Confession

Ready

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” – Psalm 32:5 

Set

A teammate on my high school football team never took his practice jersey, t-shirt or socks home to wash them…even when we confronted him about it! The increasing stench of the undealt-with gear in that locker negatively impacted the guy (no one wanted to be around him) and everyone else in the locker room. Undealt-with sin is like this. When we say, do or even think what is contrary to God’s good design for us—whether in a competitive setting or in any other area—this sin always damages us and others. If we then try to hide, rationalize or blame others for our sin, we add to its destructiveness. 

While King David in the Bible trusted God and lived for Him in amazing ways, he also had moments when he sinned and attempted to hide his sin. In Psalm 32, David says that his undealt-with sin brought him suffering. But when he honestly confessed his sin to the Lord, he experienced transformation.  

Here’s what we learn from Psalm 32 about how to practice honest confession when we sin so that we, too, are transformed: 

First, own our sin. Like David, we must stop trying to conceal our sin, excuse it or blame others for it. Instead, humbly acknowledge it, taking ownership for what we’ve said or done.  

Second, honestly confess our sin to God. In Psalm 32:5, sin is also called “iniquity” and “transgressions”—words which speak to how we rebel against God. When we sin, we’re communicating to God, “I want to do things my way, not Yours.” Confession is saying, “God, I’m sorry for rebelling against You. Please forgive me.” 

Finally, gratefully receive God’s forgiveness for our sin. Because of what Jesus Christ has done for us—paying the penalty for our sin on the cross and demonstrating His victory over sin through His resurrection—we can now receive full forgiveness for our sin. Experiencing the reality of this forgiveness happens as we regularly own any sin choices we make and confess them to the Lord.  

If you try to hide or rationalize your sin, it hinders you from becoming all God desires for you to be. But because of Jesus’ work to deal with your sin, it doesn’t have to be this way. As soon as you recognize you’ve sinned, confess it humbly to the Lord and gratefully receive His forgiveness. 

Go

1. Are there any undealt-with, unconfessed sins in your life? Own these sins and honestly confess them to the Lord. 

2. What difference does it make when you know the Lord forgives your sins? 

Workout

Psalm 32

1 John 1:5-10  

Overtime