CONFESSING YOUR SINS
TEXT: James 5:14-16
INTRODUCTION
1. What a wonderful day, this day is. I am so glad, and grateful. You see, I have reason to be happy and excited. My mighty Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has seen fit to redeem me from my sin and destruction.
2. I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today, I know that He is living, no matter what men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice cheer, no matter where He leads me, He’s always there. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today, He walks with me, and He talks with me, along life’s narrow way. He lives, He lives, salvation to impart. You ask me how, I know He lives, He lives within my heart.
3. I am glad that each and every one of you has come to our fellowship today, to worship our blessed King, and to hear the mighty living Word of God. There is one question however, that I must ask you today. “Did you come here for the right reason? Who is it brought you here today?
4. Perhaps, some of us have come here out of obligation to self, so that, by doing the right thing, we might secure a place in heaven. Perhaps some have come here because it is Sunday, and that is the tradition of Sundays. Perhaps some have come here searching for an answer to a question. Perhaps some have come here for entertainment. Perhaps some have come here to help ease the hurt and pain. Perhaps some have come here today to check out this crazy African preacher. I pray that we have all come here to commune and praise the King of Kings Jesus Christ, as He is the one who shall be proclaimed and glorified today. AMEN. HALLELUJAH. Whatever reason that you came here, I pray that you find what you are searching for.
5. As we continue in our sermon series on the Christian Disciplines, I ask you the question once again today: Who are you going to follow? Who is going to be your King? Who is going to make the decisions in your life? It had better be Jesus Christ the Son of God. You need to let that happen.
6. Today, we are going to look at the Christian discipline of confession. Before we get into that however, we need to understand the nature of fallen mankind. You see,
I. ALL HAVE SINNED.
RO 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
A. The Definition Of Sin
1. In the beginning, God created mankind to be holy and perfect, without blemish. To be a creature of love, compassion, beauty and power. To bring glory to our Creator. ISA 43:7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."
2. The Greek word for “sin” is “Hamartia.” This word basically means:-
i. to be without a share in
ii. to miss the mark
iii. to err, be mistaken
iv. to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong
v. to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law, sin
3. Therefore, sin is to go against the Law of God, and all have gone against the law of God, which can be summed up in “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
B. Man Is A Sinner.
1. In the garden of Eden, even though created to be perfect, mankind could not keep to their purity, and fell far from the glory that was intended for him.
2. RO 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
3. Mankind cannot claim righteousness, as it is hopeless for man to even think that He can stand in the presence of the Holiness of God. ISA 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
C. Sin Has To Be Paid For.
1. In all of life, Newton found that for every force, there is an equal and opposite force. In truth however, for action there is a reaction. That is, for righteousness, there is positive reward, and for disobedience there is negative reward.
2. ROM 6:23 For the wages of sin is death….. therefore, each and everyone of us has a debt that has to be paid. All have sinned, and the price of sin is death. This has to be paid, atoned for, it cannot be ignored forever.
3. The reaction to action of sin, is eternal pain and suffering in the fires of hell, being eternally separated from God. It is like the saying, “you did the crime, now do the time”, or “you made your bed, now lie in it.”
II. RECOGNIZING THE PRICE OF SIN.
A. Many Deny Their Sins.
1. Satan cannot stand the fact that he is defeated, and that he has no future. He cannot win, but his hatred for God and for mankind, makes him vindictive and out for our destruction. His motto is “If I am going down, you are going down with me.”
2. The word of God tells us that he is a liar, the father of lies, and one of the biggest lies that he ever spouted, and always spouts, is that sin is not really sin. GE 3:4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
3. When asking mankind, why God should let them into heaven, many will say, that they have lived a good life, have never really hurt anyone, have done more good than bad etc. What they are saying, is, we really haven’t sinned. Our actions are not really sin.
4. There are many who want to live their lives of sin, that come right out and make God become non existent. No God, no sins, no responsibility, and no punishment. Wrong answer. My denying the lack of law enforcement, the law, or imprisonment, does not entitle me to speed, or kill someone. I can make any statement I want, but the facts, which is truth, stands regardless of the state of my mind.
B. We Need To Recognize Our Sins
1. The first step in becoming a Christian, is to recognize our sinful state. We are sinners, we have transgressed the Law of God in favor of our own law. Once again denying the sinful state, will not make it go away.
