Confession Isn’t Just Good for the Soul – It’s Crucial

One evening years ago, my children and I were playing some games in our den when the phone rang. I answered it and on the other end of the line was a man sobbing and saying repeatedly, “I need a friend.”

 

It was a man I’ll call Frederick, whom I’d met with in a discipling relationship some years before. He wouldn’t explain over the phone why he was so distraught, but we agreed to meet the next day. As we met, Fred poured out his heart, confessing that for years he had concealed being what he termed a “sex addict.” I’ll spare the details.

 

During the time we’d been meeting once a week, I neither knew nor suspected any of this. However, I had recognized and commented about how his job, which regularly took him out of town for weeks at a time, could be problematic for the health of his marriage.

 

Fred’s wife, he confided, had discovered his wrongdoings. His marriage was in shambles, and he’d become alienated from his children. I was the first person he’d told about his sinful lifestyle. “Why didn’t you ever say anything about this?” I asked. Fred responded he’d been too ashamed, preferring to put on a front as if everything in his life was fine.

 

I knew I couldn’t solve his plight. I did encourage him to turn to God in repentance, seeking His forgiveness, grace and mercy. But as Fred talked, he showed relief in having his secrets finally brought into the open. Until then, the only ones that knew the truth were himself, Satan, and God. And the tempter bombarded him with thoughts about how vile he was, as well as how despised he’d be if anyone were to find out about his hidden life.

 

I didn’t condone or excuse Fred’s behavior but didn’t judge him either. That wasn’t my job; God alone is our righteous Judge. I did offer suggestions for how he might move forward, but it’s been a long time since then and I’ve lost touch with him. I hope God enabled him to get his life back on track.

 

Thinking back on that time, I’ve wondered whether things could have turned out differently if Fred had decided to confide his “addiction” to someone much sooner. As long as they’re concealed, hidden sins can hold us captive, unable to resist their impulses. Confessing them – with an attitude of genuine repentance – is crucial. It can release us from their insidious grasp.

 

But this raises a question: To whom do we confess? Some Christian traditions encourage the confession of sins to clergy. This may be useful, but it’s not necessary to wait until we can meet with a pastor or priest to confess whatever our sins might be. As we read in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

 

What this means is we don’t need a human “middleman” to intervene between us and God. There’s but one mediator, Jesus Christ, who as the next verse states, “gave Himself as a ransom for all men – the testimony given in its proper time.” As another verse assures us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

 

When we sin, we can go directly to the Lord in repentance and receive His forgiveness, restoring us into a right relationship with Him. However, there are times when confiding in another human can be helpful, even essential. This was the case with Fred. I’m reminded of the frightened child who had called out to his mother. She urged him to take his fears to God in prayer, to which he responded, “I need someone with skin on.”

 

The Scriptures give us ‘permission’ to do this: “Therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

 

We’re all sinners, daily in need of God’s forgiveness and cleansing. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the price for our sins once and for all: Tetelestai – “paid in full.” However, even as forgiven believers, unconfessed sins can erect a barrier between us and the Lord, disrupting the perfect relationship with Him that He desires. This barrier is taken down through genuine confession and repentance.

 

Our purpose in confessing sins to one another isn’t to embarrass ourselves. Nor is it to seek absolution from one another. It’s to establish accountability with another trusted follower of Christ, one who not only can offer counsel but also will provide prayer support, calling on God to enable us through His power to overcome temptation and live in a way that pleases Him.

Moving sins from darkness and into the light through confession – even to one another – can enable us to experience the truth of Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

Freedom: One of the Greatest Gifts We Can Receive

We’re one year away from the United States’ semiquincentennial. What’s that? It means next year our nation will mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It’s been nearly one-quarter of a millennium since that landmark document declared “The Colonies” independent from England and the rule of King George III. Should be quite a celebration coming up.

 

But this year’s observance is hardly insignificant. Every Independence Day serves as an opportunity to celebrate the many freedoms we can enjoy as Americans. Starting with the Declaration, followed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, citizens of our country are free in ways we often take for granted. In ways that billions around the world could only dream about.

The opening of the Declaration of Independence sets the stage with the statement, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaring that all men “are created” and “endowed by their Creator” is a direct acknowledgement of God, even though today many choose to disregard and reinterpret what this means.

 

In the amendments to the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, we find freedoms of religion, speech, the press, peaceful assembly, bearing arms, and a variety of other specifically stated rights and protections. Many of these rights are absent in many societies around the world, such as Communist-governed nations, countries under Islamic rule, and dictatorships.

 

So, we should rightfully celebrate these freedoms and rights every year, no just wait for a special anniversary. But this notion of freedom isn’t an American concept, or one devised by any society. Its basis – especially as understood by the Founding Fathers and the documents that helped form our nation – is found in the Bible, from its opening chapters. 

 

After the acts of creation, which culminated in creating the first man and woman, God said to Adam and Eve, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden [of Eden]; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” (Exodus 2:16-17). The first couple, however, were not content with such broad freedom; they focused on the restriction, the one limitation to their freedom – the tree and its forbidden fruit. And humankind has been suffering the consequences of this ever since.

 

In Exodus we read the account of the Israelites being freed after 400 years of slavery in Egypt. Later we read about the rebellious people of Israel being taken captive by other empires, then freed by God’s sovereign edict. But nowhere do we find a greater emphasis on freedom that in the life of Jesus Christ.

 

Whether we want to admit it or not, from birth we are in bondage to sin – spiritual slavery. It takes many forms, but the impact is separation from God and the inability to become all that He desires for us to be. Romans 3:10 declares, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” Romans 3:23 adds, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 

 

What’s this got to do with freedom? The apostle Paul explained, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. [But] what benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” (Romans 6:20-21).

 

Sounds dismal if we stop right there. But there’s good news. This ‘slavery to sin’ doesn’t have to be a life sentence. In the days leading up to His crucifixion, Jesus Christ told His followers, “A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:35-36).

 

Jesus’ death on the cross paid in full the cost of our sins, offering us access to eternal life through His Spirit and an everlasting relationship with God. As Paul wrote, “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:22-23).

 

Much more could be written about this – and has been. But as we celebrate Independence Day and the freedoms we have been given in our nation, let’s keep them in perspective with the far greater freedom we’re offered in Christ. As Paul expressed it, “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery [to sin]” (Galatians 5:1).

Nearly 250 years ago, a new nation was birthed with the declaration of its independence from England and the reign of its king. Through Christ, we each can declare our own independence from sin – through spiritual rebirth – relying on His power and guidance so we can worship the true King and become the people God wants us to be. Now and forever.