Let’s consider some basic truths:
- Truth: all of us have sin in our lives. (Romans 3:23)
- Truth: the sin in our lives is serious—it needs to be dealt with because God says it deserves the punishment of death. (Romans 6:23)
- Truth: God has made it possible for you NOT to suffer the punishment of your sin but to be given an escape from that punishment—instead of suffering eternal condemnation you can enjoy eternal and abundant life. (Romans 6:23)
- Truth: God has made this abundant and eternal life available to you out of His love for you. That life is found in Jesus Christ. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5)
- Truth: The life we receive in Christ includes the forgiveness of our sins. (Ephesians 1:7)
- Truth: The forgiveness of our sins and cleansing of all unrighteousness in our life is available to all of us—all of us who will “confess” our sins to God.
Confession is an interesting spiritual practice. When we confess our sins to God, we’re not letting God in on something He didn’t know anything about. Rather, when we confess our sins to God, we’re agree with God about:
- The various ways we have rebelled against Him.
- The various ways we take something that He intended to be good and twist it into something we prefer.
- The various ways all of us fall short of what God wants in our life.
The purpose of confession is NOT to feel badly about yourself, but rather to be honest about yourself with God. The point of confession is NOT to judge yourself but rather to turn yourself back towards God in order to receive His forgiveness and enjoy the refreshing that comes from His presence. (Acts 3:19)
As we’ve studied these spiritual disciplines, we have moved from inward disciplines (meditation, prayer, Bible study, fasting), those things that are for the most part private, to the outward disciplines (solitude, submission, simplicity, and service), those things that may be seen but are not necessarily corporate in nature. These last few disciplines are called the corporate disciplines—things purposefully done with other followers of Christ.
A note about the terms and distinctions of inward, outward, corporate. Just because an inward discipline is termed as “inward” doesn’t mean that it should not or cannot be done outwardly or corporately. Take prayer for instance. We often pray in our churches as a group, and we should. However, the point here is that there are specific instructions from Scripture for us to make sure prayer is an integral part of our private life. Also, calling prayer an inward discipline is also a reminder to us that our prayer life is not for show. Jesus warned against this.
In the same way, calling a discipline corporate does not mean the discipline should not be done privately. Take the next discipline for instance: worship. Worship is very much a personal private thing, but we are also instructed in Scripture to worship together corporately. I’ve said it many times before, even very recently, that corporate worship should be a group expression of individual worshipers who have gathered together, and their worship overflows as they gather.
So, how in the world confession be something we do with others? Isn’t confession a very private thing between an individual and God? Yes and no.
1 Timothy 2:5 says, “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The point here is the truth that a priest or human intercessor is unnecessary. The only necessary mediator is Jesus. But, the Bible also says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (James 5:16). Both are Scriptural, and neither should exclude the other.
Imagine this very real scenario: Someone who is deeply sorrowful over their sins has prayed for God’s forgiveness. They understand as a follower of Christ that when they confessed and repented of those sins God forgave them. On a practical level, however, they don’t sense release; their heart still grieves over the sin—their spirit is still weighted down and they feel they are a second or third class Christ-follower as a result. This lingering sorrow and hurt from their past has not healed, and they begin to wonder why. They begin to question God’s forgiveness, and their spiritual growth is hindered. The abundant life they were promised seems out of reach.
Now imagine this person has a trusted friend—a fellow Christ follower. That friend listens as this person tells about their sin. That friend listens for understanding about what they are hearing rather than to later be condescending about what they have heard. That friend does not need to promise confidentiality because they have already proven themselves trustworthy. Once this troubled individual has confessed their sin, the friend does not try to fix the one who has confessed. The friend reassures that God’s grace is sufficient to cover that sin. They reassure that when God forgives, He also forgets. They reassure that they are not alone, and they are still loved rather than thought less of because of their past failure. In fact, the friend now thinks more highly of the one confessing because of their courage to make themselves accountable.
Then, this trusted friend prays with the one who has confessed. Healing is asked for, and they continue to make themselves available for support and accountability.
God will bless such a thing. Scripture teaches that all believers are priest before God (I Peter2:9). One of the functions of the OT priest was to bring the forgiveness of sins through the holy sacrifice. Jesus is the final and all-sufficient sacrifice for our forgiveness, but He has given to us His priesthood, the ministry of making that sacrifice real in the hearts and lives of other human beings. It is through the voice of our brothers and sisters that the word of forgiveness is heard and takes root in our lives. Sometimes it helps people to heal from their past when in addition to knowing about God’s forgiveness they can experience the forgiveness of God’s people.
It’s one thing to be honest with God about yourself, but there is a real humbling of self that takes place when you tell someone else about your sin. God blesses that kind of honesty and humility.
Confessing our sins to one another and prayer for one another is a discipline God will bless.
