1 John 1:8-9
In Superman the Movie there’s a scene where Superman is zipping around Metropolis at night breaking up various crimes. At one point he catches a burglar scaling the outside of a building. Superman swoops in, grabs the guy and flies him to the street below where he turns him over to a police officer who just happens to be standing there.
Superman says to the cop, “Officer Mooney, they say confession is good for the soul. I’d listen to this man.” And with that, the Man of Steel is up, up, and away. But his message to the amazed policeman couldn’t be any truer.
Not only is confession good for the soul, buy it’s the most basic, humble, and beautiful demonstration of our faith in Jesus that we have at our constant disposal. Let me kick things off here by sharing an insight that comes to us from John the Apostle. This is a memory verse for sure from 1 John 1:8-9.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him (Jesus) He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The concept of confession is anxiety producing. Growing up in the Catholic Church there was no more intimidating experience than to once a month step into that confessional booth and tell the priest everything you’d done wrong since your last visit. And the key to your forgiveness was to return to your pew and offer up some Hail Mary’s and Our Father’s. Only then could your sins be wiped away. As we seem determined to do so often, we took a process that Jesus kept simple and made it complicated.
The confession of sin for the believing Christian has a very easy, compassionate and prayer covered path to follow. As John encourages us to do here, the first stop should be the throne of grace. It was Jesus who absorbed the debt incurred by your sin so it only makes sense that we would go to Him first. We go to Him first not just to confess the sin, but to confess that without Him, without His blood poured out for us we would in fact die an eternal death, condemned by the weight of our inability to live in obedience to Him.
In James’ New Testament epistle, he encourages us to partake in a different facet of the confession process. In chapter 5, verse 16 of his letter James writes this. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
Confessing my sin to someone else almost instantly brings on that “deer in the headlights” look. We think about just how gross our sins are, right? It’s hard enough facing myself when it comes to my rebellious nature. How in the world do I share that mess with someone I know and interact with? The short answer is you don’t. Let’s remember that Jesus is God.
Jesus knew your sin before you ever gave into it so confessions that lay out every deep dark detail aren’t necessary. We don’t sin in a vacuum, and we never sin out of the sight of our Savior. What James is driving at here is that confessing to another is as simple as saying to that person, “I’m struggling.” Followed by, “Would you please pray for me?” And that’s it. You might then ask that person if they have anything going on that you can be in prayer about too. And then, if possible, seize the chance to pray together right there and then.
Those prayers, simple and lacking in specifics as they may be James tells us, “Yield wonderful results.”
Look, Jesus isn’t interested in what you did. What He’s concerned about is the positioning of your heart once you acknowledge your disobedience. If you turn to Him and ask Him to reposition you back into the light of His righteousness, then it’s done. Jesus did not die on the cross to pour out wrath on you. He died on that cross to spare you that wrath.
He’s waiting for you to come before His throne of grace as many times as you need to. As John told us, when we do that Jesus is faithful and you will be reminded by Him in that moment that you are forgiven, always and forever.
Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers put it this way…
“It does not spoil your happiness to confess your sin. The unhappiness is in not making the confession.”
It’s a burden we’re not meant to carry. Take it to Jesus, He’s got you. Then pray for Jesus to lead you to a trusted friend who you can solicit prayers from. It’s the most tangible feeling of His grace and mercy that you’ll ever experience this side of Heaven.