CONFESSION of SINS

Salvation means Forgiveness

Isa 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

All of our sins were laid on Christ, He died to pay the penalty that the law demanded for our sins. He made full and complete atonement for our sins.

1 Pet 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

We can receive forgiveness of all our sins, because Jesus Christ took all our sins upon Himself, when He died for us upon the cross. As a result, we have been set free from sin, and we are no longer considered to be sinners before God.

2 Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Because Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself, we can now receive His righteousness. As far as God is concerned, we are as righteous as Christ is righteous, if we believe in Him. God no longers sees us as sinners, but instead He sees us as sons with the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

God gave His Son to die for us so that we could have forgiveness of sins and eternal life. When Jesus Christ came into this world He did not come to judge sinners but to save sinners. Jesus took our sins upon Himself; therefore, the person who believes in Jesus Christ has been declared to be not guilty of sin. But, the person who does not believe in Jesus Christ has already been declared to be guilty, because his sins are not forgiven and will not be forgiven, unless he does believe in Jesus Christ.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus is the only way to obtain forgiveness of sins, to be made right with God, there is no other way.

Sins Against God are Confessed Only to God

Ps 32:3-5 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

God Almighty knows our sins and we cannot hide anything from Him; He even knows our most secret thoughts. There is no point in trying to hide the truth from God, it cannot be done. God only wants us to acknowledge our sins and to agree with Him concerning them. If we do not confess our sin to God, He is faithful to discipline us so that we will confess our sin to Him. When we confess our sin, agree with God that we have sinned, He stops the discipline and we experience new joy in knowing we are forgiven. Because we are children of God and have eternal life we do not loose our salvation when we sin, but we experience God’s displeasure with us as a child experiences the displeasure of his father when he disobeys. God is always waiting for us to confess our sin, admit that we have sinned, so that He can restore us to full fellowship with Himself.

I Jn 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

When we first acknowledge our sins before God and believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, we receive full and complete forgiveness of all our sins, both past and future sins.

Jesus Christ is the truth and all Christians have the truth. The Christian knows when he has sinned against God because he has the truth living inside. The person who says that he has not sinned is calling God a liar because God’s word says that we have all sinned. We may deceive others and we may deceive ourselves, but we cannot deceive God; we cannot hide our sins from Him. God’s desire is that we confess our sins to Him. When we acknowledge our sins to God, He is always faithful to forgives our sins, and He is completely righteous in doing so because Jesus Christ has taken all the penalty due to our sins upon Himself. Furthermore, God is also faithful to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, when we confess our sins to Him, and that means He works in us in such a way as to remove sinful habits from our lives. The more we confess our sins to God, the more He works in us to change us from within, to make us more like Himself, holy, blameless, and undefiled. As long as we are living in this body of flesh, we will never be perfect; but, God is at work in us to give us the desire to be pleasing to Himself in all things. We do not refrain from sin because we are accountable to any person, but we refrain from sin because God is at work in us to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Our sanctification is not a result of our efforts, but it is the result of a work of God within us.

Our salvation past, present, and future is all of grace. It is the result of God’s work, not the result of our efforts. When we experience victory over some sin in our lives, we do not praise ourselves, but we praise God. "To God be the glory, great things He has done."

Ps 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

David sinned by committing adultery and then committing murder in an effort to hide his sin. David’s sin affected a number of people, but his sin was not against any man, but against God and God only. Only God has the authority to tell us how we are to live, and what we must and must not do. God set the standards. God’s word tells us how He expects us to behave. When we do not live according to God’s standards, we sin against Him and Him only. Therefore, when we sin we must confess our sin to God and God only. Only God has the right to judge us for our sins because He set the standards we are to live by, and our sins are affronts to His standards.

Forgiveness is complete in Christ Jesus; therefore, once a sin is confessed to God , it is forgotten by God and it should also be forgotten by the person who confessed it. Satan accuses us over and over again to keep us from fully accepting God’s full and complete forgiveness. He does this in order to keep us feeling guilty, to discourage us, to get us to give up trying to live for the Lord. Our feelings of guilt will keep us from growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and prevent us from serving Him. When God forgives our sins He forgets our sins, so should we.

