Confessing Sin

You did it again. The thing you promised God you wouldn’t do. The guilt and shame don’t even attack anymore. They simply appear, filling you up with feelings that have become so intimate they feel less like enemies and more like old friends. You hate yourself, your sin, and you are on the verge of despair. What do you do in these moments? The moments after the promises of Satan are revealed to be empty?

First, speak hard truths of Scripture to your soul. 1 John 1:6 says, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” How can we continue to walk in darkness and have fellowship with God? John was writing to a community afflicted by various false teachings. One of which was an antinomian teaching. Some were claiming to be free from sin while continuing in sinful behaviors. John points out that you cannot actively practice habitual sin and claim to have fellowship with God. You also cannot claim not to sin because that makes God a liar (1 John 1:10). This is a good diagnostic to run. Are you captive to a habitual sin that keeps you in bondage instead of the freedom that is yours in Christ?

Second, you are a sinner. Paul said to the Romans, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). All of humanity is under the curse of sin. Our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). Being honest with the reality of sin will enable you to be honest about your danger, “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). I recently read a short devotional story to my children. A man in the military is thrown into prison for various crimes. He was violent, obscene, and loved his irreverent behavior. He was allowed only one visitor, a young chaplain whom he ran out within a few minutes. The chaplain went to an older minister for help. The older minister decided to visit the prisoner. He treated the older chaplain with even more contempt and vileness than the younger. After 10 minutes, the older minister went to leave. On his way out, he turned to the man and said, “For the wages of sin is death,” then the door slammed shut behind him. These seven words had a profound impact on the prisoner. He never really contemplated the consequences of his behavior. Prison is one thing, but death is another. Satan hurls accusations at us, reminding us of our sinful nature. One way to resist him is not to justify ourselves, but as Martin Luther said, respond to him, “So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this:

‘I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it?” We will return to the rest of what Luther said at the end of this post.

Third, go to the throne room of heaven in prayer. The most famous prayer of confession in the Bible is Psalm 51. David prayed this psalm after his sin with Bathsheba. He begins by crying out to God for mercy, “according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy.” The word “steadfast” is the covenantal term hesed. David appeals to the very character of God as revealed on Sinai, “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” David does not make apologies for his sin. He is honest, “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” He then begs God to “purge me,” “wash me,” “blot out all my iniquities,” and “create in me a clean heart, O God.” It is only God who can wash away our sins.

Fourth, believe that you have an advocate before the Father. Returning to 1 John, yes we must be honest with our sin and take it to the Father, but he did not leave his people without hope. If we come to the Savior with a “broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17), He hears our confession. John says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). This brings me back to the rest of Martin Luther’s famous line. When Satan throws your sins in your face and declares you deserve hell, you accept what he says is true. But it is not the whole truth. Luther goes on to say, “‘I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!’” The Son of God sits before God the Father interceding on your behalf. He forgives because of His steadfast mercy, His covenantal character.

The way forward after sin, even habitual sin, is not to say, “Oh well, no bother in confessing my sin. I am going to keep doing it anyway.” It is to cry out for mercy. It is to beg God for the Spirit to give you strength to wage war against your remaining sinful flesh. It is to ask God to do what only He can: wash you, purge you, blot out your iniquities, and create in you a clean heart, trusting that He who is at work in you is greater than He who is at work in the world.

Christians, if you want to have victory over sin in your life, it always begins with confession.