When we have done something wrong it fester insides, gnawing away at our subconscious. It keeps us awake, makes us irritable, cross and quick tempered. It depresses us and grinds at self confidence. The guilt eats at us and we begin to get desperate to rid ourselves of it. So we hide it, pretend it didn’t happen or blame someone or something else for our transgressions. Like the little four year old girl caught by her Mom standing on a stool in the kitchen eating cookies saying, “Mom, it wasn’t my fault, honest! I climbed up on that stool because I just wanted to smell the cookies and my tooth got caught in one of them.”
Parents – your child comes home from school with a bad grade on a paper. And what do they say “It was that teacher’s fault! He didn’t clearly explain to us how to do that!” Something happens and a person gets angry, loses control and what do they say, “I was minding my own business. I wasn’t going to say a word, but they just went on and on and finally I just lost it and I sure put them in their place! It was their fault. They made me lose it! Serves them right!
Dave Stone writes, “We [have] become more concerned with concealing, than confessing [sin].”Rick Kallstroms says, “There is an epidemic in our society today of people failing to take responsibility for their own actions even when they have been caught doing it in front of God. And this, my friends, is the way it has always been since the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As soon as Adam and Eve sinned they heard the sound of God walking in the garden, what did they do? They ran off and they hid. Like, God couldn’t have found them. So, God called out to Adam, “where are you?” Adam answered from behind the fig tree, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” And what was Adam’s answer, “it wasn’t my fault that woman that YOU put here with me God – SHE gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” And what was Eve’s excuse, “Well, uhm, it was that snake fault – yeah, that’s it, The Devil made me do it.”
We all know confession is good for the soul. They say a new phone number in Las Vegas Nevada is being bombarded by calls. It is the ”Connection Confession” line where people can call and confess their sins to phone recording for a mere $9 a call and for a little extra you can listen to other’s people’s sins. Every year Americans spend billions of dollars confessing to psychiatrists. We confess to our doctors, bartenders, family members and friends all in the hope that we will be freed from the of guilt of our sins. But real confession, confession to God, we avoid. It sounds too catholic for us protestansts, besides deep down we are really good people and the longer we are Christians the easier it seems to forget that we too are sinners in need of forgiveness. We pray the great prayer of confession at conversion and we being to think that it covers all our sins in the past, present, and future. Or, as Richard Foster says in Celebration of Discipline, "We come to feel that everyone else [in church] has advanced so far into holiness that we are isolated and alone in our sin. We could not bear to reveal our failures and shortcomings to others. We imagine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heaven. Therefore we hide ourselves from one another and live in veiled lies and hypocrisy.”
1 John 1:8 says, if we say we are not sinners we are lying, we are only fooling ourselves, cause I guarantee you if I asked your brother or sister, your spouse, your fellow worker, - it would kind of be like the four preachers who got together and decided they need to practice the discipline of confessing to one another. And so the first preacher look at the other three and dip his head and confessed to cheating on his expense report. The second preacher confessed to having inappropriate thoughts about the lady in the choir on the third row. The third minister spoke of his addiction to drink and confessed that he had more than once had too much. The Fourth sat quietly seemingly wrestling with what to say. The others encouraged him to confess. Finally he told them he had nothing to say. They challenged him surely he had a sin he needed to ask for forgiveness from. To which he replied sure he did but he wasn’t confessing nothing today because his sin was gossip and what he had just learned was too good to keep quiet about. It’s so much easier to examine and identify someone else sins then to examine our own life and see our sins.
But what the heck, just for the fun of it, Let’s take a look at just one day from last week. Let’s say Wednesday and see if you had anything to confess that day. Let me ask you just a few little questions, you don’t have to answer out loud. On Wednesday of last week, “Did you remember to speak to God in prayer more than once for longer than a sentence ? How well did you pray? Was it a prayer seeking God’s will or was it your wish list? Did you read your Bible? Did you use God’s name that day only lovingly and with respectfully? Did you thank God for his goodness and all he had given you? Did you tell God you were sorry when you sinned? Did you obey all who were in places of authority over you-your boss, husbands your wives? Did you obey the laws of the land, what speed did you drive? Were you kind to everyone in your family and all that you met that day? Did you hurt anyone by the what you said or did? Did you show complete respect for your body? Were your all your thoughts, words, and actions pure and holy? Did you take care of all that God has gave you that day and use it for the building up of his kingdom or did you use it only for yourself? Did you speak only the truth? Did you gossip or tell an off colored joke that day? Did you keep all of your promises? Did you attend Wednesday night Bible Study? Did you yell at your children or spouse? Did you judge anyone? Were you a servant to your neighbor, friends and family? Did you confess any of this to God or anyone else for that matter?
Romans 3:23 is right, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyday in more ways than you and I want to count in big ways and little ways. I say that not to make us feel bad or lay a heavy burden upon us but to help us each acknowledge that there are things we do everyday that violate the covenant we have made with God as Christians, that all of us, even as professing Christians, are in need of God’s abundant forgiving grace and Confession is the key to that full and complete grace. It is our way of allowing God to heal and transform our inner spirits into His likeness.
