“Confession” popped up in a discussion last week. In the New Testament book of James we read this admonition: “…confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.” James 5:16 Based on many discussions I have heard, and my own personal experience, I am pretty sure that obeying this biblical order regarding confession is something that most Christians find pretty terrifying. In fact, it may be fair to say that most don’t practice confession unless we absolutely have to.
Some Christians have devised interesting ways to minimize the discomfort of confession. Some interpret “one another” to mean only professional clergy. The practice of setting aside a formal time and place for confession of sins to a professional minister perhaps minimizes the threat to the sinner that public confession or confession among the laity provokes. Lately I have even seen “on-line” confession sites, where you can leave your confessions for some completely unknown entity. Nevertheless, I believe that the Bible calls for confession of sins between laypeople and, on occasion, publicly before the entire congregation. That is the assumption that will underlie my comments here.
Some of you know that I am a person who is never satisfied with merely knowing what is expected of me. I have to know why! Maybe that’s why I had so much trouble as a young boy, as a student and as a soldier. Now, I want to know why in the world God would want me to confess my sins to other Christians? Here are some possible reasons:
- To keep me humble. It has been my experience that most Christians claim that they want to be humble, but none of them want to be humiliated. If I understand the process of humility correctly, humiliation is part of it. Confession is an acknowledgment that God is God and I am not.
- To be accountable. Confessing sin is a way of saying, “This is an area of life that I can’t be trusted in.” When I keep my sin a secret, it is clear that I don’t want any help with it. When I confess it, I become accountable to others, which is itself a powerful deterrent to the sin as I move forward in life.
- To dis-empower the sin in my life. When I confess my sin I not only deter it by becoming accountable to others, I start to dis-empower it. Secrets are powerful. That which is revealed can be treated.
- To be punished by guilt and shame. Some would hold that a purpose of demanding confession is to focus guilt and shame on the sinner. I strongly disagree with this position based on my understanding of God’s grace. In fact, in Biblical terms, confession is intended by God to have the opposite effect on guilt and shame for the sinner: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
- Perhaps the most important function of the confession of our sin to others is to minister to them. Nothing isolates Christians spiritually and emotionally like secret sin. The attempt to avoid looking bad robs us of the ability to rid ourselves of the very thing that can eventually destroy us from the inside out and prevent our sanctification. When we participate in a Christian culture that values looking good more than developing goodness we rob those whom we are supposed to help of the ability to be healed themselves. I have a Christian friend who is a personal counselor. He often says that one of the most basic human needs is to know that we are not alone. When we choose to live in a society that gives lip service to honesty and then lies in order to conceal secret sin, we all feel alone and irreconcilably isolated, because we all stumble into sin at times. The struggle to live the Christian life is about the mind, and secrecy is a sign that we are losing the struggle.
The bottom line: The confession of sin to one another is not optional. It can be painful and humiliating. Nevertheless, it is not optional because God loves us and knows that confession is the key to healing. It is healing not just for us but for those who are looking to us for the way to freedom and happiness. When we sin we can try to conceal it and get mired in it, or we can confess it and move on to forgiveness and righteousness.
In my next post I will continue this theme with a true story that will probably shock you and yet will surely impress you with the power of human grace, expressed through confession. If you want to be sure to get it, please subscribe using the form on this page. Soon!
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