The Importance of Confession with Others
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)
We hear these words spoken every week in our services. It is a firm reminder that none of us are perfect and all are in need of God’s grace. In our new world of “influencers” [a term I unashamedly detest] and social media, the pressure is greater than ever to be perfect, look perfect, and know all the things. To not know about something, with instant news and emails and vines and threads and memes and reels popping up right, left, behind, before and who knows where else makes us feel just as instantly left out and insignificant. It’s no longer “Have you heard about this?” The question now is “How have you not heard about this??”
So we wall up our ignorance behind hours of data streaming. We fashion our daily lives to imitate the pretty people on our screens. Along with the pressure has come the ease to become distracted or to distract others, so our shortcomings are left unexposed and unexplored.
Can start to sound hopeless, can’t it? But…
“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)
God is faithful and just unto himself. He has promised us rest and renewal (Matt. 11:28-29). He will not abandon us (Deut. 31:8). In our weakness, He will be our strength (2 Cor 12:9-10). God keeps his promises, for he is perfect. And we do not “unlock” his grace or “attain” this power. The only action a Christian must take is this:
Surrender.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16a
Confession is beneficial all by ourselves, to pray and confess to God in moments of quiet and solitude. God can do great work in these transparent moments. But I think such unburdening is limited. It may unlock the door, but I wonder if it ever actually opens the door of our heart to truly hear God’s forgiveness as God can do when speaking through a pastor, a friend, a sibling, a parent, or a spouse. Those times when I have actually laid my sin before another person have been the moments when I have been the most terrified in my life; yet also those were the moments I have truly felt forgiven and loved.
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain…let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings…Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:19-25
Amen.