Repentance (Part 4), CONFESSION OF SIN
Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>
From: Martin M Overfield
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000
Repentance (Part 4)
CONFESSION OF SIN
"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).
The word for confess here, homologeo, means "to speak the same thing"
(homos, "same", lego, "to speak"), "to assent, accord, agree with,". More
particularly in this place it means "to confess by way of admitting oneself
guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction,"
(Vine's Dict. of N.T.).
You are to say about your sins the same thing that God says about them,
including the fact of who is responsible for having committed them, YOU.
That's right, YOU are to take full responsibility for YOUR sins! You must
own up to them as the Holy Spirit reveals them through conviction and the
light of God's Word. With a Godly sorrow and brokenness over your sins,
you must confess them to God and admit that you are guilty and deserving
to be lost in Hell because of your rebellion against Him.
There is very little true, Biblical confession these days. That is one
reason why the "repentance" and "conversion" of so many are so shallow
and ineffective.
When the people came to John the Baptist, they came confessing their
sins. When they did so, he knew that they meant business and he would
baptize them. The scribes and pharisees, who were as wicked in their
hearts as the rest of them, did not accept John's message and would not
make confession of their sins. They were the "holier than thou" type.
He said to them, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7).
In order for sin to be forgiven it MUST be confessed, but they would
not even acknowledge that they had sinned and needed forgiveness.
Jesus denounced them with a similar comment as John had made: "Ye
serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell?". He even called them "hypocrites". (Matthew 23:33 & context)
There are a lot of people today that claim they are sinners and
Christians at the same time. They say that all people are sinners, both
Christians and non-Christians. For many it is a matter of throwing
mistakes and sins in one basket called "Sin". But, if an honest mistake
is a "sin" and a sin is an honest "mistake", where is the responsibility for
sin and where the need for confession? Under such a loose
definition of sin, some conscientious Christian may carry false guilt, and
some presumptuously wicked sinner may think to cover, or excuse,
his guilt. Yet, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper" (Proverbs
28:13).
There are some who hold to such a definition of sin and still truly
repent and live above sin (as defined in the Bible) by the grace of God.
But, multitudes have not come to the place where they are willing to
truly confess on themselves as God's Word requires. Such people will
never truly be saved, or born again, until they truly repent, admitting
that their sins and they themselves are as wicked as God has said
they are.
Repentance is far more than signing a card, shaking the preacher's hand,
joining a church, or repeating the words of a prayer after another. Some
really have repented and been saved at the time that they participated in
such activities. However, the majority have been convinced that they were
ready for Heaven when they wouldn't know what true Bible confession is
if they had tripped over it. It is hard to witness to people who already
think
they are "saved". In a sense, we have to get them "unsaved" before they
can be truly saved.
Now, the encouraging thing about I John 1:9 is that God has promised to
forgive us if we will confess. The brokenhearted sinner who humbly admits
to God how wicked he is, willingly confessing his sins with a change of
heart
toward them, may believe this promise: "He" (God) "is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins".
God, Who cannot lie, will keep His promise. God, Who is just, has
obligated Himself through Christ's death on the cross to forgive every
truly repentant sinner who will trust in Jesus Christ and His blood alone as
the atoning sacrifice for his sins.
Therefore, let every sinner, "whosoever will", come and confess his sins
to God with an expectant hope (certainty) that God will forgive and receive
him into His family.
Yours In Christ,
Martin Overfield
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