2. In order for a repair or a cure to be implemented, there has to be something broken or sick. If you have no sin, then you don’t need Savior. Auto technicians, have the policy, “if it is not broke, don’t fix it.”
3. Beloved, understand, that in my sin I am in a hopeless situation. I have committed sin, and must pay the price for my sins. My righteousness is decaying rags in the sight of God. I cannot bribe God, nor pay the barter with Him to lighten the sentence. Like the apostle Paul, I cry out, ROM 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Help me, Help me, Help me.
4. But there is Good News for those who recognize that they have sinned against God and are unable to save themselves ROM 7:25 Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord!
C. Understanding Our Position.
1. Our position is very clear in the scriptures. It is not a matter of how pious, or holy you try and make yourself, or act. It is not an issue paying penance for your sins. You can kneel for hours, cut yourself, chant mantras in the rain. None of that is worth anything to the Lord.
2. A drowning man is unable to save himself, and we are drowning in the flood of sin. Our position is this. We need a Savior, one who can rescue us from our sins and eternal death. Like the apostle Peter, who was walking on the water, and then started to sink, cried out MT 14:30"Lord, save me!"
3. The scriptures are about one subject, and that is the saving power of Jesus Christ. He is the only human, who lived a perfect life, and has offered Himself as a Sacrifice for you. Only by accepting Him as your Savior, and by requesting that He save you by His shed blood, will you ever have your sins paid for and will you escape the eternal death.
4. Jesus sums it up in this statement. JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. It is not what you do, or say, or even suffer, it is who you know. Do you know Jesus Christ?
III. MAKING THE CONFESSION.
A. The Definition Of Confession.
1. The word confess, is used by the court system
Today, when someone has been accused of a crime. They can either deny the accusation or confess to the accusations, which means that they agree with the accusation.
2. The Greek word “Homologeo” is translated:
i. to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, to concede
ii. not to refuse, to promise, not to deny
iii. to confess, declare, to confess, i.e. to admit or declare one’s self guilty of what one is accused of
iv. to profess, to declare openly, speak out freely, to profess one’s self the worshipper of one, to praise, celebrate
B. Confessing Jesus Christ Is Lord.
1. When one needs to be saved by a Savior, there is only one way, according to Jesus. MT 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
2. Paul also tells us what we need to do. RO 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11 As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.
3. This confession, is that Jesus Christ is the only one who can save us. We confess that we are sinners, unable to save ourselves, and we confess that we need Jesus, the Son of God, to save us.
C. Confessing Our Sins.
1. The fact that we need to confess that we are a sinner is vital in our salvation process, but the confessing of our sins goes further than that. The Bible tells us to confess our sins to Jesus and He will forgive us. 1JN 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
2. Secondly, we see the interesting correlation of sin to sickness in JAS 5:14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
3. Beloved, not only are we to confess our sins to Jesus Christ, in order to obtain forgiveness of sins, but we are to confess our sins to others, as this is therapeutic, and enables health. It also gets others praying for our short comings, so that the Holy Spirit will overcome them in us, and we will be healed spiritually also.
CONCLUSION
1. Beloved, confession, is a vital part of your Christian walk. I am not talking about confessing to a priest, but I do want you to know that you need to confess to a righteous loving, trustworthy, prayer warrior, who will pray for you.
2. The last thing we need to do, is create a scandal in the church, by confessing to the church gossip, or perhaps a young Christian, who will become disillusioned as a result.
3. When you are confessing your sins to the Lord Jesus Christ, do not be flippant about your sins. Saying Father forgive my sins, but rather, Father in the name of Jesus, and by the power of His blood, forgive me for my lying, my cheating, my stealing, my swearing. Be specific about this, as confession is healing. Also at that point ask the Holy Spirit to help you to overcome the temptation to these sins.
4. Confession, cleanses you from unrighteousness, and also some diseases. Many diseases have come into this world as a result of sin. Jesus forgave the sins of the sick, to make them well. (Not all sickness is a result of personal sin), but some may be the result of unresolved sin.
5. Doctors are finding that guilt, anger, worry and anxiety are causing more and more diseases. These beloved are the by product of unresolved and unconfessed sin.
6. What about you brothers and sisters. Have you confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Have you taken a good look at your life, and seen the sin that needs to be confessed to the Rock of Ages, who gives streams of living water.
7. Confess Him today, and make Him the Lord of your life.