Confession is our work. It is an act of free will. 1 John 1:9 says “IF” we confess. We don’t have. When I give today’s homework, you don’t have to do it. You don’t have to confess anything to God you don’t want to confess. But, hear me, if you get nothing else out of today’s sermon – wake up long enough to hear this, God can’t forgive us if we don’t’ ask him to! Say with me, God can’t forgive us if we don’t ask him to. I don’t care how big or little your sin is, it won’t be forgiven unless you confess it to God. Now, I don’t know about you but that’s a pretty scary thought for me. I mean I don’t know if there are enough hours in the day for me to keep up with my sins, Lord, forgive me for saying that when Gene washed my clothes he shrunk them, forgive me for eating Gene’s Mary Jane peanut butter candy that he has hidden in the back of the cabinent. God forgive me for running that stop sign. Forgive me for losing my patience with my computer……
I am overwhelmed at the thought of having to confess every little thing that I do every day that is inconsistent with the nature of God. But notice the rest of verse 9, it says, he is faithful and just.
• Not just like in fair or equal
• Just as in accordance, consistent with the very nature of God himself.
• God is love, and out of love wants all to be saved, to be forgiven that’s why he looks at just at our words or needs but at our heart.
• That is not to say that outward things are not important for we are to do good works and to avoid all forms of evil but the problem is that it is easy to affect a form of godliness, to look lean and clean like a holy machine but inwardly to be full of rottenness.
• It is in our heart that our true nature is revealed and where we can find the assurance that it is in our full desire to confess our sins before God that we are forgiven of all sins spoken and unspoken but he sees the truth of our desire and it is the desire of our heart that pleases him.
Confession demonstrates our total reliance and trust in the Lord.
• Reoccurring remembrance of sin – isn’t dependent upon you ability to forget,
• Satan will remind you not God – will try and use it to…
• Satan wants to keep it personal, keep God out of the picture
• But sin always involves God for it is against him and him alone. He is the author of moral laws, it s his law that we break. Unless you are like Dennis Lee Curti an armed robber arrested in Rapid City South Dakota. In his wallet the police found a sheet of a paper on which the following moral code for Mr. Curtis was found. 1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
2. I will take cash and food stamps—no checks.
3. I will rob only at night.
4. I will not wear a mask.
5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores.
6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
7. I will rob only seven months out of the year.
8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, it didn’t matter that he hadn’t broken any of his laws, what matter was that he had broke the state laws. Likewise, when we sin it is God’s law we have broken. It is against sin that we sinned. It is hard to deal with the fact that sometimes our sin hurts our loved ones but how does it feel to know that when you lie, gossip, cheat, yell you are dishonoring, spitting in the face of God. Talk about a heavy burden!
• Confession lifts that weight of the realization that all our sins are against God. Confess frees us from that burden. When you ask God for forgiveness
• Trust God that he has forgiven you. He doesn’t want you carrying around guilt. Guilt is self-defeating and self centered. Get the focus off of you and start focusing on God.
Allow your Confession to opens the door for God to change you
• To empower you to resist sin, change the way you think about your sin, to free you to be open and honest with others so you can get the support you need to resist the sin. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and let God be in control of your life
• Because sin and temptation it will come again
• Man asking preacher to pray that he wouldn’t ever be tempted again. Okay – I will pray that you will die
• Temptation and Sin will still happen but God can change you, give you the strength, the encouragement, through his word, through other people to resist sin but only when you honestly come before Him and confess.
• Vs. 9 says God will purify us. Not that we can do it own our own but that he will. In June 1987. While working on a building site, a construction foreman thought his workers had hit a cast iron pipe while using a pile driver. After picking up and then dropping the huge object, they realized the pipe looked like a bomb. It was—a 2,200-pound World War II bomb, one of the largest the Germans dropped during the blitz which killed more than 15,000 Londoners. It didn’t matter what the foreman thought it was, it didn’t matter what the construct crew did with it. It was a bomb. After evacuating the area, a 10-man bomb disposal unit worked 18 hours before deactivating the seven-foot device.
Unconfessed sin, like an unexploded bomb, can rest in the heart of an individual—or in a church. And it can’t be deactived by just anybody. Unless it is deactivated through confession to God almighty who can deactivate it. Who can take the detonator out of us – the desire to sin will be there but it can no longer blow up in our face but we have let God have the detonator.
A few years ago a Dennis the Mennis cartoon, the scene is bedtime prayers. He’s kneeling, with his hands folded. He’s looking heavenward. He has on his pajamas, cowboy hat, and his six-shooter strapped to his side. Dennis says, “I’m here to turn myself in.”
This morning as we close won’t you turn yourself in….
But I have a responsibility, it is my part of forgiveness and that is confession, not just one time, not just when I came to a professing knowledge of Jeuss Christ as my Lord and Savior. Just not as in I get what I desire just as in consistent with the very character and righteousness of God. God wants us restore us to him, love, looks at the heart Thank goodness he looks at my heart and not just at my actions.. My actions can be misconstruted.
t when we do we find that our willing confession is allows us to receive a gift from God that will delivering us from the weight of guilt and sin. It will allow God to purify us and move us close to perfection.. Too many people are deceived about the danger of sin. They take it too lightly. Every sin no matter how little you perceive it separates us from God. It is like the cold of drop of freezing rain slipping into a crevice of our heart.
Throughout the Bible we told even as believers we need to be confessing our sins not just in the sense of admitting it. Admitting is a sign of personal responsibility but admitting it but it is not confession as John is teaching here. The Greek to confess here is “homologeo,” which means to “literally say the same thing.”
caught by her Mom standing on a stool in the kitchen eating cookies. Her Mom had told her that she was not to be eating those cookies until after dinner. When caught red-handed and confronted by her Mom, she said “Mom, it’s not my fault, honest! I climbed up on that stool because I just wanted to smell them, and my tooth got caught!”
