Why Confession is Good for the Soul
Psalm 32
March 6, 2016
Video’s message - Getting in agreement with God.
I love the point that video makes that Jesus is the Great Physician who can fix our heart; but we need to live in agreement with what he is telling us; instead of listening and following the voices of deception, bitterness and fear that influence us.
You know there is a great story out of the Old Testament about King David who spiritually speaking needed his heart repaired. David was known as a great warrior, king and even “a man after God’s own heart.” But the Bible is honest even about its heroes. David sinned against God. He used his power as king to commit adultery with a woman known as Bathsheba. He didn’t stop there. He attempted to cover up his wrongdoing with lies and ultimately murder. So David who once walked so closely with God, found himself faraway from God. Spiritually speaking his heart was sick and needed healing. The Bible tells us how David’s relationship to God was restored.
Traditionally we would call the steps David went through to restore his relationship to God the experience and process of confession. You have probably heard the old Irish maxim that “open confession is good for the soul?” Today we want to look into the heart of David which he shared in a writing called the Psalms from the Old Testament. Specifically, we’ll use Psalm 32. In Psalm 32 we see why confession is good for the soul. Because the word confession in the Bible often means this, it means to “come into agreement.” The only way David could overcome his spiritual heart disease of pride and defiance was through confession to get his life in agreement once again with God. The hope is today by a closer look at Psalm 32 we can see why confession is good for us so our hearts beat strong with love and trust for God.
Confession intersects with our reality – the here and now!
David said, “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” (vs.1-3)
We can assume Psalm 32 comes at the time when David was just beginning to admit his failure and see where he stood with God. The first words that jump out at me is when David said, Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
David’s process of confession begins with acknowledging how great it is when there is nothing were covering up or hiding from God.
• How great it is when we’re not using mental gymnastics to justify what we know is wrong going on inside of us.
• We’re not using blaming other people to justify our feelings like resentment or discouragement because we are the only ones who can really control our feelings.
• We’re not rationalizing our actions that contradict scripture.
I hear David easing into the first step for why confession is good for the soul. David in a backwards way is saying man it is great when there is nothing a person is hiding from God – but he knew he could not make that claim.
Because then David said, When I declared not my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” (v.3) Here it comes, David begins to have truth intersect with how he had been living defiant and distant from God.
Confession is good for the soul because confession like David’s is the intersecting of truth with the reality of how were living.
• Confession is truth coming into the picture of how we’re currently existing that is different than God’s will for us.
• Confession is seeing there is the way we are living; and then there is the way or path God would have us to travel or live.
The Bible tells us God is not liar, the truth will set us free because the only way our relationship to God can be strong is when his truth is able to penetrate the conditions of our lives. Confession allows truth to penetrate into us. You might be sitting there right now squirming a bit because you know your relationship with God seems to be a bit or a lot out of sync or rhythm and could it be because you’re like David. You have had some truth which you have not wanted to come to terms with or to use David’s words, “you have kept silent?”
Confession dismantles the deception of sin.
If sin is often understood as missing the mark of what is true, then confession is not just where truth intersects with reality or how things really are in our lives; but confession also starts tearing down or dismantling the lies, the deception, and action that covers for our sin and or keeps us caught in our sin. In order for a life to be lived in stronger agreement with God, there is a need to tear down any falsehoods that come between us and God. We see this in David’s prayer of Psalm 32.
David wrote, “For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, I will confess my transgression to the Lord…” (vs.4-5)
David’s confession was tearing down all the false reasons he had told himself why it was okay for him to take another man’s wife. His confession dismantled the notion that because he had power, influence he could get by and do whatever he wanted without consequences.
His confession was breaking down the crutch he used to have people around him cover for him and tell him what he wanted to hear.
Confession is good for the soul, and brings us into agreement with God when it dismantles lies, reasoning and false priorities that we had chosen to take God’s place, defy God and go against our better judgment.
Someone said, “Sin will never give us what it promised, but always take us farther than we intended to go.”
Confession is good for the soul because it helps the heart to see that truth and get back in agreement with God.
One spiritual condition that concerns me is when a person never seems to question or wrestle about the harmony of their lifestyle with God’s will. They do not acknowledge the need for change in any way. Some might say well maybe you’re just a real guilt ridden person who has a concept of an angry God waiting to punish us over every little thing we do wrong?
