We all need to confess, and we need to do it every day…. No one is so bad that he or she is beyond forgiveness…. No one is so good that only one or two confessions a year will do.– Edward Welch in Side by Side
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting!
– Psalm 139:23-24
As God searches our hearts, what might he find? Perhaps:
anxiety
frustration
discontentment
unthankfulness
pride
selfishness
lack of self-control
impatience
irritability
anger
bitterness
unforgiveness
judgmentalism
envy
jealousy
gossip
slander
hurtful words
worldliness
idolatry
As we find sin in our lives, we join David in crying out:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!
– Psalm 51:1-2
And the good news is that as we cry out for mercy, we find forgiveness.
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
All this is because of God’s amazing love for us:
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
– Romans 5:8
He died to pay for our sins so that we might be:
forgiven
clean
white as snow
pure
declared righteous
saved from God’s righteous wrath
reconciled
given new life
changed
transformed
adopted
given hope of resurrection
and so much more!
At the end of John Newton’s life he said he remembered two things:
I am a great sinner,
and Christ is a great Savior.
As we consider these twin truths,
let us give thanks to God for his incredible love
that reached out to save us undeserving sinners
through the death of our Savior.
Psalm 51 is a great psalm of confession:
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
(Portions from verses 1-12)
This psalm teaches us to confess our sins to God. We are to cry out to God about our sins, to seek mercy and forgiveness. Is confession a regular part of your prayer life?
Our church encourages people to examine their lives and confess their sins before we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. But this is clearly not enough. Who remembers most of the sins they committed several days ago? And so we ought to daily examine our lives and confess our sins to God. The more attuned we become to our daily sins, the more grateful we will be for God’s forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ. Along with a daily examination, we should strive to recognize sin in the moment of its occurrence, and immediately confess it to God and repent of it, as well as apologizing to whomever we committed the sin. Deal with it immediately. This will help to deter future occurences.
We need to confess our sins to the Lord, crying out for his mercy. Is confession a regular part of your prayer life? This is an area where I need to grow. How about you?
Brian J. Mikul 