Parents – your child comes home from school with a bad grade on a paper. How many times have you heard them say “It was that dumb teachers fault! He didn’t clearly explain to us how to do that!”
Something happens and you get angry and lose control. How many times have you heard someone say, “I was minding my own business. I wasn’t going to say a word, but they just went on and on and finally I just lost it and I sure put them in their place! It was their fault. They made me lose it! Serves them right!
There is an epidemic in our society today of people failing to take responsibility for their own actions, and also for their own inactions. We deny our sins, hid from them or blame someone else. And this, my friends, is the way it has always been since the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
As soon as Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking in the garden, what did they do? They ran off and hid. And the Lord called out to Adam, “where are you?” Adam answered and said “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”
And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Adam answered and said “the woman that YOU put here with me – SHE gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” Adam blamed God! It was his fault because he had given him Eve. Then he blamed Eve because she had given him the fruit from the tree. But he didn’t have to eat it, did he? So in reality, whose fault was it? Of course, it was Adam’s fault. He had yielded to temptation From Rick Kallstrom
It happened immediately following the first recorded act of sin in the Bible. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden the first thing they tried to do was hide their sin from God.
There is no doubt that a huge hang up for many people in our world today is guilt. It keeps us up at night and controls our thoughts. Dr. Karl Menninger said he believed that the number one reason that most people ended up in psychiatric hospitals was guilt. If they could just confess their guilt and know they were forgiven, 75% of them could leave the hospital that day, he said.
I don’t know the mathematical accuracy of his statement, but I know we live in a world where people are riddled by guilt from chip Monck
The story is told of a shoplifter who wrote to a department store and said, "I’ve just become a Christian, and I can’t sleep at night because I feel guilty. So here’s $100 that I owe you." In a little postscript at the bottom he added, "If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest."
true confession is a complete admission of guilt. No rationalizing, no blaming. It is my fault and no one else. I did it. True confession is turning yourself in without being coerced to do so. I am guilty, I blame no other.
MANY OF US LIVE DAY TO DAY WITH GREAT BURDENS WEIGHING US DOWN! WE CARRY SECRETS THAT WE WORK HARD AT TO KEEP IN THE DARK. WE HOPE NO ONE UNCOVERS THEM. ASHAMED AND GUILTY WE PRESS ON FROM DAY TO DAY, HOPING THAT GOD’S GOODNESS WILL COVER OUR SIN. WITH ENTHUSIASM WE SPEAK AND SING OF FORGIVENESS, BUT NAGGING GUILT TOO OFTEN REMAINS
CONFESSION IS THE ACT OF TAKING OWNERSHIP FOR OR SINS AND FAILURES WITHOUT EXCUSE. AN ADDED DIMENSION IS AGREEING WITH GOD’S ASSESSMENT OF THOSE ACTS. HOW HARD IT IS FOR US TO DO THAT. OUR PRIDE CAUSES US TO WANT TO HIDE OUR SINS OR AT LEAST TO BLAME THEM ON SOMEONE ELSE. WE CAN SEE THIS PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING IN GENESIS.
WHEN WE CAN NO LONGER HIDE OUR SINS WE ARE FORCED TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS, THE NEXT TEMPTATION IS TO RATIONALIZE THEM AWAY. AS LONG AS WE COVER UP, HIDE, BLAME, AND RATIONALIZE, WE CANNOT BE FREE FROM GUILT. IT HANGS ON TO US, SINKING ITS PAINFUL TALONS
THERE ARE TWO THINGS IN OUR HUMAN NATURE THAT MAKE CONFESSION OF OUR SIN DIFFICULT: AND THAT’S FEAR AND PRIDE. FEAR AND PRIDE HATE DISCLOSURE. FOSTER SAYS IN HIS BOOK: THE CELEBRATION OF DISCIPLINE
"WE COME TO FEEL THAT EVERYONE ELSE HAS ADVANCED SO FAR INTO HOLINESS THAT WE ARE ISOLATED AND ALONE IN OUR SIN. WE COULD NOT BEAR TO REVEAL OUR FAILURES AND SHORTCOMINGS TO OTHERS. WE IMAGINE THAT WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO HAVE NOT STEPPED ONTO THE HIGH ROAD TO HEAVEN. THEREFORE WE HIDE OURSELVES FROM ONE ANOTHER AND LIVE IN VEILED LIES
AND HYPOCRISY."
THERE ARE CHRISTIANS WHO DRAG AROUND HEAVY LOADS OF GUILT. THE SINS AND SORROWS OF THEIR PAST HAUNTS THEM, THOUGH THEY HAVE MADE CONFESSION BEFORE GOD HUNDREDS OF TIMES AT AN ALTAR OR IN THEIR PERSONAL PRAYERS. THESE SAME BURDENED BELIEVERS HAVE TRIED TO TAKE FORGIVENESS BY FAITH, BUT THERE IS NO RELEASE.
