Confession of Sins

Confession of Sins

We have to confess all the sins we have committed to God, all the sins we know of and which we can remember. This is a condition for receiving the forgiveness of sins. 1 John 1:9.

This is also a condition for being healed from physical sicknesses. Jas. 5:16.

Psalm 32:3-5 shows us with all desirable clarity how a believer may suffer very much and, so to speak, have wasted away by not confessing his sin to God.

It is easily understandable why it is difficult for a person to confess his sins to people, because it is so humbling, but it is somewhat strange that it should be so difficult to confess them to God!

Nevertheless, it is a well-known fact that it is so very difficult for a proud person, that even a man of God like David found it hard!

This is surely an explanation for why there is little progress in the lives of some individuals.

The point is that before you can confess your sin, you must acknowledge it first. The fact is that even though people hear God’s word in truth, they can be so hardened that they can commit gross transgressions of the laws of the Spirit of life (i.e., judge their neighbor, slander, murmur, and complain) without acknowledging that they have sinned shamefully against God and men!

The heart is quite hard, stiff, and proud. No wonder they do not have a truly good life and no wonder they do not receive the necessary grace!

This is precisely why James writes as he does in Chapter 4:9-12. Their hearts have become so hard and stiff that they are not aware of their great need; this is the reason they are experiencing so little progress.

You shall not always confess your sins to people, but you shall and must confess them to people in certain cases. There are prescribed laws of life for doing it.

The main law is this: When you have sinned against God alone, you confess it to God alone; but when you have also sinned against people, you must also confess it to them, and if possible make amends.

If you have sinned in secret, you can also confess it in secret; but if you have sinned openly, for example in the assembly, it is also necessary to confess it openly, for example, in the assembly.

However, it is something else when, according to the laws of life, a person is not to confess his sin to people (we are required to confess it when it concerns healing from sickness), but he can by way of exception do it voluntarily; for example, when it is a sin that he has not been able to overcome over a longer period of time. Then he can confess it to an older, faithful servant of the Lord. Then the person feels he needs such humiliation in order to receive the necessary grace.

In such a case the words in Psalm 119:67, 71, and 75 are a comfort and a help.

Unfortunately, a person can be so obstinate and proud that he simply hardens himself instead of acknowledging and confessing his sin to people, as we can see from Matthew 18:15-22. It concerns acknowledging one’s sin and forgiving sin.

There is no help to be had from forgiving if the condition for it according to God’s laws is not present. Therefore this terrible thing can happen that we who are trustworthy servants of the Lord find ourselves in situations where we cannot, even if we gladly would like to, forgive or loose a person, but on the contrary must bind him until the lawful conditions have been fulfilled from the heart. Compare this with Psalm 149:6-9.

There is a precious word concerning this matter in Proverbs 28:13-14.