Confession:

The Gift that Purifies

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9

The Greek word for confess is homologeo. Homos means “same.” Lego means “to speak.” Homologeo means to “speak the same thing,” to agree with, to admit, to declare. The concept is that God already knows everything I have done wrong. I am merely agreeing with God. When the Holy Spirit convicts me of something I have done wrong, I agree with the Holy Spirit and confess the sin to God. Even though He already knows. Thats confession

What is sin?

The Greek word for sin is hamartia. It means “to miss the mark.” Picture an archer or a rifle marksman aiming at a bullseye on a target. If she misses the bullseye, she has missed the mark. It doesn't matter how much she missed by, just that she missed it.

The same thing is true with sin. It doesn't matter how much I missed God's mark by, just that I missed it. Thats why Jesus told me that being angry with some one was as bad as killing the person. The actions have different social consequences, but in God's sight, they both miss the mark.

Jesus also told me that lusting after a woman was as bad as committing adultery. The actions have different social consequences, but in God's sight, they both miss the mark.

God's standard is pretty high. Perfection (Matthew 5:48). I miss the mark all the time. Several times a day. That is why confession is important to me. I need the freedom and peace that comes from agreeing with God that I have done wrong and asking Him to forgive me.

What is my sin?

How do I know what sins I need to confess?

Usually my conscious tells me right away when I miss God's mark. I get mad when someone cuts me off in traffic. I think bad thoughts toward people when I am tired. I don't work as hard as I should. My conscious knows these things are sin and tells me right away.

Other times, a friend or acquaintance points them out to me.

I also set aside time while I am praying to ask God if there is anything He would like to show me. Is there anything the Holy Spirit, within me, would like to bring to mind? I use Psalm 139:23, 24 to help me.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

I use this verse as a trigger. I read it. Then I ask God to search my heart. He knows whats going on in there. I ask Him to show me “any offensive way in me.” Usually, there is something He brings to mind. These are the things I agree with Him about. I confess them to Him as sins in my life.

No matter which method God uses to point out sin in my like, my attitude toward it is important.

David communicated the correct attitude. Psalm 51 was written by David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and been caught. He started by saying “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . . . Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”

Attitudes

Based on this, here are six attitudes I need to adopt:

1. I am dependent on the mercy of God.

2. I am dependent on God's unfailing love.

3. I am dependent on God's great compassion.

4. I am dependent on God to forgive, or blot out, my transgressions.

5. I am dependent on God to wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from sin.

6. I must realize that my sin is against God and God alone.

I see a pattern. God sets the standard. God determines what qualifies as sin. God makes sure that I am aware of my sin. My sin is against God. I agree with God that I have sinned. God extends mercy to me because He loves me and has great compassion on me. Because of His mercy, God forgives me. God cleanses me.

Based on this pattern, I have developed a confession process that works for me.

The Process

Here is the process I use:

1. I acknowledge that I have sinned against God.

2. I ask God to forgive me.

3. I chose to believe that God forgives me and I thank Him.

4. I chose to believe that I am cleansed of my sin.

Initial Confession of Sin for Salvation

I initially had to agree with God that I was a sinner. That on my own I missed the mark and sinned all the time. That without His help I could only sin. I needed His free gift to pay for my sins. Jesus Christ died for my sins. I was willing to acknowledge the death of Jesus Christ for my sins.

It was the only way. Its still is the only way.

I am dependent on the death of Jesus Christ. Without His death there is no forgiveness. Without His death confession is meaningless.

I initially confessed my whole life of sin and asked God to forgive me for all of it. Some of it I confessed by name. Most of it did not. I could not begin to remember everything I had done.

Confession of past sins more than once

I acknowledged the death of Jesus Christ as the payment for all my sins: past, present and future. I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior to demonstrate my acceptance of His payment for my sins. Despite that, Satan still attacks me.

I have those moments when I am flooded by thoughts of sins I have committed in the past. I did awful things. I feel terrible! And these things are starring me in the face again. Years ago, I would ask God to forgive me for those things again. Then I realized that some of the major things kept recurring in my thoughts. In my head I knew I had been forgiven of those things, but I still felt the need to confess them.

I have made a switch. I still have those moments when I am flooded with terrible thoughts from my past. Now, I thank God that He has already forgiven me for those sins. I realize that life is a spiritual battle and Satan is making every effort to distract me from the work God has asked me to do. Reminding me of my past sins is a great way to distract me!

The process of confession purifies me. My natural tendency is to hide when I sin. Just like Adam and Eve. I do bad, I try to hide it from God. But God knows what I have done wrong. He also know that it is important for me to admit to Him I have done wrong.

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