BEGIN THIS DISCIPLINE BY TAKING A TIME OF INVENTORY WITH THE LORD. IN A QUIET PLACE, WHERE YOU WILL NOT BE DISTURBED, INVITE THE HOLY SPIRIT TO ENTER YOUR LIFE AND TO BRING THE LIGHT OF HIS LOVE INTO FOCUS ON YOUR HEART. DON’T DIG AROUND IN YOUR MEMORY, JUST ALLOW THE LORD ACCESS TO ALL OF YOUR BEING. YOU MAY BEGIN TO FEEL ASHAMED OR EMBARRASSED AS THOUGH YOU WERE NAKED. YOU MAY WANT TO RUN, TO LEAVE THAT HOLY PLACE QUICKLY. BUT DON’T! STAY QUIET. ASK THE LORD TO SHOW YOU THE SOURCE OF YOUR DISCOMFORT. THEN CONFESS IT TO HIM. AGREE WITH HIS ASSESSMENT OF THE ACT, WITHOUT MAKING EXCUSE OR RATIONALIZATION. THEN THANK HIM FOR THE FORGIVENESS THAT JESUS PROVIDED AT THE CROSS.
We examine our consciences to find out how we have loved God and others. We ask ourselves how we failed to keep God’s commandments.
How Much Have I Loved God?
• Have I remembered to speak to God in prayer each morning and evening? How well have I prayed?
• Have I always used God’s name with love and respect?
• Have I thanked God for his goodness and all he has given me?
• Have I told God I was sorry when I sinned?
• Have I asked God to help me?
How Much Have I Loved Others?
• Have I obeyed those who are in places of authority? How have I shown them my love by my words and actions?
• How have I cared for the gifts of life? Have I been kind to everyone in my family? To others? Have I hurt anyone by something I have said or done?
• Have I been peaceful? Have I kept from hitting other people and animals?
• Have I shown respect for my body and those of others? Have my thoughts, words, and actions been pure?
• How well have I cared for all that God has given me? Have I been careful with or damaged the things of others?
• Have I been honest? Have I returned what I borrowed? Have I taken something that was not mine?
• Have I spoken the truth? Have I kept the secrets of others? Have I kept all my promises?
When we have done something it can fester inside us and we want to get it out. That urge is so strong people spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars, to do just that with a psychologist.
. There has been a great decline in confessions. I have often asked myself, "why?" Part of the reason is that we don’t want to take responsibility for our lives. I was in a car accident a year and a half ago. He said it was my fault. I told him it was his fault. Isn’t it amazing? All these accidents happening and no one is to blame! That mentality can affect even our spiritual life. Always some one elses fault. My parents yelled at me. My boss takes me for granted. My wife doesn’t understand me. God made me this way. We can easily find another person to blame. Well, the sacrament of confession is the moment where we accept responsibility. Sure, I have been affected by other people, but I chose to do what I did. As David said when he was confronted with his double sin--adultery and murder--"Against you alone, O Lord, have I sinned." All of our sins, whether they are big or small, are sins against God. In the sacrament of reconciliation, we accept responsibility for our own sins.
Callahan talked about an epidemic of cheating in this country -- not just in corporate boardrooms, but also in classrooms, sports fields, and -- dare I say it -- news rooms.
Callahan’s work suggests that cultural changes have created an easy rationalization available to everyone which is, "Everybody is doing it." In a 2004 article in the Journal of Forensic Accounting, he shared at the conference, Callahan writes:
Norms may arise within an organization that give implicit permission for unethical misconduct. A cheating culture exists when enough people are breaking the rules that there is a perception that "everybody" is corrupt and there is no clear imperative for ethical behavior. In extreme instances, there may be the belief that one cannot be competitive by following formal rules and that cheating is the key to success.
A generalized sin may save us from humiliation and shame but it will not ignite inward healing. The people who came to Jesus came with obvious, specific sins and they were forgiven each one. It is far too easy to avoid our real guilt in a general confession. Celebration of Discipline Robert Foster
We don’t have to do things to make God willing to forgive us, in fact God is working to make us willing to seek his forgiveness. COB Foster
Forget the flu. From Wall Street to Main Street, from academia to the locker room, America’s greatest epidemic may be cheating. Consider:
• More than 90 percent of college students say they would cheat to get a job, according to a recent survey. Donald McCabe, founding president of the Center for Academic Integrity, uncovered a 30 percent to 35 percent jump in some types of cheating among college students in the 1990s.
• Celebrity academics such as Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephen Ambrose, and Michael Bellesiles have faced public humiliation for plagiarism or falsified research.
• In journalism, Jayson Blair, Jack Kelley, and CBS News are the latest examples of cheating in the newsroom.
Cheating is when a person misleads, deceives, or acts dishonestly on purpose. For kids, cheating may happen at school, at home, or while playing a sport. If a baseball team is for kids who are 8 or younger, it’s cheating for a 9-year-old to play on the team and hit home run after home run.
If we say, We have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, v. 8. We must beware of deceiving ourselves in denying or excusing our sins. The more we see them the more we shall esteem and value the remedy—Matthew Henry Unabridged
we say, We have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us, v. 10. The denial of our sin not only deceives ourselves, but reflects dishonour upon God. It challenges his veracity—Matthew Henry Unabridged
1 Jn 1:9 “If”: Suggests that confession is an act of free will and not forced upon us by God or man.
• “We” / “Our”: Confession is for everyone; all have sinned and are responsible for their own sin.
• “Sins”: At the root of confession are our transgressions against God. Notice vs. 6 and vs. 8 both prior to and after today’s verse we are reminded that we are sinners in order that the key center of the passage will stand out as the solution to our problem.
