We start with confession. It means an admission of misdeed or a public declaration of faith. The public declaration of faith is what happens when we go through the steps of salvation. An admission that Jesus is lord and the son of God:
- If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. – Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
- He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 16:15-17 NKJV
The confession we’d focus on is that of admission of misdeed or transgression, an admission of sin. How does it work?
Telling someone that you have committed a sin. It’s in a bid for repentance not to brag or draw someone else into sin. It’s a component or facilitator to repentance. It’s in a bid to commit that sin no more.
Instances where sins were confessed:
- Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. – Matthew 3:5-6 NKJV
- I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah – Psalms 32:5 NKJV
David sinned a lot, and he knew a lot about repentance. Psalms 51, where he talks about repentance, is another place to consider.
Psalms 51 is to be read. Our focus on this topic is on covering/confessing sins, but the purpose is repentance, and this is just a mere step in it.
Back to the topic, confession to God is an important step in repentance, and it’s encouraged as it’s an acknowledgment of what you have done in a bid to stop it.
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. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. – I John 1:8-10 NKJV
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. – Proverbs 28:13 NKJV
Now confession to man, There’s the case where after you confess to a priest your sins are absolved. No man can do so, no one can absorb or absolve your sins only Christ’s blood which he shed for us can do so and your own repentance.
The most important form of confession of sins is to God, not man. But there’s a function to Confessing to man especially your brothers in Christ.
The function is for assistance to commit that sin no more, it’s for accountability. We can confess our sins to one another, it would help us out but the one that Matters truly is the confession to God.
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. Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. – James 5:16, 19-20 NKJV
Which brings us to your actions when someone confesses their sins to you. What do you do?
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:1-2 NKJV
Are you to tell others the person’s confession? How does the Bible say we should handle such?
Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. – Matthew 18:15-17 NKJV
Covering of sin comes into play here:
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. – I Peter 4:7-9 NKJV
This is saying your love for one another would help you tolerate a lot of transgression against you and help you still view them as your brethren despite their sins. To forgive. Interpersonal relationships.
This is different from what we mean because we know that those who sin and do not seek repentance would be separated from the body of Christ.
Covering of sin that we look at in this teaching is about knowing someone is in sin, yet not taking actions to help the person and sometimes helping the person. This is completely wrong
Conclusion
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, – Acts 3:19 NKJV