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Confession, A Study Of Introduction: The sermon is about to conclude and the preacher extends the "invitation." He may mention that those who need to confess sin in their lives are to come forward. The brings about a number of questions: 1. Should I (we) all go forward since we all sin? 2. Can I have a note read before the congregation instead of physically walking down the isle? 3. Is there scriptural authority for this practie? 4. How specific should I be in my confession? 5. Who am I confessing to? These questions often arise in dealing with this practice. Let us answer some of these questions by looking at what the word means, what we are to confess, the difference in public and private sin, and some misuses of public confession. I) ) Defining Confess, Confession A) Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1. Homologeo-- to speak the same thing (homo-same; lego -- to speak) a. to declare, admit to -- John 1.19-20 b. to confess by way of admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction, 1 John 1.9. 2. Exonologeo -- stronger than homologeo a. of a public acknowledgement of confession of sins, Matthew 3.6; James 5.16 b. to profess or acknowledge openly, Matthew 11.25 (revealed) B) Therefore, to confess is to say the same thing as; acknowledge, admit, to proclaim. Romans 10.9 1. Purpose is to admit one's guilt. 2. To communicate to others one's faith, and/or guilt. We cannot just assume one believes; they must confess it. II) What Are We To Confess? A) We are to confess Jesus as the Son of God, Acts 8.37 1. This confess is seen in Acts 8.37 as a verbal confession. 2. This is also seen in Matthew 10.32 as more than just verbal but also by one's life. B) Our sins to one another, James 5.16 1. A non-Christian wanting to be baptized confesses their faith in Jesus as the Son of God. They are acknowledging Him as their Lord and Savior. 2. As Christians we are to confess our sins to God, 1 John 1.7-9. a. All our sins are against God, Joseph realized this, Genesis 39.9. b. Did this mean Joseph would not be sinning against Potiphar? No, but Joseph realized the greater of the two was God. c. David sinned with Bathsheba against her husband and God. Yet David wrote, "Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge." Psalm 51.4 C) Private vs. Public Sin 1. Some sins may be "private" in nature. Either between you and God or between you, God, and one other person. a. Husband may sin against his wife; a person may steal from one person. b. In those cases one must acknowledge their sin to God and the other person. James 5.16 c. Go to the one you have sinned against, Matthew 5.23-26. Part of that reconciliation must be the acknowledging of sin. 2. Some sins may be more public in nature. a. Against a group of people -- I steal the computer from the office b. Bring reproach on the church which is against God but also the members of the church. If I embezzle from my company and it gets plastered over the newspaper. Or I become a serial killer, etc. c. Needs to be one of repentance, from the heart. d. Again brethren cannot just assume one has repented or a public sin. 3. God should be the main focus of our repentance. a. At times we may be asking others (those we have sinned against) to forgive us. b. At times we may be expressing our sorrow for our sins so others will know we have repented. But the "church" is not the one that forgives us, it is God. c. At time we may be simply asking for the prayers of the saints. III) Abuses and Problems With Public Confession A) Reporting or instead of repenting of sin 1. This is a heart problem and one we cannot see when a person says they "repent". a. There should be fruits of repentance; a change in their life. b. We are to forgive and pray for all who make confession. B) Using public confession as a way to get around going to an individual 1. Have seen this when there was a problem between two brethren and one just decided to go forward and express wrong. 2. Go to the one you have sinned against and work it out with them. C) If type confessions 1. Really not admitting wrong, but if I did do something wrong then I want you to forgive me. 2. Can we say "If, Jesus is the Son of God, then I confess Him"? Conclusion: Any time we sin, we have sinned against God. If we are not a Christian we must obey the Gospel to be forgiven. If we are a child of God we must confess our sin before God. If we sin against someone we need to take care of it. Our confession should be to clarify instead of confuse.
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