3 - Confession
Back to Basics • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsBig Idea - When we come to God and confess our sins, we will be forgiven and experience freedom and joy. Confession is more than just saying sorry; it’s letting go of our sin and transgression and putting it into the hands of God.
Notes
Transcript
Scripture - 1 John 1:9, James 5:16, 2 Chronicles 7:14, Nehemiah 9:1-3
SLIDE: Scripture 1 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 (NLT)
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
SLIDE: Welcome Home
SLIDE: Title
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome back church! If you’re just joining us today for the first time, we are in week 3 of a 4 week series called Back to the Basics. And yes, as you might have guessed, It's a series about the basic foundations of Christian faith.
In week one, we covered prayer and last week we looked at the importance of scripture. And today, we’re tackling an ancient practice of the church called confession.
Now, I know this word probably means different things to different people depending on what faith tradition you grew up in or around. You may also have Hollywood imagery going through your head of some overworked police sergeant working hard to get a confession out of this or that hardened criminal.
Many of us see confession in the ways we have seen it play out in the world around us. It’s important that we balance what we’ve seen, heard, or learned through experience with what the bible says. Thankfully in this case, confession has some beautiful biblical truth and instruction behind it.
So, let’s jump in together and see what biblical confession is all about.
Main Teaching
Main Teaching
You may be asking yourself why something like confession is considered to be a basic part of Christian faith. Other things may feel more obvious like prayer, reading the Bible, and attending church. We’ve come to understand over the centuries that these are the things we “do” as disciples. And there’s nothing wrong with praying, reading, and fellowshipping with others. We wouldn’t do those things if they weren’t important and necessary.
But there is something divinely powerful about confession. Confession is, as we are about to learn, both healing and liberating.
SLIDE: Confession is Healing
Healing
Healing
First of all, let’s talk for a moment about what the word, confession, means. The basic definition of confession is; a formal statement admitting that one is guilty of a crime.It can also be an admission or acknowledgment that one has done something that one is ashamed of or embarrassed about. [1] And in a religious sense, confession is an admission of sins or wrongdoing with a motive to be “absolved” or forgiven.
In summary, confession is a personal acknowledgment of wrongdoing or perceived wrong. Oftentimes, it feels good to admit to or own up to things we have done wrong or people we have hurt in the past. You may have heard people say, “I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” after coming clean about something.
One such example for me was going before my home church when I was charged with the crime that sent me to prison. I came forward during the Sunday service and I confessed to what I had done and the motivation of greed behind it. I was so emotional that I had to sit down to give the confession. When I was done I literally felt like a weight had been lifted. The church was very supportive of myself, Nancy and the kids, from that time on.
And interestingly, this practice of confession has been happening for a long, long time. Turn with me to Nehemiah 9:1-3.
“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth, with dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all the foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the LORD their God for a quarter of the day, and they spent another quarter of the day in confession and worship of the LORD their God.”
Here is a good picture of communal confession happening in the ancient world. In this case, it is the Israelites, the people of God, acknowledging their wrong-doing while worshipping the Lord together. This particular scene is a beautiful one, as it comes on the heels of a long and difficult time of slavery and captivity by foreign powers like the Babylonians. The Israelites are a broken and scattered people and they’re seeking forgiveness and healing through their confession. It takes a good measure of humility to admit you’ve been wrong, and yet it would seem that healing comes after humility.
God says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Forgiveness and healing.
ADVANCE --->
Forgiveness IS healing.
Confessing our wrongs allows healing to happen, and healing is amazing. Think about a time in your life when you were on either end of confession and healing and think back to how amazing it felt to have “the weight lifted.” Or, think for a moment about how amazing it was to extend forgiveness to someone else for something they did. Not to say it’s always easy, but more to say it’s powerful.
And for one final thought about the healing powers of confession, let’s turn together to James 5:16; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” We often move towards confession in order to find healing and freedom. And it’s important to pray with one another through the process. It’s important for us to invite God into the process and seek His guidance. Galatians 5:1 says, “For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit yourselves again to a yoke of slavery.” Unconfessed sin will enslave you, but Christ came to bring healing and freedom.
SLIDE: Confession is Liberating
Liberating
Liberating
Confession is not only healing, it’s liberating. Confession and forgiveness set you free from past sin and wrongdoing. And isn’t it true, don’t we kind-of already know that being healed has a way of setting us free?
When Jesus began His ministry, the gospels say He came teaching, preaching, and healing. (Matthew 4:23) God knew we weren’t right, we needed a savior, and Jesus helped shine a light on our need… He came to set us free.
Turn with me to 1 John;
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 7-8
Listen to that line again, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. It’s not a matter of IF you have sin and wrong-doing in your life. It’s more a matter of are you bringing it into the light? Christ works in the light. Forgiveness happens in the light. And forgiveness happens when we confess our sins.
ADVANCE: --->
Sin will enslave you.
No matter what it is, however, big or small the transgression may seem to you I can say with full confidence that Christ is able and willing to forgive. But you need to confess your sin and bring your wrongdoing to His feet. Bring it into the light of Christ.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart, you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.”
Confession is healing.
ADVANCE: --->
Confession brings freedom.
Conclusion
Conclusion
SLIDE: Confession isn’t easy...
I want to say again, confession isn’t easy… it’s powerful !
There’s a reason it’s counted as one of the core pillars of our faith. And it’s easy to see why that’s true if you simply refer back to Romans 10:9-10 and 1 John 7-8.
But I also want to caution anyone here who thinks they need to go back through every single transgression in their life in order to be healed. You don’t have to enumerate and name everything, especially to a God in heaven who already knows.
It’s just as effective to simply say, I am a sinner. I need forgiveness.
And of course, there are others here today who know exactly what they need to confess. If there is a specific sin lingering at the forefront of your mind, you need to bring it to the light. You need to lay that thing at the feet of Jesus.
Whichever group you find yourself a part of today, or if you find yourself feeling free and unburdened, the answer is still the same for all of us. It’s Jesus. He is the reason we can find freedom, healing, and forgiveness. He is the reason we even have a faith to learn about.
SLIDE: Bring Yourself...
And so, I can only encourage you today to simply bring yourself to Him.
Confess if you need to.
Ask forgiveness if you need to.
Pray with the person next to you if you need to.
Do whatever you need to do today and trust that He is faithful.
Confession is healing.
Confession brings freedom.
Let’s pray together.
Prayer - “Jesus thank you for your faithfulness. Please help us to bring our sin to you today and to trust that at your feet we will experience freedom and healing.”
[1] As defined here… https://www.google.com/search?q=confession+defined&oq=confession+defined&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30l3j0i390.3521j1j7
