A southern fellow was brought before a judge on the charge of beating his wife.

“Sam,” the judge started, “you are accused of beating your wife; do you have anything to say?”

Sam replied, “Well, I guess I plead guilty, and I wanna waive th’ hearin’.”

“What do you mean, you waive the hearing?” the judge asked puzzled.

“Well, judge, I mean I done it and I jus’ don’t wanna hear any more about it, that’s all!”

Acts 24:25 tells the story of Paul speaking to the Roman governor Felix…“But as [Paul] was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, ‘Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you.’” The subjects Paul spoke on hit a little to close to pained conscience of even this pagan Roman governor, and he, too, just didn’t want to hear any more about it.

Too many times we’re like poor old Sam and governor Felix, when it comes to our sin; we did it and we don’t want to hear any more about it. A bad conscience will do that to us. Men’s guilty hearts feel the weight and seek to escape it by shoving it to the back of their minds, telling themselves its all OK, and “You just need to stop judging me”.

The truth is this: silencing the sources of correction doesn’t solve our sin problem any more than plugging our ears, when a doctor comes in to the examination room and says, “We found something.”

What does solve our sin problem? Confronting our guilt, confessing our sin, and coming humbly and obediently to Jesus for forgiveness.

Are you trying “waive the hearing” of Biblical teaching about sexual morality? Honesty? Marital obligations? Attitudes? God’s way of salvation? Or even in the category of religion, baptism, attendance, Biblical worship, or church leadership?

We may waive the hearing here and now in this world, but there’s coming a day when we will stand before the great Judge, Jesus, and we will not be able to waive the hearing anymore—nor the consequences. Listen now and correct now; you’ll be glad you did.