As Was His Custom: Habits We Need… Because We’re Human- Confession
Woman praying, with head down, on church pew.
As a committed follower of Christ, I remember a season clearly in my life when I had found myself ensnared and entangled in a sin. Having given way to the enemy in my mind, I had allowed sinful thoughts to take hold, and somewhere along the way became completely incapable of finding freedom on my own. While I’d turn from the sin for a short while, the thoughts would eventually return. It was only when I shared my struggle with a trusted, godly friend that I found full freedom. I confessed my sin in humility and repentance. And I prayed for God to rescue me and my mind from that dark place. And God was faithful. He met me in my brokenness, and He set me free. The power of sin was no match for the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart and mind, activated and set free through the act of confession and repentance.
What is Confession?
Confession is an act of agreement and acknowledgement. When we look at the word confession in the New Testament, it stems from two different words, one of which is a compound of the base word for “same” and the base word for “speak.” Essentially, the word means to speak the same, or to agree, not deny. Another version of the word implicates full agreement or open and joyful acknowledgement.
The practice of confession in relation to our faith walk is this same acknowledgement. We speak in full agreement with what we know to be true about God, about His Word, and about the work that Jesus has done for us. We confess our faith. When we confess in conversation, we are speaking agreement with another. When we confess Jesus as our Savior, we are speaking a heart agreement with Him that we believe in Him, and we receive His gift of salvation. When we speak agreement with God, we are acknowledging the truth of who He is and coming into alignment with His work in our lives. Confession of our faith is both exceptionally powerful and absolutely essential.
Our Absolute Need for Confession
As sinful people, we all are in need of the act of confession, for confession is a gift God has given us for the purpose of aligning with Him.
After the Fall, humanity was broken. Our sin created a breach between us and God. “We all have sinned and (have fallen) short of His Glory,” (Romans 3:23). There is none who does not have need of the redemption that Jesus freely offers through His gift of salvation.
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6
It is only when we align our hearts and minds with Jesus through the powerful act of confession that the gift of salvation is given to us freely. Romans 10:9-10 says:
“...if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” Romans 10:9
“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” I John 4:15
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
As believers in Christ, we all experience the power of confession when we acknowledge Jesus for the first time, confessing our faith in Him as our Savior. The power of this confession is a transfer of our souls from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). When we confess (align ourselves wholly with) Jesus, we are transformed and transferred!
But confession does not only happen when we initially acknowledge and accept Jesus as our Savior. Confession is also a grace God gives us along the way in our relationship with Him as we walk this broken world to stay in alignment with Him and free from sin.
Confession & Freedom from Sin
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord ,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)
Richard Foster, in his book Celebration of Discipline, speaks of two types of confession from sin: a private confession and a corporate confession.
Private Confession
A private confession is one that we use in our personal prayers, regularly confessing sin and receiving forgiveness. This is the gift of unadulterated access we have to the Father through Jesus. We don’t have to pray through a priest or mediator for God to hear us and make us right with Him.
Corporate Confession
However, a corporate confession is also a biblical form of confession; it is simply the act of confessing your sins with a trusted believer, particularly in times where you may need help overcoming a sin and/or have caused injury or hurt to another. This practice is encouraged in James 5:16: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” There is great impact and freedom in confessing one’s sins with another believer.
As in my personal account of the power of confession, whether in private prayer or with another believer (there’s a time and place for both), the act of confession carries great impact. And it’s necessary in our lives as followers of Christ as we seek to live lives of purity and godliness, into His image “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Cor. 3:18). The power of sin is great, but God’s power within us is greater. And He releases that power through the act of confession.
We get the privilege of acknowledging and agreeing with God now as an act of faith and surrender, knowing that at the end of the age, “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11).
“All humans, angels, and demon spirits will ultimately bow the knee to Jesus, rendering complete and final homage. That confession of every tongue will one day be heard by every ear as He receives ultimate and complete rule. But until that day, our confession of Jesus Christ as Lord invites and receives His presence and power over all evil whenever we face it now. And as we declare His lordship - in faith - His rule enters those settings and circumstances today.”[1]
Jesus’ Teaching About Confession
In a familiar story of Jesus with His disciples, He teaches us about our need for confession:
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end…Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” John 13:1-10
When reading or recalling this story, you may not initially be drawn to think about the act of confession. But look closely at the exchange between Peter and Jesus. When Jesus comes to wash Peter’s feet, Peter objects to this act of service, and yet Jesus insists. Peter finally says, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Peter is simply saying that he needs Jesus to cleanse him fully from his sin! And it’s Jesus’ response that teaches us: “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean…” In essence, Jesus is saying to Peter, “You’re already cleansed (freed from the penalty of sin) because of your faith in Me. Now, you just need to keep your feet clean (confess any sin as it arises and stay close to Me) as you walk along the road of life with me.”
After we have confessed Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are free from the judgment and penalty of sin. We are wholly His. We do not need to earn our place as His own because we have been saved through His death and resurrection. However, life is messy and we live in a sinful world. We will be tempted and sometimes fall prey to sin. But when we do, we can confess that sin, repent, and stay in step with our Savior as we seek to live for Him. Guzik restates this truth in his commentary: “We need a continual cleansing because the Bible says we continually sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Even though Christians have been cleansed in an important general sense, our “feet” need cleaning (John 13:10).”[2]
How To Practice Confession in Our Lives
So how do we “keep our feet clean” on the path of life as we walk with Jesus? The power of confession.
The work of sanctification, or growth in holiness, in our lives as believers is an ongoing process. In our time on Earth, we won’t ever arrive or grow beyond our need for God’s grace in our lives through the act of confession. Confession and acknowledgement of our susceptibility to sin and confession and acknowledgement of God’s gift of forgiveness is a regular practice that will keep us tethered to Jesus and free from the entanglements of sin.
In my own life and walk with Jesus, there are a few things that I’ve found especially helpful in practicing confession and allowing the grace of God to continually work in my heart to transform me more in to God’s image:
Heart Examination
Ask Jesus to reveal any heart attitudes or pride that would hinder a pure heart toward Him and toward others. (Stay tuned…Behold’s first “Heart Restoration” devotional and course coming soon!)
“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)
Keep Short Accounts
When you are made aware of a sinful behavior or thought/attitude, don’t let it linger. Don’t entertain it. Keep a short account of confession and repentance with God so that you don’t get entangled more deeply. Stay free!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:-12)
Practice Corporate Confession
While it can be hard to do and is uncomfortable at times, find a small group of people in your life you can trust to practice corporate confession. Corporate confession guards our hearts against pride and from thinking we are alone in our struggles. Not only that, but there is so much power in agreement as we pray for one another. We were not meant to fight our battles alone.
And if you are currently entangled in a sin, find that trusted, godly friend to confess to so they can help carry your burden and pray with you for breakthrough. I have no doubt there is freedom to be found.
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16)
Stay in God’s Word
When we keep the truth of God’s word forefront in our hearts and minds, we are more prone to recognize the schemes and lies of the enemy to seek to derail us.
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”(I Peter 5:6-10)
Confession is a gift given to us by God to not only enter into relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus, but also it is a grace to allow us to stay in full alignment with Him in our hearts as we walk this broken world. Let’s thank God for the gift of confession and find ways to more fully allow His work in our lives through this practice.
[1] Roy Hicks, Kingdom Dynamics, The Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1804.
[2] Guzik, D. (6/2022). Study Guide for 1 John 1 by David Guzik. Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-john/1-john-1.cfm
