He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces finds mercy. ~Proverbs 28:13
Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sins the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then, I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”—and You forgave the guilt of my sin. ~Psalm 32:1-5
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
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. ~James 5:13-16
“Whoever confesses and renounces (their sin), finds mercy.” Sin is a funny thing, in a way. You would think that we would want to run from it, but we don’t. Once we sin, you would think that we’d want to be shed of it, but we don’t. In fact, when we sin, we often cling to it and guard it more closely. We are so afraid of how others will respond that we would rather carry it than unburden ourselves of it.
Some people are comfortable with their sin thinking, “It’s not so bad.” They grow accustomed to it and may not even realize that there is a better, healthier way to live. They may reason that there is nothing to confess since it’s all they’ve ever known. If sin were dirty, wet clothes, we wouldn’t treat it that way. If sin were a pain, we wouldn’t treat it that way. Sin makes us unclean and causes more pain to ourselves and others than we often realize, yet it is the one thing that we are afraid to let go of and be free of.
In our readings for today, we have listed so many benefits of confession and repentance. Just to be clear, repentance isn’t just saying, “I’m sorry.” Repentance is turning around and leaving your sin behind. Yet, we find that act so hard to do. David said that “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.” Do you realize what he is talking about? He is referring to staying silent about his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. Instead of confessing, he tried to pretend he was okay, even before God. But in reality, David was miserable as a result.
“Then, I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”—and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” God always greets confession with mercy, but while we continue to hold onto the sin we must confess, we refuse to believe in God’s mercy. If we did believe it, we would eagerly let go, but we hold on fearing that, maybe this time, He won’t.
“If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James offers two of the benefits of confession: forgiveness and healing. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” John gives us a third. He explains that we become righteous through confession of our sin and letting go. Then, our prayers, offered from a repentant heart, are considered righteous before God who lends His strength making them powerful and effective.
John and James both should know what they are talking about. They watched Jesus offer mercy over and over as they walked together on this earth. Jesus was never looking for a “gotcha,” or an opportunity to condemn. He longs to forgive. That’s what the cross is all about, God’s way of offering forgiveness so that we can let go of our baggage of sin and leave it behind once and for all.
In a discussion at Celebrate Recovery recently, one attender asked, “Why do we need to confess? Why isn’t it enough to write it down, or remember?” Months ago now, we talked about the power of the secret. The longer we hold on to our secrets, or unconfessed sins, the more power those sins and secrets gain over us and the more fearful we become of letting go. Confession shines the light on the sin. It takes the power out of sin’s hold on us. It enables God, and others to offer forgiveness and start over.
Confession is how we let go of our sin, leave it at the foot of the cross and walk away. Holding on saps our strength. We end up investing what strength and energy that we have in hiding. Confession brings freedom and God’s mercy. We can trust that His mercy will be there because He keeps His promise to do so and He is a God of His Word.
Prayer: Father, thank You for Your mercy that is always there when I confess. Give me courage to confess when I sin. Give me a safe community within which I can confess and find grace, with encouragement and strengthening to press on! Thank you for the brothers and sisters who love me as You do. May I also be safe for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Mercy Came Running
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