Prayer 101: 5. CONFESSION AND repentance

Growing up Roman Catholic, the one day of the week that I really did not look forward to was Saturday. And in particular, Saturday afternoons after about 4 pm. 

Why?  Well as any good Catholic can tell you, the good Catholics head off to church at about that time and prepare for and take part in the sacrament of confession. No one speaks, but everyone instinctively knows when it's their turn to enter the confessional. You go in, kneel down and wait. Then you hear the little door slide open and you begin, "Bless me  father for I have sinned."

After a couple of years, I began asking the question that many Catholics ask  (and maybe don't or are afraid to ask), "Why? Why do I have to go into a special little closet and confess my sins to another person? Why can't I  just go to God Himself?"

Those questions asked in catechism class usually propelled you right over to the rectory and the Monsignor's office. And even worse, you really never got a good answer. 

Now, I'm not being overly critical. But I will say that after I gave my life to Christ, and began attending a protestant church, confession was now "available" at any time and place. Being able to confess directly to God was liberating; with a caveat: I was now completely responsible to making the time to confess.

Before we go on we need to look at the word confess or confession itself. Confession means "with knowledge". I speak to God "with knowledge" of my sins. My sins may have been directed against other people, but ultimately, my sins - both of commission and omission - are against God. As we have repeatedly said in almost every lesson of every study of God's Word, He is holy and perfect and without sin; you and I  are not. It is in our nature, thanks to Adam and Eve, to be sinful. Sin is an integral part of each of us. Jesus was the only human to  walk the earth who was without sin and that's because He was (is) also  God.

Confession is the purposeful act of telling God the truth of how we have sinned against Him. From the moment we get up in the morning, we are set on a  path of sin. It could be our first thought or deed or word. And that sin builds up in our souls. Sometimes this pile of sin becomes overwhelming and we have to purge. 

The early church father Origen (c. 184 - 253 CE)  put confession in this very colorful and graphic way, "confession is the  vomit of the soul." When we vomit when we're sick, our bodies expel what is ailing it. As we vomit up the dregs of our lives, we begin the cleansing process of our souls. This is part of the sanctification process that follows each of our lives.

As we see in Daniel's prayer of chapter 9, confession is an integral part of his communication with God. In week 4 as we looked at the centrality of God in prayer, you couldn't help but notice all the confessing going on. After acknowledging God and His perfection, Daniel speaks phrases such as "we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. We have not listened to your servants the prophets," (v 5-6). The entire prayer is interlaced with confession; personal confession as well as corporate confession (on behalf of the nation of Israel).

Daniel knew that if God were to answer his prayers and desires, he would have to first come clean. Daniel vomited out the sins of the nation -  including himself - before God. Confession may not be easy or pleasant  (vomiting is not pleasant), but it is necessary in any relationship.

Unfortunately, confession is only part of the process. To complete the process, we must be willing to repent or turn away from those confessed sins. We'll look at repentance more thoroughly in part 2.

Let's look at some other examples of confession found in God's Word. Keep in mind the beauty of Scripture: God is Himself magnified when contrasted against our sinfulness. He uses everyday men and women with all of our frailties to bring glory to Himself. We ought to find much comfort in that.

2 Chronicles chapters 29 and 30 is our first example of confession. Starting in chapter 29 for context, we see that King Hezekiah did what was right in God's eyes. The Temple in Jerusalem was not only in disrepair but everything that was sacred to the Jewish nation was out of sorts. In verses 8 and 9 of chapter 29, the king says,  

"Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our  sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity."

The Temple had been trashed, and the priests and Levites weren't doing their respective duties. It took the leaders and their helpers 8 days to just clear the courtyard up to the Temple's Portico. And then another 8 days to clean up the Temple itself (2 Chronicles 29:16-17). We may not know how many hundreds of people were involved, but 16 days is a lot of cleaning. And no dumpsters! 

After cleansing the Temple, Hezekiah called all of the people to properly celebrate the Passover. He even invited those who lived in Israel (the ten northern tribes) after succumbing to the Assyrians. People came from  Issachar, Manasseh, and Zebulon. The king had a heart for his people.  Although many hadn't been purified, Hezekiah sought the unity of the people of God in the Passover. 

We read in 2 Chronicles 30:18 - 21, "Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and  Zebulon had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, 'May the  LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God —  the LORD, the God of his fathers — even if he is not clean according to  the rules of the sanctuary.' And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. The Israelites who were present in Jerusalem celebrated the  Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing."

Hezekiah's confession for the entire assembly brought God's healing  (He was glorified) and "great rejoicing" or joy to the people.

2 Chronicles 33 paints a picture looking at king who had done much evil in God's eyes. The king is Manasseh, Hezekiah's son. This is a perfect example of how a  child can stray completely away from a good and godly upbringing. The good news is that thankfully, there is a small kernel of truth left in the person's heart and soul.

Manasseh literally undid everything his dad had cleaned out. Foreign gods and idols and altars were brought back into the Temple and its courtyard.  Because of his rebellion - and therefore all of the nation - God held the king personally responsible. God sent the Assyrians to lay siege on Jerusalem. Manasseh was taken prisoner and brought to Babylon with a  hook in his nose and in shackles (2 Chronicles 33:10-11). His sin caused  him to fall and fall hard. We read:

"In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God." 2 Chronicles 33:12. 

