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Confession in the Bible: Verses About Confessing Your
Sins
S H A L O M !
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MESSIANIC JEWISH SCRIPTURAL VIEW ______ Biblical Question:
Confession in the Bible: Verses About Confessing Your Sins Our Question:
Dear Pastor Reuben,
Please help me understand about confessing sins as a believer, are we
to or not? I appreciate your thoughts on this. Blessings, Daniel Pastor Reuben's Answer:
Shalom Daniel When many
people hear ‘confessing your sin’, they think it reserved for
monks in a monastery or of paying penance to God by entering a
church confessional. But
Scripture teaches us it is an important practice for the life of every
Christian. The answers to these questions about confession in the Bible
may surprise you. What does the Bible say about confession? What will happen if you don’t confess your sins? Psalm
32 offers us several powerful reasons to confess our sins and shows us the
consequences of unconfessed sin. David felt weak and was miserable when
he did not confess. Verses 3-4 says, “For 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 dried up as by the heat of summer.” Before
confessing his sin, David was exhausted. Why? The life was being
drained out of him by sin. If you do not weaken sin, it saps your
spiritual strength, it weakens you. When I see a sin forming in my
life, I must say, “If I’m to serve Christ, I dare not let this
grow! It’ll drain the life out of me…” Why should you confess your sins? In
addition to avoiding the negative effects of unconfessed sin, biblical
confession is a way to experience more of God’s grace. Biblical
confession should be in some ways a joy due to the rich benefits God gives us
through it.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” John
also recognized that believing involved admitting our sins and seeking God's
forgiveness. Depending on God for cleansing from guilt, along with
admitting our wrongs against others and making amends, was another important
part of getting to know God. This
does not mean that God will only forgive a sin only if it has been
specifically confessed. When a Christian repents and believes the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, all of their sins, past, present,
and future are immediately forgiven! Confessing
is part of the sanctification process and aids Christians in dealing with sin
and healing from it. James 5:16 says, “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.” Why confess your sin if God already knows your sin? Christians
confess their sins to God to practice humbleness before him and to fess up to
the bad things they have done. It takes a humble person to admit their
mistakes! Humility is a vital part of confession and aids the
restoration of Christians who have quenched the Spirit of God. Peter in
1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves,
therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due
time.” A True Confession is Done in Humility with an Attitude of Repentance Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at
the proper time he may exalt you. 1 Peter 5:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 “…you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for
you were made sorrowful according to the will of God… For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a
repentance without regret, leading to salvation…” 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 List of Bible Verses About Confession Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For 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 dried up as by the
heat of summer. Selah
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. Selah Psalm 32:1-5 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who
confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 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 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 What about the Christian who continues to sin? There is a
difference between continuing to sin and continuing to live in sin. No one
reaches sinless perfection in
this life, but the redeemed Christian is being sanctified (made holy) day by
day, sinning less and hating it more each time he fails. The Bible teaches
that, while we are in the flesh, we will always struggle with a sin nature
(see Romans 7:14-24). No
one will be “perfect” (sinless) until we reach heaven. Yes, we
still sin, but unwillingly and less and less frequently as we mature. Our new
self hates the sin that still has a hold on us. The
difference is that the new creation is no longer a slave to
sin, as we formerly were. We are now freed from sin and it no longer has
power over us (Romans 6:6-7). Now we are empowered by
and for righteousness. We now have the choice to “let sin reign”
or to count ourselves “dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus” (Romans 6:11-12). Best of all, now we
have the power to choose the latter. Hope I have been of
some help. www.menorah.org/false.html God bless you,
Pastor Reuben
Drebenstedt, director Menorahhrwnm -Menorah Ministries- P.O. Box
460024 Denver, CO 80246 303-355-2009 fax 303-339-0365
www.menorah.org Questions are welcome from ALL readers at ALL
levels and Forums, from everyone. Questions of general interest will be
considered for inclusions in this column. Those of a more personal
nature will be keep confidential and we will answer via e-mail; always state
your name, To submit a
question, etc. please address it to reuben@menorah.org
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