1. His duty in order thereto: If we confess our sins, v. 9. Penitent confession and acknowledgment of sin are the believer’s business, and the means of his deliverance from his guilt. And,
—Matthew Henry Unabridged
In all ages there have been those who have attempted, on some pretence, to justify their conduct; who have felt that they did not need a Saviour; who have maintained that they had a right to do what they pleased; or who, on pretence of being perfectly sanctified, have held that they live without the commission of sin. To meet these, and all similar cases, the apostle affirms that it is a great elementary truth, which on no pretence is to be denied, that we are all sinners. We are at all times, and in all circumstances, to admit the painful and humiliating truth that we are transgressors of the law of God, and that we need, even in our best services, the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ—Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament
The greatest victory of the Evil One is blinding us to our own sin.
Almost every day I visit with the cartoon character Dennis the Menace for a few moments as I read the morning paper. In a recent cartoon, the scene is bedtime prayers. He’s kneeling, with his hands folded. He’s looking heavenward. He has on his pajamas, cowboy hat, and his six-shooter strapped to his side. Dennis says, “I’m here to turn myself in.”
Confessing our sins is difficult. Confession demands honesty. Confession must be specific. It is easy to ask God to forgive our many sins. It is painful to confess particular sins like pride and envy, anger and lust, and then feel worthy of forgiveness. We usually take a rather bland view of our conduct, preferring to congratulate ourselves on our virtues rather than dwelling much on our failures.
There is a cartoon, which has appeared in several religious periodicals. It shows a crucifixion scene, and depicts Jesus as saying: "If I’’m O.K. and you’’re O.K., what am I doing hanging on this cross?"
It is easier for most of us to examine other people, than to examine ourselves.
We look at someone else and we can easily see all their faults.
That person is a racist.
This person is a selfish.
But to look in the mirror and see ourselves takes courage and skill. To examine ourselves and to see our own faults is often a difficult thing to do.
But if you really seek a spiritual cleansing, you have to see yourself with all of your faults.
In fact, the Bible mandates that we carefully go through some sort of self-examination process every time we receive the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
St. Paul said in I Corinthians (11:28-30), “A person ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.”
But how many of us actually do that before receiving Communion? Examine ourselves.
I suspect many of us do not.
How self-centered are you?
How dishonest have you been?
How racist are you?
Are you generous? Are you loving? Are you kind?
St. Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians, (2 Cor 13:5), “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.”
But you can’t just examine yourself - alone. Because you have a lot of bias about yourself. You need someone to be involved in that process with you to help you to get a good, honest assessment of yourself.
And while it may be good to involve your husband or wife, your parents or your best friends, ultimately what I’m talking about is involving God in this process.
The longer we are Christians, the easier it becomes to forget that we are sinners.
Man has become delusional to think that he can justify himself. That if he just does right and live a decent, moral and responsible life, he can please God. Man has developed an attitude that he does not need a savior that if he does good it has to count for something.
In Words We Live By, Brian Burrell tells of an armed robber named Dennis Lee Curtis who was arrested in 1992 in Rapid City, South Dakota. Curtis apparently had scruples about his thievery. In his wallet the police found a sheet of paper on which was written the following code:
1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
2. I will take cash and food stamps—no checks.
3. I will rob only at night.
4. I will not wear a mask.
5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores.
6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away. If chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
7. I will rob only seven months out of the year.
8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
This thief had a sense of morality, but it was flawed. When he stood before the court, he was not judged by the standards he had set for himself but by the higher law of the state.
Likewise when we stand before God, we will not be judged by the code of morality we have written for ourselves but by God’s perfect law.
[Standard of Judgment, Citation: Craig Brian Larson, Choice Contemporary Stories and Illustrations (Baker, 1998), p.181; Brian Burrell, Words We Live By, (S&S Trade, 1997)]
Contributed by: A. Todd Coget
Las Vegas now has a call-in “Connection Confession” line where people can call and confess their sins to a recording. America’s first confession line makes it possible, for a fee of $9 per three minutes, to record your sin and if you want to pay a little more you can listen to other people’s sins. Apparently the service is being bombarded by calls One of the originators said, "It’s a technological way to get something off your chest without the embarrassment that comes from confessing one on one." But do you know what it really is? Besides a money maker for someone? It’s confession without accountability.
Contributed by: Timothy Smith
It may seem as if I am trying accuse everyone in this church. I am not. I am simply stating what is in this passage.
C. I had a hard time this week writing this sermon. I was convicted many times of sin in my life
D. I will try and never say “You” in this sermon. I will say we.
E. I Understand Paul when he said “Of whom I am the worst sinner” I Timothy 1:15
• “Confess”: Admit wrong doing; take personal responsibility for wrong doing.
Therefore confession is: Admitting and taking responsibility for our sin by an act of our own free will.
The purpose of confession is humility.
Illustration:
After hearing a sermon on confession a man approached his pastor with a heavy conscience. He asked the pastor what he should do you see, He worked for a boat builder and stole expensive brass nails.
He could not tell the boat builder:
o He would lose his job
o He will think I am a hypocrite and all of the times I shared my faith with him will go to waste.
Finally guilt got so bad he had to confess. He offered restitution and this was the boss’s response:
o “Sir I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there’s something in this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them must be worth having.”
God always blesses humility...
Application:
• Confession humbles us: Shows us who we are and who God is.
• Confession allows God to change us: God’s tool for changing us, not our tool for changing us.
• Confession allows God’s grace to be activated in our lives: We are never closer to God than when we are on our knees confessing our weakness and His strength.
• Confession allows us to be free: The purpose of guilt is to drive us to Christ once we do that we are free from it’s power over us.
