him” (Daniel 2:22 New King James Version).
David says, “O God, You know my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from You” (Psalm 69:5 New King James Version). Psalm 90:8 says, “You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your countenance” (New King James Version).
Also, the psalmist says in Psalm 44:20-21, “If we had forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart” (New King James Version).
Don’t have a sinful secret life and think God doesn’t know, probably because everything seems to be going well for you. Nothing is hidden from God. You cannot hide from Him. God said concerning Judah, “For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols” (Jeremiah 16:17-18 New King James Version).
God comprehends your path and your lying down; He is acquainted with all your ways. He knows the words on your tongue; He knows everything all together (Psalm 139:3-4). The day is coming when everything hidden will be exposed. Even in our times, we have seen it happen. Some people’s criminal activities were exposed as one small thing led to the other, and they fell from grace to grass. Some people were greatly honoured at their burials only for scandals that rubbished their names to break out after their deaths.
Something prompted a father to do a DNA test to determine the paternity of one of his children, and the result showed that he was not the father. That led him to take the remaining children for the same test, and the result was the same. He was not the biological father of any of the children he had been raising under his roof. He was devastated. The secret of the man’s wife was exposed!
Jesus says, “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:2-3 New King James Version).
The writer of Hebrews says, “There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves” (Hebrews 4:13 Good News Translation).
Never mistake God’s silence for ignorance. He’s only giving you some time to repent and forsake your sins. Paul asks, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4 New Living Translation).
Peter also talks about the longsuffering of God: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 New King James Version).
Nevertheless, God will ultimately judge everyone’s secret life. Paul says, “And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life” (Romans 2:16 New Living Translation). God will ultimately punish those who live their lives in disobedience to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 talks about when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Repent now! Nobody is a saint in the sense of not having done anything sinful in the past. But God is calling everyone to repentance, not to continue in sin, secretly or openly.
Acts 17:30-31 says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (New King James Version).
Don’t feel secure because your secret sins have not been exposed as some people have been exposed. That’s a grand design by the devil to destroy you! 1 Timothy 5:24-25 warns, “Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light” (New Living Translation).
Don’t be deceived by your good reputation that is different from your character. God knows who you are in secret, and that’s more important than who you are in public. What are the things you’ve been doing in secret? Ephesians 5:12-13 says, “It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them” (New Living Translation). Are you ashamed of your secret deeds? Repent now!
Sadly, Romans 2:5-6 says, “But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done” (New Living Translation). May you listen. May you not store up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. May you not consider yourself smart before the all-wise, all-knowing God and say that what the Bible says about judgment and hell is not true.
Don’t dare God! Don’t exhaust His kindness, tolerance, and patience with you. Quit your sinful secret life; it’s an open book before God.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. Take the following steps: *Admit that you are a sinner, and cannot save yourself, and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church. There, they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto You today. I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me, and God raised Him on the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You must join a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, and Bible-practising church where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like a palm tree and grow like a cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I repent of my sins, including my secret sins. Forgive me, Lord. Father, I reject the lie of the devil that You don’t know or care about my secret sins and nobody will know about them. Henceforth, I shall live my life in obedience to Your Word. No more duplicity or hypocrisy. Holy Spirit, I receive Your help to live a Christ-honouring life.
(For over 900 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President of Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
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