As man looks at the world around him, he is aware of the many problems facing the planet – terrorism, rebellion, pollution, genocide, disease, and political and economic corruption, to name only a few of the many problems we face. However, the unbeliever almost completely ignores man’s basic and biggest problem – the root of it all – sin! Sin is simply falling short of the righteous standard of a holy God, and all mankind stands guilty. The Bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Notice how David handled sin as it crept into his own life.
First, he admitted his sins to the Lord – “I will declare mine iniquity.” David did not hide from his sin nor attempt to cover it up or rationalize his sinful behavior; rather, he confessed it to the Lord. We, too, must see our sin as God sees it and call it what it truly is if we are to be restored to a place of proper fellowship with our God.
Second, David expressed sorrow for the sins he committed – “I will be sorry for my sin.” Sadly, sin is often treated lightly or flippantly today even by those who profess to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour. But sin grieves our Lord; sin dishonors our Lord; sin displeases our Lord. He died to set us free from sin – its power and eternal consequence – and it should grieve and displease us as well. Let’s focus on two words:
- Confession.
It is imperative that we deal with sin in our lives. How do we do this? After we understand the effects of sin, we must then acknowledge our sin to God – that is, we must confess our sin to the Lord. What does this entail?
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 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.“
1 John 1:8 – 10
I read about a man who responded to the invitation at an evangelistic service. “I am a Christian,” he told the man who met him at the altar, “but there is a sin in my life, and I need help.” The counselor read some verses of Scripture and then encouraged him to confess his sins to God. The man began to pray, “Oh Father, if we have done anything wrong…” The counselor interrupted him. “Don’t drag me into your sin! There is no ‘if’ or ‘we’ involved. If you want forgiveness, you need to get down to business with God!”
Often we try to minimize our sin. We blame others rather than accepting the responsibility for what we have done. We make excuses to downplay and deflect our guilt. If we want to experience the forgiveness and restoration that God promises, we must genuinely confess. The Bible principle of confession is a full admission of responsibility and an agreement with God about the nature of our sin.
From the very first sin in the Garden of Eden, when Adam blamed Eve for eating the forbidden fruit, people have been attempting to avoid dealing with their sin. Because of God’s holy hatred of sin, He is not interested in our excuses, and He will not accept our half-hearted apologies for what we barely admit having done. In his great song of repentance, David wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).
The act of confession – When we realize that sin affects our life in such a negative manner, we will certainly desire to repent and return to a right fellowship with God. In order to do so, we must “confess our sins”, that is, we must see our sins as God sees them. I John 1:9 provides the guidelines for a renewed relationship with God. We must agree that our sins are evil and reprehensible in His sight and that they hinder our relationship with Him. If we do confess any known sin our life, we read that God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The benefits of confession – When we confess our sins, we realize three benefits.
- God “is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” that we have recognized and confessed to Him.
- God will “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Our lives are infested with “secret faults” – sins we have committed that we do not even realize. David understood the importance of being cleansed from all sin when he prayed, “Search me, O God, … and see if there be any wicked way in me” (Psa 139:23 – 24). He also asked the Lord to cleanse him from his “secret faults”. When we confess our known sin, our heart becomes right with God, and He promises to cleanse us not only from our confessed sin but from all unrighteousness.
- Confession allows for renewed fellowship with God.
