Confession and Forgiveness

Article 4 of 13 in the Walking with Jesus Series

Why is it so difficult to admit that we are wrong - especially to God, who already knows everything? There is something in human nature that resists honest confession. We minimise, we rationalise, we compare ourselves to others who seem worse, and we hope that if we do not name the thing directly, it will somehow count less against us. This instinct is as old as the Garden of Eden, where Adam's first response to God after his sin was to hide. But hiding from God is not possible, and attempting it only deepens the distance between us and the One we need most. Confession is the way back.

The Greek word translated "confess" in the New Testament is homologeo, a compound of homos (same) and lego (to say). It means literally to say the same thing - to agree with. To confess sin is to agree with God about it. It is to stop calling it a mistake, a weakness, a bad habit, or someone else's fault, and to call it what God calls it: sin.

This is more demanding than it sounds. Our natural tendency is to soften the language around our failures. Confession requires us to be as honest about our sin as God is. The person who says "I made a mistake" when they deliberately chose to do wrong has not yet confessed. The person who says "I sinned against You" has.

Solomon captured the contrast between concealment and confession:

Two paths. Two outcomes. Covering sin leads to no prosperity. Confessing and forsaking sin leads to mercy.

David, after his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, spent a period of time attempting to keep silent about what he had done. He describes the experience in Psalm 32:

The weight of unconfessed sin is not merely psychological. It is spiritual. It disrupts the relationship between the soul and God. It drains the joy and vitality from the Christian life. It creates a distance that the believer feels even if they cannot name it.

The remedy is not more religious activity. It is not trying harder. It is confession:

The moment David confessed, the burden lifted. The forgiveness was immediate and complete.

The promise of 1 John 1:9 is one of the most unconditional statements in all of Scripture. Two things are promised: forgiveness of sins and cleansing from all unrighteousness. The forgiveness deals with the guilt. The cleansing deals with the pollution. Both are complete.

John grounds the promise in two attributes of God: His faithfulness and His justice. God is faithful to forgive - He has promised it and He will not break His word. He is just to forgive - the penalty for sin has been fully paid at the cross, so forgiveness is not a compromise of God's justice but an expression of it. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

This is why the Christian does not need to fear that their sins are too many or too serious for God to forgive. The question is not the size of the sin but the sufficiency of the sacrifice. And the sacrifice of Christ is sufficient for all:

There is a kind of confession that is really just a vague acknowledgment of general unworthiness. "Lord, forgive me for all my sins" can be a genuine prayer, but it can also be a way of avoiding the specific honesty that true confession requires.

When the prodigal son returned to his father, he did not say, "I have not been the best son." He said: "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." (Luke 15:21, KJV). He named the relationship that had been broken. He named the direction of the offence. He named the consequence he deserved.

This is the kind of honest, specific confession that clears the air between the soul and God. It does not mean we must produce an exhaustive inventory of every wrong thought and action. It means we should not hide behind vagueness when we know exactly what we need to confess.

Under the new covenant, the believer has direct access to God through the one mediator, Jesus Christ:

The believer does not need a human priest to carry their confession to God. The way is open. The blood of Christ has made it so. We may come directly, boldly, and with full assurance that we will be heard.

There are times when confession must extend beyond our private prayers. When our sin has harmed another person, the full work of confession includes acknowledging the wrong to them and, where possible, making it right:

God takes seriously the horizontal dimension of sin. Wrongs done to others are not fully addressed by private prayer alone. Where reconciliation is possible, it should be pursued.

• "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." (Psalm 32:1-2, KJV)
• "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12, KJV)
• "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isaiah 43:25, KJV)
• "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." (Ephesians 1:7, KJV)
• "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17, KJV)

"I need to confess my sins to a priest." The New Testament teaches that every believer has direct access to God through Jesus Christ, the one mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). The priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) means that no human intermediary is required for confession and forgiveness. While confessing to a trusted fellow believer can be helpful for accountability (James 5:16), it is not required for forgiveness.

"God will not forgive me because I keep committing the same sin." The promise of 1 John 1:9 does not include a limit on the number of times it applies. The question is not whether you have fallen before. The question is whether you are genuinely confessing and turning to God now. God's patience is not exhausted by repeated failure in the genuinely repentant heart.

"Confession is just saying the words - it doesn't really matter." Proverbs 28:13 pairs confession with forsaking: "whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Genuine confession is not merely verbal. It is accompanied by the intention to turn from the sin. A confession that has no intention of change is not genuine confession.

"My sin is too great for God to forgive." Isaiah 1:18 says that though sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7). There is no category of sin that is beyond the reach of the forgiveness purchased at the cross.

1. Make confession a regular practice. Do not allow unconfessed sin to accumulate. The person who comes to God regularly with honest confession will not experience the crushing weight that David described in Psalm 32:3-4.

2. Be specific. Name the sin. Call it what it is. Vague acknowledgments of general unworthiness are easier but less honest and less freeing than specific confession.

3. Receive the forgiveness. Many people confess their sins and then continue to carry the guilt as though the forgiveness had not been given. When God says He has forgiven, He has forgiven. To continue carrying guilt after genuine confession is to doubt the promise of God.

4. Make it right where possible. If your sin has wronged another person, follow the instruction of Matthew 5:23-24. Seek reconciliation. Make restitution where it is possible. This is not a condition of God's forgiveness, but it is the natural expression of genuine repentance.

1. Read Psalm 32 in its entirety. David describes both the experience of unconfessed sin (vv. 3-4) and the experience of forgiveness (vv. 1-2, 5). What words does he use to describe each? What does this tell you about the importance of confession?

2. Read 1 John 1:5-10. John contrasts walking in the light with walking in darkness. How does confession relate to walking in the light? What does it mean to "walk in the light"?

3. Read Proverbs 28:13. What two things are paired with receiving mercy? What does it mean to "forsake" a sin, and how does this go beyond merely confessing it?

4. Compare Isaiah 1:18, Psalm 103:12, and Isaiah 43:25. What different images does God use to describe the completeness of His forgiveness? What do these images tell you about the nature of forgiveness?

5. Is there a sin you have been carrying that you have not yet specifically confessed to God? What is keeping you from bringing it to Him now?

• Repentance: Turning to God - Article 3 in this series
• Faith and Acceptance in Christ - Article 5 in this series
• Prayer: Communion with God - Article 10 in this series

Primary passages: 1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 32:1-11; Proverbs 28:13

Supporting passages: Isaiah 1:18; Isaiah 43:25; Matthew 5:23-24; Luke 15:21; Psalm 103:12; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 10:17-22; 1 Timothy 2:5; James 5:16; 1 Peter 2:9

Recommended reading:

• Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, Chapter 4: "Confession" (Review and Herald, 1892)
• Thomas Watson, The Doctrine of Repentance (Banner of Truth, 1668/1987), Chapter 5: "Confession of Sin"
• John Bunyan, Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ (1678)

Do you have a question about confession or forgiveness? Ask it here - your question may become our next article.

This article was adapted from the themes presented in the classic devotional book Steps to Christ. To access the original book, please click here.