A. In 1John 1:9, Christians are given this wonderful but
conditional promise: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Certainly, we want the blessings of forgiveness
and cleansing, but are we ready to make a full confession of our sins?
B. In this lesson, let us consider the instructions of
God's word concerning the confession of sins so that we may learn how to gain
the great blessings that God has promised on this condition.
II. THE MEANING OF CONFESSION
A. It is important that we understand what is involved in
making a confession.
1.
By the common use
of the word "confession,” we understand that a confession is an admission or
acknowledgement of something. When a man
confesses, he concedes that something is true.
2.
Often, a
confession is an admission of guilt. By such
a confession, a person states the truth about what he has done wrong.
3.
In the original
language of the New Testament, to confess (Gr. homologeō or exomologeō)
means to say the same thing as another.
Thus, when a person confesses, he is agreeing that what someone else has
said is true.
4.
A confession is
not often easy to make because it usually involves a change of both mind and
behavior and an admission of wrong.
Regardless of how difficult confession may be, certain confessions are
absolutely necessary for one to be reconciled to God through Christ's gospel.
B. In the New Testament, we read of various confessions
that differ by content and purpose.
1.
The foremost
confession of the gospel is that Jesus is the Son of God, Christ, Lord, and
Savior.
a. In Romans 10:8-10, Paul describes the gospel as "the
word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus
as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and
with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
b. Before the gospel can be effective for us, a person
must confess (agree with God) that Jesus is all that God has said He is. This confession of Jesus is the gateway to
all the gospel's blessings (Matt. 10:32-33; Matt. 16:15-17; John 8:24;
11:25-27; Acts 8:37).
2.
The confession of
sin is a necessary element of the gospel because the forgiveness of sin is
impossible without the acknowledgement of sin.
a. From the first preaching of John the baptist, men and
women were confessing their sins as they resolved to repent and change their
wicked ways (Mark 1:4-5).
b. After the full revelation of the gospel, the practice
of confessing sins continued as a natural response to the message of repentance
and forgiveness (Acts 2:37; 8:20-24; 19:18).
c.
Indeed, before
sins can be forgiven, repentance must occur, and before repentance can occur,
there must be a correct understanding and confession of sins.
d. Thus, a confession of sin is an admission that one's
deeds were in conflict with God's will.
A man confesses his sin when he agrees that God was right about sin and
he was wrong.
III. CONFESSION OF SINS
A. Concerning sin, the most important confession we must
make is to God.
1.
It is good to
confess our sins to one another, as we will see shortly, but confession of sins
to God is mandatory.
a. It is God who is offended by sin, and we must
acknowledge this to Him. When we sin, we
would do well to imitate David's confession to God in Psalm 51:4 – "Against
You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You
are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge.”
b. It only God who can forgive sin, so we must confess
our sins to Him in order to ask His forgiveness. See Psalm 51:1-2, 7-14.
2.
New converts to Christ
confess their sins by the very act of obedience to the gospel of Christ. Every soul who obeys the gospel is admitting
that he has sinned and needs a Savior in the person of Jesus Christ.
3.
Christians who
sin against God must make confession of their sins in order to repent and be
forgiven.
a. John gives specific directions to Christians
concerning the confession of sin in 1John 1:6-10:
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in
the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are
deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make
Him a liar and His word is not in us.
b. Notice that John is teaching the essential meaning of
confession.
i.
Consider all the
ways John describes disagreement with God (the opposite of confession). He calls this lying, a failure to practice
the truth, self-deception, an accusation of lying against God, and the lack of
God's word in us. As a result, the guilt
of sin remains in one who disagrees with God about his own sin.
ii.
On the other
hand, if a Christian confesses that he has sinned, then he is in agreement with
God, and God forgives and cleanses him.
c.
Remember that
these directions in 1John 1:6-10 pertain to those who have already obeyed the
gospel of Christ (notice 1John 2:12-14; 3:1).
i.
Christians do not
abide in sin or practice it as a way of life (1John 3:6-9), but they may
stumble in sin from time to time and have need of forgiveness. Therefore, there is no truth in the so-called
"once-saved-always-saved” doctrine.
ii.
This passage shows
that the blood of Christ remains effective for Christians to "wash away sins”
long after baptism (Acts 22:16). As we
walk in the light with God, "the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all
sin.”
4.
Understand that
confession of sins to God is for our sake, not God's.
a. Sinners do not confess their sin to God as a means of
informing Him, for He already knows all things (Heb. 4:13). He does not need our confession for any
reason.
b. Instead, confession is an opportunity for a sinner to
acknowledge what he has done and express his contrition and godly sorrow. Consider Psalm 51:17 – "The sacrifices of God
are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not
despise.”
B. The Scriptures also encourage Christians to confess
sins to one another.
1.
James gives us
both the instruction for this confession and the purpose of it in James 5:16 – "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.”
a. This is not a license for Christians to learn all of
one another's secrets. Instead, it is a
great support mechanism whereby Christians who are burdened with sin can find
help.
b. The purpose of such a confession is to obtain the help
and support of fellow Christians by their prayers.
c.
To practice this
instruction requires a great deal of trust for a Christian who has sinned and a
great deal of compassion for one who hears a confession. If we don't practice this instruction enough,
it is probably because we lack these things.
2.
Compliance with
this instruction is most commonly encouraged in the assembly of the church, but
mutual confession of sins needs to be practiced more commonly between
individual Christians. If practiced
correctly, then it will make us stronger.
IV. CONCLUSION
A. Finally, consider the confession made by the prodigal son
in Luke 15:18-19, 21 – "I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy
to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men'”…And the son said to
him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer
worthy to be called your son.”
B. When we sin, may we have the same good sense and
contrition as the prodigal son had to confess our sins to our heavenly
Father. If we will do so, then He
assures us that He will receive us and forgive us just as the prodigal son's
father received and forgave him.
