Confession

1st John 1:9

 

 

The best of what we do and are, Just God, forgive! – (AD 1798-1819, William Wordsmith)

We must lay before Him what is in us, not what ought to be in us, - (AD 1942-1965, C.S. Lewis)

      Prayer which expresses confession and sorrow for our sin, begs for mercy and forgiveness, should be 'effective, fervent  prayer', James 5:15-16, Psa.51. Job 42:1-6. Prayer which does not confess sins but just admits it, isn’t confession at all, but a weak admission. Confession means to call a spade a spade and be honest with God. It is not necessarily a complete list of every single sin we have committed in the past 24 hours, but rather a sincere disclosure, owning up to personal responsibility for our own sins.

      Where did the tradition of ‘coming forward to confess’ after the sermon, originate? It is a good tradition and probably rooted in James 5:16. Our modern form of worship is shaped by the 18th century restoration movement from Britain & Ireland. Many leaders who left the Presbyterian and Anglican churches to create and/or join the “church of Christ” were appalled with Catholic tendencies, such as ‘confessionals’ and the false doctrine of sacramental absolution (forgiveness). They did not want to see these ideas find their way from the public and into any form of the American “restoration”  type churches. Their desire was to invite anyone to respond and confess sinfulness if they trusted in forgiveness (absolution) from God on His terms. The emphasis was on God’s word, not God’s minister or priest.  These leaders used, “altar calls” and “exhorters” from different protestant churches around the 1820s to 1930s, which included the Cane Ridge Kentucky Revival, this gave precedent to many modern churches of Christ as we know them today. Now we have the tradition of offering an invitation for confession & baptism after every sermon, this is good, but do we use it?  Can it be abused or neglected? Certainly. It can be abused if we publicly elaborate on sins confessed and cause personal injury, there are legal consequences facing leaders of the church if this is done for whatever motives, and has been experienced. It can be neglected, if we never respond to share our sinfulness and ask the church to pray for us, we would then be wasting great potential for experiencing God’s strength through forgiveness, fellowship and renewal of the inner person. However, confession does not always need to be public, most often it should be where two or three are gathered. Matthew 18:14-20.  This text is often quoted for the encouragement of small congregations, but that is not the context or issue. The issue is agreement between Christians confessing, therefore God understands how this most often needs to be done in small circles, instead of large assemblies. The point of Mt. 18:20 is to teach us that no sin/problem is too small, and that the Lord’s presence is assurance of the Lord’s willingness to forgive, restore & strengthen resolve for a remedy of the sin confessed.

      Psalm 32:5-6 is a good example of why confession should be a complete explanation  to God, and an attempt to work on reconciliation with those we have sinned against.

      How is God seen as JUST in forgiving us our sins, when we confess them? The answer lay in Romans 3:20-28. It’s fair for God to forgive us when we confess, because He let His Son be punished for the sins committed in the past, and our sins in the future, therefore when we confess them IN CHRIST, He is fair to fulfil the purpose of His Son being made the “propitiation” for our sins on the cross.  This fact should have a sobering effect on every Christian and help us humble ourselves before Him,  no matter how many sins we struggle with.

      This week’s pointer in prayer; Which kind of prayer do you think is more likely to be experienced? 1. a list confessing your sins. Or, 2. a request for strength and wisdom to overcome them. Do we see this within the ‘model’ prayer, Mt. 6:12.