I assume, when you use the word “secret,” that you are speaking of a “secret sin” that enslaves him and is keeping him from spiritual growth. Let’s look at a few passages (from the NKJV) that refer to “secret sins” and then at a passage which gives us the way of deliverance from them.

In 2^nd Kings 17:9 we read, “Also the children of Israel SECRETLY did against the LORD their God things that were not right.” If you read on through verse 12 you will see exactly what those “secret things” were, things which may have been hidden from the eyes of men but were known to God. Secret sins are often done “in the dark” as we see from the following two verses:

*Isaiah 29:15, “Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, and their WORKS ARE IN THE DARK; They say, ‘Who sees us?’ and, ‘Who knows us?’”

*Ezekiel 8:12, “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel DO IN THE DARK, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land’.”

Both passages speak of the “secret sins” of the elders of Israel who literally made plans contrary to God’s will and worshipped idols in “secret rooms” and foolishly believed they could hide their sins from the EYE OF GOD. Had they forgotten that God is Omnipresent (i.e. present in all places) and Omniscient (all-knowing)? It would seem so, for in the blindness of their hearts they actually thought “no one sees us and knows what we’re doing, including the LORD Himself!”

How sad that even a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ can be guilty of this very same thing, for once they become enslaved to sin they will foolishly practice their sin in secret and forget that God sees them and everything they do. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Hebrews 4:13 echoes the same truth, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”

I suggest that the first step in being delivered from “secret sins” is to realize what we’ve just seen; God is watching us and everything we do! This will bring true CONVICTION OF SIN and hopefully this will lead us to the next step, which is seen in Proverbs 28:13, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever CONFESSES and FORSAKES THEM will have mercy.” There is no other way of deliverance, for our sins are hateful to God who is intrinsically holy. We MUST CONFESS and FORSAKE our “secret sins” in order to be delivered from them. If we do sincerely confess and forsake them, we have the blessed promise that we “will have mercy.” God is not only HOLY, but He is also a MERCIFUL God who loves to show mercy to those who repent of their sins. In Psalm 51 we have David’s prayer of repentance and he began with these words, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your TENDER MERCIES, blot out my transgressions.”

This, dear friend, is what God the Father is expecting to hear from any child of God who has tried to conceal their “secret sins” under the cloak of darkness. He wants you to come to him and tell Him all about those sins, and then count on His “tender mercies” to “blot out your transgressions.” He will forgive you and restore you to blessed fellowship with Himself. 1^st John 1:9 declares, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (311.1) (DO)