Other good examples of confession are David and his sin of adultery or calling for a census, Nehemiah chapter 9, and the life of Job.

Those are all examples of what confession looks like, but we still haven't answered this one foundational question: why confess our sins?  That may seem simplistic or basic, but we can't ignore the question. Why  do we need to confess our sins? I believe we need to confess our sins for three essential reasons: for ourselves (personal reasons), for our personal relationships, and for our relationship with God.

We often hear the quip that confession is "good for the soul", but why?  Confession is often hard. Even the most innocent of children find it hard to look mommy or daddy in the eye and admit that they colored the walls with crayons. Usually "I don't know" did it. Even as adults, we do  (I do) just plain, stupid things that we (I) should have known better,  but we (I) went ahead and did it anyway. 

That's our human nature. And with this natural nature, we will sin. And because we sin, we need to confess our sins. When we do confess, "He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) Let's look at these reasons for confessing our sins.

We confess for personal reasons. I don't know about you, but when I don't confess my sins, they become a  burden. The more I don't confess, the heavier the burden becomes. In time, I am physically, emotionally, and mentally tired because of the weight of the accumulation of these sins. Because I want to hide or mask myself (often for a variety of prideful reasons), I don't confess. My true identity is hidden from those in and out of my sphere of influence.

King David in Psalm 32:1 - 7, puts it well,

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
   whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin 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 up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found;
   surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
   you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."

That's an amazing piece of truth! When we confess and God forgives us we are blessed! When we neglect to confess our sins, what happens? We're silent; we're moody. Sometimes we can even hate ourselves. From the physical aspect, our bodies suffer; we can literally waste away as our strength and fortitude are sapped from our being. Physical labor or exercise may help alleviate some of the stress that we're feeling, but the stress is just a symptom, the temporary relief doesn't get to the root of the problem which is the sin in our lives.

When we confess our sins, God protects us from trouble and, I love the rest of that verse, He "surrounds me with songs of deliverance". That's a  great picture of joy and victory!

Next, we confess for the sake of our interpersonal relationships. These interpersonal relationships may be marital, familial, professional, or even general.

Proverbs 28:13 puts it this way:

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
   but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." 

Prosperity is not just about money. We can have all the money in the world, but if all we have are corpses of broken personal relationships surrounding us, where's the joy in life? What can we share? Who would even want to be with us?

Scripture commands us to confess. James, Jesus' half-brother said, "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 5:16.

All of us have personal stories of how someone or several persons have come into our lives asking for forgiveness. They brought their burden to you so that you would relieve them. Forgiveness and unforgiveness are extremely powerful forces in our lives.

The power of the believer to actuate confession on behalf of the world around him or her is pretty awesome. Christians are part of a "holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5. Our confessions - for ourselves and for those around us  (read that as our families, companies, even congregations) - when poured out at the Cross, "cause" God to act. He accepts our confessions and forgives us - and He wants us to personally understand what we have done.  The Holy Spirit begins the renewal process.

Finally, but primarily, confession restores our relationship with God. All three reasons of confession are tightly interwoven, but our personal relationship with God through Christ is paramount. As we clean the inside of our own cup, God cleans and heals us. He imbues us with a  powerful humility that not only restores us personally but also reaches out to the people in the world around us.

Let me give you a personal example. As I've mentioned before in other posts, the past couple of years have been difficult. I've struggled with various aspects of my personal and professional life. It has been not only difficult but also exhausting - physically and emotionally.

Daily reading of my Bible has shown the light on the sinfulness of my life.  Regardless of the portion of Scripture, God by the power of the Holy  Spirit, unveils something that I need to deal with. As I confess my sins directly to God, He forgives me and settles my spirit. But He's not finished. Sometimes, He'll bring to mind a person or event that I've buried because I chose not to deal with it; but that something needs to be "vomited out". It may be something that I said to someone without thoroughly thinking through. It may have been an attitude because I  didn't understand the situation (my perception was wrong). Whatever the reason, that still small voice prods me to act.

Whether it's an email or handwritten note or direct contact, I've been prompted to say to somebody - even at church - or a group, "Hey, I need to confess something about... and I have allowed that ... or those ... to interfere with my relationship with you. Would you forgive me?" The relief from the confession is healing - for each of us.

Not only that, but I have been obedient to God (remember that God desires our obedience rather than sacrifices). It doesn't matter if the offended party is a believer or not, God receives the glory. In fact, I would go so far as to say that God empowers me to confess. He is the One who provides the clarity and the words to confess.

There's power in confession. Maybe there's really something in going to church on a Saturday afternoon and speaking the truth about the sin in my life to someone with real flesh and blood. Would God hear it and forgive me anyway if I confessed silently before Him? Of course. But looking another man or woman - depending on the situation - dead in the eye and without guile and confessing your sin is one of the most liberating things we as people - and especially as believers - can do.

We unload our burdens. We continue in the process of restoration. We allow God to continue to reshape us to our original image. 

Jesus died to take away our sins and restore the fellowship with God that we were originally created for. Each of us was worth dying for in the eyes of God. Confess and find relief. But this is only part of the process. It gets harder as we Repent. 

Continue to Part 2