Our Lord calls us out of the world; while living in it, we are not to be stained by it (James 1:27). We are to be in it but not to love it (Duncan Rankin).
Other Authors

The Doctrine About The Confessi

The Doctrine About The Confessi THE DOCTRINE ABOUT THE CONFESSION OF SIN By Pastor Don Chapman 8/77

  1. The word CONFESS, in Biblical terms, means: “to name and admit that

    your are guilty of a particular sin.”

    1. OT terminology: In Psalm 32:5, David wrote, “…I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;…” The hebrew word for CONFESS is YADHAH. It originally meant: “to throw something”; then it came to mean: “to accuse someone, to incriminate, to point out by stretching out the hand”. Then it was used meaning: “to confess something, to admit.” Other OT passages: Lev.26:40; Numbers 5:7; Dan.9:20
    2. NT terminology: The Apostle Paul used the greek word DIAKRINO “to pass judgment on someone, to render a decision in a court of law”, I Corinthians 11:31,32. This verb is in the imperfect tense emphasizing that believers should be constantly confessing their sins in order to avoid discipline from the Lord. The Apostle John used the greek word HOMOLOGEO, also used in court – “to make a confession of guilt, to plead guilty to a crime”, I John 1:9.
  2. The confession of sin removes discipline, it turns judgment for

    evil into blessing, and makes it possible for the believer to once again be filled by the Holy Spirit.

  3. The confession of sin is only beneficial to the believer. It has been provided by God so that after a believer sins he can return to the sphere of blessing, and once again be filled by the HS. I Corinthians 11:31; I John 1:9
    1. The issue for the unbeliever is NOT the confession of sin, but believing the Gospel.
    2. The Pharoah of the Exodus confessed his sin twice, yet remained an idolater and went to hell when he died. Exodus 9:27; 10:16
    3. Therefore, the unbelievers confession of sin is useless in salvation.
  4. When a believer fails to confess his sins he does NOT lose his

    salvation. You can never lose your salvation. John 10:27-30; II Timothy 2:13

  5. The confession of sin has nothing to do with one’s feelings. Feeling sorry does not impress God. It is not wrong to feel bad about your sin, but this is a human reaction to failure and NOT a requirement in forgiveness. Feeling sorry is usually the result of pride. No one likes to admit that they were wrong! CONFESSION refers to an exhale from the soul – emphasizing volition, not feelings or emotions.
  6. When a believer confesses his sin, he must specifically name his sin to God. That is, all his known sins must be mentioned. When a believer confesses his known sins, the unknown sins are immediately forgiven also. A believer is NOT forgiven his sins, if all he says is, “God please forgive my sins…” This is NOT confession.
    1. When confessing your sins, pray to God the Father, not Jesus Christ and not the Holy Spirit. We are priests unto God the Father. Revelation 1:6
    2. There are three different types of sin to confess.
    3. Mental attitude sins: fear, worry, anger, jealousy, hatred,

      mental adultery, pride, envy, doubting the Word of God, bitterness, implacability, etc. ii) Verbal sins: slander, lying, gossip, etc. iii) Overt sins: disobedience to the Word of God, disobedience to

      one’s parents, buying things you shouldn’t buy, reading things you shouldn’t read, going places you shouldn’t go, doing things you shouldn’t do, etc. James 4:17

  7. As long as you live in this life, there will NEVER be a time when

    you cannot sin. Therefore, the confession of sin is for all believers. I John 1:8-10

  8. The confession of sin is accepted by God because of the death of Christ on the cross. However, the confession of sin is ONLY accepted when it is done properly. For example, believers who refuse to forgive are not forgiven. I John 1:8-2:2; Matthew 5:23-24; 6:14-15; 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26; Luke 6:37
  9. Once a believer confesses his sins he should forget what he has done wrong. God has forgiven you. You must forgive yourself. Philippians 3:13
  10. When a believer sins, four things immediately happen in his life:
    1. He experiences temporal death – Eph.5:14; I Tim.5:6; James 1:15
    2. He loses the filling by the HS – Eph.5:18
    3. He is placed in the sphere of divine discipline – I Cor. 11:31-32
    4. He becomes the slave of the old sin nature (Roms.6:16); and is

therefore classified as “fleshly” (I Cor.3:1-3).

NOTE: It is possible to sin thousands of times a day and confess every sin, and therefore NEVER be disciplined by God (unless you sin that grace may abound – in which case God does NOT restore the believer to fellowship, but instead intensifies the discipline). There is no limit to God’s forgiveness. BUT if you perpetuate ONE known sin in your life and deliberately refuse to confess it, you will be disciplined and eventually die the sin unto death.

11) There are certain sins (usually overt sins such as murder,

adultery, etc.) which are also EVIL. The confession of sin removes the discipline for the sin, but it does not remove the punishment for the EVIL. eg. David II Samuel 12:1-24