Even the unbelievers understand that there is power in the forgiveness of sin. They confess to:
o Psychiatrists
o Doctors
o Mentors
o Family members
o Friends
All in the hopes that they can get freed up from the guilt of sin, yet without the power of Christ’s forgiveness it is a futile exercise.
The Psalmist says “Against you and you alone have I sinned”. We must receive forgiveness from the one whom we sinned against.
THE PROMISE OF CONFESSION (vs. 9 and purify us from all unrighteousness) Cleanse
Explanation:
Observe: John does not give us a command only but also a promise. The promise begins by forgiving us but it ends with purification. Let me show you what I mean:
“And” shows us that forgiveness itself is not the end of God’s promise to those who humble themselves.
“Purify” To free from sin, guilt, or other defilement.
“Us” Again this applies to all who have obeyed this teaching thus far.
“All” There are no limits to the purification process presented here
“Unrighteousness” Sins against God
Interpret: Understand with me this morning what John means, he is telling us that forgiveness in and of itself is powerless without the purification that comes from Christ. He shows us that is does not matter what we have done but what we will do about it. The promise of confession is that we will be cleansed.
Illustration:
• Have you ever noticed that it is more fun to drive a clean car? The same old car, the same old rattles, and the same old seat suddenly become exciting again simply because they are clean.
• Over and over again we hear in scripture: "Wash!" It was the message of John the Baptist. "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me," said the towel-draped Jesus to Peter. Without our being washed clean, we all die from the contamination of sin.
PSALM 51 , many do not understand what confession really means. It is not just admitting that we did or did not do something. We are guilty whether we admit it or not. Admitting is a good sign of personal responsibility, but it is not confession as John taught.
To confess is to homologeo, which while it does mean to assent as in confessing Jesus to be Lord the word is made up of the Greek words homo - same and logeo - to say. Literally it is to say the same thing. We come to God and say the same thing about our sin that He does. Our sin is wicked and damnable and needs to be forsaken. We have no peace because we only assent that we did it and that it is wrong, but we do not hate it as God does and we do not seek His power to be released from it. Repent literally means to change your mind. We need to change our minds and get ahold of His and see sin and react to sin as He does. He abhors it and judged it on the Cross. We need to develop that kind of mind that will set us free from our sin not just admit that it exists. Admitting is easy. Agreeing is easy. Forsaking requires the power of God
David is asking the almighty God to bend down in kindness to Him. Mercy is often described as not getting what we deserved, but the idea here is someone bending down in kindness to an inferior and indeed we are inferior to God. David also said, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" We are so undeserving of His favor and yet David appeals to God’s lovingkindness not to justice or righteousness, but to His love. Justice and righteousness would only merit us death and damnation. Jeremiah in Lamentations said that God’s mercies are new every morning. Therefore there is a multitude or abundance of mercy in God.
It is through God’s lovingkindness and mercy that our sins are blotted out or literally erased from our account and God’s memory
When you take into account that Uriah died, Bathsheba became an adulteress and her name associated with adultery throughout time and she surely felt guilt once she realized she aided in the murder of her husband, the child died and the children of David felt the effects of his sin, it lookslike David sinned against a lot of people, but he says that only against God did He sin.
To a great degree, this is logical though we are told to confess our faults/sins to one another. God is the ultimate lawgiver and to whom we are responsible. Our sin against Him often collides with people and affects their lives, but since He establishes the moral laws of the universe He is the one we are sinning against. People may be the recipient of the outflow of our sin, but the sin started in the heart as rebellion against God’s decrees.
What people experience is the fruit of our sin once conceived in our hearts and then expressed by whatever activity or lack of activity on our part. In cowboy terms, the gun was fired against God and the ricochet hit others. The rebellion was against Him and others were collateral damage for a modern analogy. Thus when we confess our sins to one another, we are truly confessing the sin against God that they were hit by and seeking their forgiveness for the damage caused by our rebellion against God.
The crazy thing is that we do it in God’s sight. We cannot escape the watchful eye of God and yet we sin with impunity as if He will never know it like He was the false god of Baal that might not be aware of what we do because he is asleep or on a journey.
Being an eyewitness to our sin or crime makes Him an even more capable judge. There are no mitigating circumstances, no botched evidence, or missing evidence.
Here is where the wisdom kicks in. Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) Too many times we compare ourselves with others and think we are pretty good when inside we are not right with God. (2 Cor 10:12) This is not to say that outward things are not important for we are to do good works and to avoid all forms of evil. (Titus 3:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:22)
The problem is that it is easy to affect a form of godliness and yet deny the power thereof and look lean and clean like a holy machine but inwardly be full of rottenness. (2 Timothy 3:5; Matthew 23:27) James demands us to show our faith by our works for indeed that is the only way that men can see our living
Confession shows our reliance on the Lord
When we confess, we admit that God’s way is best. It is easy for us to keep trying our own way
Confession renews our relationship.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
*confession is the first step to bring about change
without confession, we never really are motivated to change. Until we admit how horrible our sin is, we are content to continue on in it.
2 Chr. 7:14 - is one of the best known verses in Chronicles.
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
*Attitude - humble - not thinking highly of self - there is no sin that any one of us could not commit under the right circumstances. Let’s not think ourselves better than others.
*Admission - prayer - not just knowing the truth, but admitting it to God
*Action - seek his face - find forgiveness in the presence of God. Not just a simple prayer, but the renewing power of relationship.