I don’t really think so. I think my concern rises from the belief that God is so much greater than we are how can we possibly really think every motive we have is pure, and every move we make is in tune with his will? Especially if we are Christian and yet seldom seek to measure our motivations and actions by his word.
You probably once heard the story of the little boy who slipped away from his parents at a concert where a world renown pianist was to perform. Just moments before the master pianist was to walk out on stage and perform the little boy wandered onto the stage and went to the piano and began to play it. The music the little guy played was bad it wasn’t music it was just banging on the keys. The crowd snickered and whispered in reaction to the child. However, a hush came over the crowd when the master pianist walked over to the boy and sat down beside him and played along. The great master was able to play notes that made the notes the little boy played sound like music. That story is used to make the point that God’s love takes the sour notes that we hit with our lives and can transform them into something beautiful.
Yes, that is true, but just remember, the essence of God’s love is not about covering up our sin; but bringing it to light so we can be free from it.
So, I get worried about people who never seem to have a sense that God is trying to get their attention, calling them to take a second look at their lives and see how they live and handle various relationships. They seem more like the little boy who can strike any note and its okay.
David said the hand of the Lord was heavy upon him (v.4) Meaning he knew God was saying, “Hey bud, how you have handled yourself is wrong. How you have used your power and influence that I ultimately gave you is not okay.
We always have some dismantling to do of sin in our lives.
As a church if we confess to God we haven’t been doing the ministry like we have needed to then be prepared there will be ways about us that which God says needs to be dismantled so we can be set free to live out his ministry.
Confession begins to envision a new future with God
David wrote in Psalm 32, “I will confess my transgression to the Lord; you forgave the guilt of my sin…you are a hiding place for me, you preserve me from trouble…” (5&7)
David not only found confession led to forgiveness, but David began to see the real security and fulfillment was still found in God. He said “you’re my hiding place” meaning you’re the real source of meaning, of hope, of finding satisfaction. David recovers the vision he once had about God that if he didn’t have God he really didn’t have anything at all.
Confession is good for the soul because it leads us to a new or renewed vision of how to live and put Christ in the center of our lives; instead of our lives of on the sidelines or back burner. David had lost his innocence and couldn’t turn back the clock, but confession was seeing how the future could be positive going forward as long as God was first. David words indicate the next time he was really seeking security or fulfillment of some deep need; it wouldn’t be through sexual carousing or abusing his power; but seeking God.
You can know if your confession runs deep and if your turning your vision really upon God when prayers are not just, God please answer my prayer, forgive me; but God what I need most is you.
Does your confession, and admission of things about your life lead to seeing how your living really needs to be different toward God so the rest of your life can come into agreement with him?
Confession leads to action
Confession is good for the soul because what God is doing internally in us leads to a demonstration outwardly of how we are changing. In verse 8 David begins to identify what he must do. He said, “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go.” V.8 In Psalm 51 where David also confesses his sin, he prayed, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” (v.13)
David was putting his confession into action. Confession is about transformation. It’s in the evidence of our lives being lived in agreement with God and seen in actions.
You might ask well what about the times when a person admits their wrongs, makes promises to do better or change, but doesn’t keep them? I would say that is not real confession that is manipulation. Talk is cheap. No change; no real confession. No action; no real admission. Talk can be a way just to wield power to get what one wants. We see this exceptionally well in this political year of electing a president. Lots of talk that will not be followed by actions.
Confession in the biblical sense leads to actions that are consistent with the truth, consistent with the dismantling of sin that we claim to see, consistent with the envisioning of a new future and the actions follow that vision. Confession is good for the soul because it leads to a demonstration of a heart that is living in agreement with God: not just for ourselves.
There is an important caution to make about everything I have said regarding confession. Confession like what we see in Psalm 32 is to be a way of life. Confession that seeks truth to intersect with our daily living, dismantle the sin we hold, envision God’s will and put that into action is to be a way of life. It’s why James said confess your sin one to another. It’s why the model prayer of Jesus has us to ask for forgiveness as we forgive others. What we see in David’s confession is not for the big times when we really blow it, it’s to be a part of our daily walk with God.
We’re just three weeks away from celebrating the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead. The resurrection power of Jesus is with us every day so we can experience what David claimed “Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven. Confession is the choice we must make to tap into God’s power that raises us out of our spiritual deadness to new life like God gave to David, he can give us.
