Many people may think that I speak too much about my life. And that could be true. I may speak too much about some things and then again not enough about others. I remember as I led a women’s group years ago, I would usually speak first confessing my hurts and my faults and then the other ladies would open up and speak about their lives. As a result, we were able to have a constructive conversation with the ability to apply Bible verses and, we would know what exactly to pray for the individual. Granted, there are times when it is dangerous to tell some people about your life because they will use that information to tear you down, so discernment is important. But when we cover-up our sins and our hurts, the devil uses this to hold us back so that we will not get the healing that is needed.
And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:15-16
Confession is very important as unconfessed sins leave us wounded and stuck in our quagmire. I have read of countless accounts of revivals around the world, and one thing I saw that many of them had in common was that they started with confession of sins and repentance. If we hide our sin, then we can’t truly turn away from it and move towards God. It is believed that A.W. Tozer once said this:
“You can pray till doomsday for revival, but you will never get it without repentance and confession of sin in the Christian life.”
Unconfessed sin separates us from God. After Adam and Eve fell for the devil’s device, when they heard the Lord walking in the garden, they tried to hide from His presence. That doesn’t even make sense. Somehow in trying to cover themselves they forgot that God is all-knowing. He knew exactly what they did and where they were even though He may have asked about their whereabouts. However, I believe God asked this question to make them understand their condition after going against His will. They suddenly recognized their nakedness and did not want to be exposed before God. But that’s also why many of us try to pretend so much and try to cover-up our misdeeds because we do not want to be exposed before God and man. Unfortunately, when we try to hide sin, it usually leads to more sin, and it will be difficult for us to move forward in life.
He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Proverbs 28:13
The interesting thing is that the Second Adam hung on a cross naked for all to see even though He was sinless. That is what He did for us. The pictures we see are not an accurate description of what really happened. Jesus was naked, bruised and beaten as He died on the cross for us. He was exposed and humiliated for all to see because of our sins. After Jesus did this for us there should be no more cover-up of our sins, which takes us out of fellowship with God. Unfortunately, many of us try to bury the sad truth about our lives and we create beautiful facades to hide our ugly sins. But everything secret will be revealed, and anything hidden will come to light. So, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. We can’t keep secrets from God, so it is better to confess in order to bring to light any clandestine sin and to get back in right relationship with Him. I like this description of confessing by John Piper.
Confessing is not a payment. It is simply an agreement with God that this was an ugly and unworthy thing for me to do, and I’m ashamed of it. I’m sorry for it. I turn from it. I embrace the finished, complete, perfect, once-for-all work of Christ afresh. I rest in it. I enjoy the fellowship that he secured.
Let us stop the cover-up and confess our sins before God and also to the people we have wronged. Sometimes these wrongs are not easily seen, because they happen in our hearts and minds. However, God knows, so let us make things right with Him so we can enjoy His mercy and grace.
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