*Adjustment - turn from wicked ways - don’t continue in them
--confessional - steal lumber - how much - deep penance - consider retreat? No, get lumber!
We need to confess to one another to find help in accountability in making sure true change takes place.
The idea of confession often conjures up thoughts of having to reveal embarrassing or incriminating facts. We would not usually see that occurrence as consoling. However, there is a certain consolation or relief that comes from getting things out of the shadows and into the light.
For one thing, confession helps relieve the weight of guilt. As long as the matter stays hidden, one must carry the weight alone. That generally results in insecurity being added to the weight of the guilt—not to mention self-hatred.
Secondly, keeping wrongs hidden requires a lot of emotional energy. Confession negates the need for that expenditure of energy. This can be seen in the fact that often, when lawbreakers have been on the run for a long period of time, and are finally captured, some actually express relief that the chase is finally over—no more acting or pretending is needed—no more looking over ones shoulder.
It is certainly possible to sin unknowingly and unintentionally. But in most cases, our sin is the result of selfish and rebellious choices. James said, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4: 17).
As Wiersbe notes, “‘Iniquity’ refers to the crookedness of sin. There is something devious and crooked about sin” (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Most Expensive Thing In The World, a pamphlet published by Back To The Bible Publication, Lincoln, Nebraska; pg. 12).
Far too many people are deceived about the danger of sin. Take it too lightly, and it may destroy you.
Ps.32: 3 “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.”
NOTE: [1] The idea of the words “when I kept silence” is “when I ‘refused to admit or confess my sin’” (Warren W. Wiersbe, The Most Expensive Thing In The World, a pamphlet published by Back To The Bible Publication, Lincoln, Nebraska; pg. 16).
[2] The words “my bones waxed old” is David’s way of saying that when he had unconfessed sin in his life, it sapped his youthfulness—it caused him to grow old before his time. This can often be observed in the sin-hardened faces of many people of our day.
[3] Hidden guilt in ones heart can affect the body. Wiersbe notes:
We are finding out that guilt buried deep within the human personality can be the cause of nervousness, backaches, heart trouble and ulcers (Ibid, pg. 17).
[4] David alluded to this same idea in Ps.31: 10b, where he said, “…my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”
the word “forgiven” alludes to the weight of sin. The Hebrew word from which it is translated means, “to lift” (James Strong, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible, published by MacDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia; #5375 of the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, pg. 80).
[3] The thoughts just discussed remind us of the words of the writer of Hebrews, who said, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…” (Heb.12: 1a).
[4] Oh that we would always remember that confession of sin sets us free.
A preacher of the early 1900s said that when he was 12 years old he had killed one of the family geese by throwing a stone and hitting it squarely on the head. Figuring his parents wouldn’t notice that one of the 24 birds was missing, he buried the dead fowl.
But that evening his sister called him aside and said, “I saw what you did. If you don’t offer to do the dishes tonight, I’ll tell Mother.”
The next morning she gave him the same warning. All that day and the next the frightened boy felt bound to do the dishes.
The following morning, however, he surprised his sister by telling her it was her turn. When she quietly reminded him of what she could do, he replied, “I’ve already told Mother, and she has forgiven me. Now you do the dishes. I’m free again!”
Source unknown
I Sam. 15:1-30
• Saul is told to totally destroy everything.
• Saul spares the King and the best of the livestock.
• When confronted by Samuel, he blames the soldiers (vs. 15) and justifies sparing the livestock because of a "sacrifice." He then claimed partial obedience: "but we totally destroyed the rest."
• Again in vs. 20-21 he claims obedience and blames the soldiers for any disobedience.
• Samuel spells out what obedience is in vs. 22-23. Partial obedience is not obedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice."
If a husband cheats on his wife, then feels bad and bring her flowers, the flowers don’t make up for the unfaithfulness. The same is true with God.
• Then Saul "confesses" his sin, but even in his confession, he justified (I was afraid) his actions, put the responsibility on the people’s shoulders (afraid of the people, so I gave into them), then clung to self-preservation (now come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord). See NIV study note 15:25
• Again in vs. 30 Saul confesses, "I have sinned. But …" He cared more for the favor of his people, than favor from God.
• The humility that must accompany true confession never comes
Confessing our sins is an expression of humility and a major key to spiritual growth. But it is difficult to do. It’s hard to admit a mistake.
Once when Frederick II, an 18th century King of Prussia, went on an inspection tour of a Berlin prison, he was greeted with the cries of prisoners, who fell on their knees and protested their unjust imprisonment. While listening to these pleas of innocence, Frederick’s eye caught a solitary figure in the corner, a prisoner seemingly unconcerned with all the commotion.
“Why are you here?” Frederick asked him.
“Armed robbery, Your Majesty.”
“Were you guilty?” the King asked.
“Oh yes, indeed, Your Majesty. I entirely deserve my punishment.”
At that Frederick summoned the jailer.
“Release this guilty man at once,” he said. “I will not have him kept in this prison where he will corrupt all these other fine innocent people who occupy it!”
We are all prone to shift the responsibility for our sin away from ourselves and blame our circumstances, our environment, or other people.
When Achan confessed his sin, he was saying in effect, “God, you have every right to punish me because I deserve it.”
The thief who hung on a cross beside Jesus Christ had dishonored God his entire life. But in his last moments, he gave glory to God.
In Luke 23:41 he said to the other thief, “We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.” The thief realized that God was righteous in his judgment.