Offenses are Confessed to Others

Matt 5:23-24 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Unity among Christians is most important to God. We must not allow any kind of offense to separate us in any way. We must deal with every issue that separates us. All believers are brothers and sisters in Christ and God’s desire is that we love one another. If we want God to listen when we pray, to accept our offerings to Him, and to accept our service, we must first make sure there is no division between ourselves and any other Christian.

Luke 17:3-4 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Jesus instructs us to be on our guard because it is so easy to be overcome by anger and to allow a wrong inflicted upon us by another Christian to cause division among us. We must forgive others and not keep a record of offenses, no matter how many times we are wronged. When we offend another Christian, we must make an apology; and when another Christian offends us, we must never refuse to accept his apology.

James 5:14-16 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

If we want our prayers answered, when we unite with other Christians to pray, we must make sure that there are no hard feelings among us, and that there is no division of any kind among us. Our prayers are only effective, when we are united in spirit when we pray. Therefore, when we do or say something that offends another Christian, we are to make an apology to that person for offending him. If another Christian has offended us, we must offer forgiveness even before we receive an apology. Whenever we have any kind of hard feelings toward another Christian, we must deal with it and not allow any division to exist among us.

It is clear that the sins James instructs us to confess to one another are those sins that offend and do harm to others. If I wrong another Christian, I must make it right by confessing to that wrong and apologize. Our sins against God are to be confessed to God and only to God. Our sins that offend another Christian are to be confessed to God and to the person offended. Jesus Christ is our only High Priest and Intercessor and no man can take His place. Once a sin is confessed to God, it never has to be confessed again, to God or to anyone else. James 5:16 does not teach the false doctrine of confession to man, butt it teaches the importance of unity among brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.

Not Confession but Unity

Rom 15:5-6 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We were united with Christ in His death and now in His new life. Being united with Him we are united with one another. To accomplish the will of our God and Father in heaven, just as Jesus Christ did the will of His Father, we must all have the mind of Christ. We must love others just as Jesus Christ loved others. There is no division in love; love unifies, it does not divide. Unity among Christians gives glory and honor to God.

1 Cor 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Satan likes to cause disagreement and division among Christians because it keeps us from working together to accomplish the work of evangelism. When we are busy arguing over unimportant issues, we are like a train that has been sidetracked, we will not get anywhere in our service to the Lord. Where there is agreement, much will be accomplished for the glory of the Lord.

2 Cor 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

If we are to experience the presence of the Lord in our service to Him, we must be of the same mind as the Lord. If we all have the same mind as the Lord, we will all agree together in all of our service to Him; and as a result, we will experience success coupled with peace, love, comfort, and joy.

1 Pet 3:8-12 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

We are instructed to get along together, to be understanding of one another, to treat one another as brothers, to be kind to one another, and to consider others above ourselves. We are also instructed to do good in return for evil and to respond to insults with blessings. As we live according to these instructions we will experience a blessed relationship with others and with God. If a person wants to enjoy this present life and to experience God’s blessings, he must be careful not to harm anyone with his speech or with his actions. Furthermore, he must put forth all effort to always be at peace with others.

The Lord does not answer the prayers of those who are at odds with other Christians, and who practice evil towards them. The Lord keeps watch over those who are at peace with others, and who do good towards them. The Lord is always ready to answer the prayer of the Christian who pursues peace with other Christians.

In Conclusion

To be at peace with God, we must confess our sins to God and only to God; and when we do so, He never fails to forgive us. To be at peace with other Christians, we must apologize whenever we do or say something that offends someone, and when we receive an apology, we must never refuse to forgive. Confession results in unity, and where there is unity among Christians, God is faithful to answer our prayer.

Our sins are removed from us, because of the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. Therefore, as far as God is concerned, we are not sinners, if we believe in Jesus Christ, crucified for us. Nevertheless, God desires that we live a holy life, and He desires that we acknowledge our wrong doing.

Confession of sin is not for the purpose of renewing our salvation, salvation is eternal. God does not disown us when we do wrong, we are His children forever; but, He disciplines us for our good, to teach us to do right and not wrong.

All Scripture taken from King James Bible


* Bible Studies by Max Swan

Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD. (NAS) Jer 9:23-24