True Confession Of Sin

by DSB

Leviticus 26:40-42 . . . If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me – [41] I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies – or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, [42] then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.

Proverbs 28:13 . . . He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

Psalm 32:5 . . . I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

I John 1:9 . . . If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God’s call to confess our sins (to Him) is not a call to mere words or outward manifestations of remorse, such as sackcloth and ashes or fasting and mortification. Rather it is a call to a change of heart leading to a change of life. Without a change of heart (repentance) and the accompanying change of thinking, desires, words, and deeds (further growth in godliness), confession of sin is empty, possibly false, and certainly worthless.

For example, saying you are sorry or admitting you did the wrong thing is a good start in the right direction. Yet it becomes meaningless unless accompanied by a commitment take the necessary action to stop doing the wrong done.

We all know someone who quickly says the words, “I’m sorry,” following a wrong they have committed numerous times, and will most likely do again. And though they fully expect to be forgiven, they either make no effort or an insufficient effort to change. Might this be true of us as well?

True confession of sin is true because it includes both an honest acknowledgment of inexcusable wrong doing and a commitment to change – which results in doing away with the wrong done. You may fail again, but the one who truly confesses will not carelessly go on failing indefinitely.

An added dimension to confessing sin and doing what is necessary to change so as not to continue doing the same wrong again and again, is the broken and contrite heart. This comes about from loving God enough that it pains us to hurt Him by sinning against Him. And when God is this precious to us, our confession of sin is accompanied by a broken heart, sincere regret, and even tears at having loved God so little and having treated Him so poorly.

Admittedly, such responses are uncommon among new or yet immature Christians, for though they treasure their salvation, they have not as yet come to treasure God, himself, above all else, and to love Him – or at least be diligently headed in the direction of loving Him – with all their being.

However, all sincere minded, spiritually growing Christians will come to the place of weeping over their sin. This happens because natural growth in the Christian life not only cements into our heart the immeasurable value of God, it also brings us into knowing and loving God intimately. When we are in this condition with God, any rebellion or unbelief or discontent or complaining will break our heart and bring tears to our eyes.

To affirm the truth of this, consider love on the human level. When we intimately know and love someone, it breaks our heart to find we have hurt them unnecessarily. And beyond that, we feel even deeper regret and remorse when we realize we have foolishly treated them in some selfish, prideful, angry, verbally unkind, unnecessarily critical, impatient, or groundlessly jealous way.

Therefore, true confession of sin includes remorse over having treated God so poorly and others so selfishly, and a yarning to change so that we do not go on sinning against them.

Of course, our human heart is harder than we think and further from God than we easily admit, which means we need God’s gracious help and empowerment to gain a new heart and a renewed mind. We need the encouragement of His love, the comfort of His fatherly heart, and the compassion of His forgiveness as, after confessing sin, we move forward to lasting change.

As has already been stated, yearning for change and turning to God for His help is vital to any lasting change, but it will not produce the changes needed. We must do our part in putting of the old man and putting on Christ-likeness. We must desire, seek, and continue to nurture a heart that is shaken and broken by sin. We must feed a godly fear of rebelling against God and a genuine hatred of offending Him. We must die to ourselves and the world so that God will become our supreme love, gain our faithful submission, and have our willing obedience. We must pursue such closeness to God that any possibility of distance or separation from Him will be abhorrent to us. And we must persevere, for without vigilant perseverance, we can become like the dog who returns to his vomit and the pig, after being washed, who returns to wallowing in the mud.

At this point, you might be thinking that this sounds contrary to the popular teachings on God’s grace and love. However, it is neither contrary to the scriptures as a whole, nor to God’s grace, not to our dealings with one another. Let me explain by giving an example from long-term earthly relationships.

Let us say that a spouse or parent or child harms you, or in some way offends and hurts you. They then come and say they are sorry. They may not specifically confess what they did. They may not even say that they knew it was wrong. Yet the inference of their “I am sorry” is that they want your forgiveness so the two of you can put the matter behind you and move on as if all is well between you.

The first time they do this, you will accept their apology as a genuine desire on their part to admit guilt and repair the relationship. You may even accept it a second or third time. However, if this continues so that after six or ten of the same offenses you are hearing the same “I am sorry,” you will stop taking the offenders words as sincere. In fact, you will begin hearing their apology m as empty and worthless. You may even be offended by it. Why? Because there is no measurable manifestation of any accompanying change of behavior. It is probable that in time you will stop accepting their apology. Should you continue to act as if you are accepting it, inside you will reject it, thus making your outward acceptance as empty and worthless as their apology.

Now if we know this to be the case on the human level, why do we think it is not the same between God and us? If we do not want others to treat us this way, why would we treat God as if He ought to accept our empty words confess and asking for forgiveness? Is He obligated to be merciful and gracious to this degree, while we are free to hold those around us to a higher standard? Is His grace or His mercy of such a nature that He doesn’t care about the state of the relationship between us, or the condition of our heart, or our ongoing actions? Does He forgive the unrepentant? Does I John 1:9 really mean we only need say the words to regain good standing with God?

The Psalms give us a clear indication of what is required to be in good standing with God. In Psalm 15:1-5, we read: “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”

And again, the Psalmist writes: “Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood and has not sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4).

Jesus adds these clarifying words in His sermon on the mount: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

And finally, the New Testament epistles address this same issue more than once, but here is a single statement from Hebrews 12:14, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

Taking these scriptures as a clarifying picture of what is required of us to be in good standing with God on a day to day basis, it should be clear that I John 1:9 speaks of true confession of sin – a confession that includes repentance, a broken heart, regret, and an active, measurable commitment to a change of heart, mind, and behavior.