Do you find it difficult to confess your sins, publicly or privately? There’s something about openly admitting that we’ve done something wrong or that we’re inherently sinful people that is just plain hard for us to do. But it’s necessary. Oh so necessary.
Also, to me at least, it feels much easier to confess my sin to God than to someone I’ve wronged. He’ll always forgive me. He’ll always be merciful. There might be tougher consequences for admitting something to someone here on earth. They might not be quick to forgive and might be even slower to forget.
Glory in Him Who Will Fulfill His Promise
In my recent discovery of Martin Luther’s writings I happened upon some incredible thinking on confession that I had to share. He wrote a very detailed letter in response to the practice of the Catholic church requiring confession to be made as a part of a work for salvation (A Discussion on How Confession should be Made).
In one of the most refreshing parts of this letter he shares a perspective on confessing our sin that I had never thought of before: confessing your sin is equal to confessing the truth and greatness of God. He first writes:
…it is necessary, above all, that he who confesses should not put his trust in the confession he is about to make or has made. Rather, he should put his trust in the most merciful promise of God alone, with complete faith and with the certainty that he who promised the forgiveness of sins to the person about to confess them will most faithfully fulfill his promise.
For we are to glory not in making confession but in him who promised to those who confess…the work of confession is nothing but an occasion on which God is requested to fulfill his promise – or rather, whereby we are trained to believe that we shall undoubtedly obtain that promise…Thus it will come to pass that confession and splendor are the work of God.
What a fantastic way to start. The act of confessing our sin should not be the work that we hold onto or something we glory in, but we should glory in Him! Confession is not a chore or downer, but an opportunity to glorify God by knowing that He promises to forgive our sin.
Declaring and Acknowledging the Truth of God
He goes on to write:
For he who confesses his sins certainly speaks the truth. However, God is the truth, therefore he [who confesses] simultaneously confesses God.
While confessing our sin cannot be equated to directly confessing the nature of God, it can be equated to confessing, or acknowledging, proclaiming, or declaring truth, and thus acknowledging, proclaiming, and declaring God.
Why is Confessing our Sin Important?
Confession is a necessary part of the Christian life, both privately and corporately:
- We are to confess our sin to God (Proverbs 28:13, 1 John 1:9, Psalm 32:5)
- We are to confess our sin to each other (James 5:16) Why? “…and pray for another, that you may be healed.” It is so powerful when we truly confess what we’ve done not only to God, but to each other, so that healing can take place, relationships can be restored, and trust can be rebuilt.
- I believe strongly that this passage is referring to confessing sin to the one against whom you’ve sinned, not just to a pastor or priest as a third party.
Do you include a confession of sin in your service? Do you regularly confess your sin to God and to each other?
(photo by Krist Adams)