Whenever we excuse our sin, we are blaming God. Adam did that when God questioned him about eating the forbidden fruit. He answered, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). Adam did not accept responsibility for his sin but blamed God, who had given Eve to him.
Sin is never God’s fault, nor is it the fault of a person or circumstance that God brings into our lives. Excusing sin impugns God for something that is our fault alone.
First, confession of sin begins with examining ourselves.
Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
We cannot even commune with God if we are harboring sin in our hearts, let alone grow spiritually.
So there must be a regular examination of our lives to see if we are cherishing sin in our hearts.
London held its breath in June 1987. While working on a building site, a construction foreman thought his workers had hit a cast iron pipe while using a pile driver. After picking up and then dropping the huge object, they realized the pipe looked like a bomb. It was—a 2,200-pound World War II bomb, one of the largest the Germans dropped during the blitz which killed more than 15,000 Londoners. After evacuating the area, a 10-man bomb disposal unit worked 18 hours before deactivating the seven-foot device.
Unconfessed sin, like an unexploded bomb, can rest in the heart of an individual—or in a church. Unless it is deactivated through confession, it can detonate and cause great damage.
confession of sin includes taking responsibility
you must acknowledge your responsibility. Don’t blame your circumstances, your husband, your wife, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your boss, your employees, or your pastor. Don’t even blame the devil. Your sin is your responsibility. Certainly anything or anyone can tempt you to sin, but sin ultimately occurs as an act of your will—and you are responsible for it. The Devil made me do it!
In a painfully honest look at his own life, W. E. Sangster wrote in his journal that although he was a minister of the Gospel, the spiritual passion in his private life had languished. He was not taking sin seriously. He made the following observations:
• I am irritable and easily put out.
• I am impatient with my wife and children.
• I am deceitful in that I often express private annoyance when a caller is announced and simulate pleasure when I actually greet them.
• From an examination of my heart, I conclude that most of my study has been crudely ambitious; that I wanted degrees more than knowledge and praise rather than equipment for service.
• Even in my preaching I fear that I am more often wondering what the people think of me, than what they think about my Lord and his word.
• I have long felt in a vague way, that something was hindering the effectiveness of my ministry and I must conclude that the “something” is my failure in living the truly Christian life.
• I am driven in pain to conclude that the girl who has lived as a maid in my house for more than three years has not felt drawn to the Christian life because of me.
• I find slight envies in my heart at the greater success of other young ministers. I seem to match myself with them in thought and am vaguely jealous when they attract more notice than I do.
Confession means taking sin seriously. It is being brutally honest with yourself, and not whitewashing that which needs radical surgery. Confession involves recognizing that sin is your responsibility, and that it is sin.
Gentlemen:
Enclosed you will find a check for $150. I cheated on my income tax return last year and have not been able to sleep ever since. If I still have trouble sleeping, I will send you the rest.
Sincerely,
A Tax Payer
Many times we don’t confess our sin because we’re not ready to let go of it. There is no such thing as true confession without repentance.
There was a cartoon several years ago in the Saturday Review of Literature in which little George Washington was standing with an ax in his hand. Lying on the ground before him was the famous cherry tree.
He had already made his smug admission that he did it—
after all, he “cannot tell a lie.” But his father was standing there exasperated, saying, “All right, so you admit it! You always admit it! The question is: when are you going to stop doing it?”
We betray a lack of spiritual maturity when we want to eliminate the penalty of sin but retain the pleasure of sin.
unconfessed sin on the conscience. The late Dr. F.E. Marsh told a story that on one occasion he was preaching and urging upon his hearers the importance of confession of sin and wherever possible of restitution for wrong done to others. At the close a young man, a member of the church, came up to him very troubled. "Pastor," he explained, "you have put me in a sad fix. I have wronged a man and I am ashamed to confess it or to try to put it right. You see, I am a boat builder and the man I work for is an infidel. I have talked to him often about his need for Christ and asked him to come and hear you preach, but he scoffs and ridicules me every time I do. Now, I have been guilty of something that, if I tell it to him, it will ruin my testimony forever." He then went on to say that sometime ago he started to build a boat for himself in his own yard. In this work copper nails are used because they do not rust in the water. These nails are quite expensive and the young man had been carrying home quantities of them to use on the job. He knew it was stealing, but he tried to ease his conscience be telling himself that the master had so many he would never miss them and besides he was not being paid all that he thought he deserved. But this sermon had brought him to face the fact that he was just a common thief, for whose dishonest actions there was no excuse. "But," said the young man, "I cannot go to my boss and tell him what I have done or offer to pay for those I have used and return the rest. If I do he will think I am just a hypocrite. And yet those copper nails are digging into my conscience and I know I will never have peace until I put this matter right." For weeks the struggle went on. Then one night he came to Dr. Marsh and exclaimed, "Pastor, I’ve settled for the copper nails and my conscience is relieved at last." "What happened when you confessed to your employer what you had done?" asked the pastor. "Oh," the young man answered, "he looked at me, then exclaimed, ’George, I always did think you were just a hypocrite, but now I begin to feel there’s something in this Christianity after all. Any religion that would make a dishonest workman come back and confess to me that he had been stealing copper nails and offer to settle for them, must be worth having.
Let me tell you something, a man went to a preacher and told him, I want you to pray for me so that I will be free from the devil’s attack forever. Then the preacher said to him, “I will do that for you. I will pray for you to die because it is when you die, that the devil will cease to attack you.” It is true, as long as you live, the devil will make things difficult for you. You will always experience hardship in life.
