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:
Game film shows it like it is. Athletes are confronted with their mistakes and poor judgment. Coaches see where they made a bad decision or didn’t properly prepare their athletes. The practice of watching game film gives both athletes and coaches an opportunity to own what went wrong and then pursue competitive progress.
The ”game film” of our lives shows we all say, do and think wrong things. It’s what the Bible calls “sin.” Whether or not it seems like it in the moment, sin is always damaging to us and to those around us. We add to the destructiveness of our sin when we try to hide it, rationalize it or blame others for it. To make spiritual progress, we instead need to confess our sin.
In Psalm 32, David shares what happened when he attempted to hide his sin (v. 3): “When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long.” David then confessed his sin (v. 5) and it made all the difference in his relationship with the Lord.
Here’s what we learn from this psalm and the rest of Scripture about the practice of confession:
First, own our sin. Like David, we must stop our attempts to hide, excuse or blame others for our sin. We must resist the temptation of image-management and instead humbly take ownership for what we’ve said or done. Dealing with our sin starts with acknowledging that it’s truly a problem.
Second, honestly confess our sin to God. At its core, all sin is rebellion against God. When we sin, we’re saying to God, “I want to do things my way, not Yours.” Confession is recognizing and being grieved by the truth that our sin is against God. Confession is saying to God, “I’m sorry for doing things my way, not Yours. Please forgive me.”
Finally, gratefully receive God’s forgiveness for our sin. Because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin through His sacrificial death on the cross and defeated sin through His resurrection, we can receive full forgiveness for our sin. When we surrender our lives in faith to Christ, He forgives all our sins. Experiencing the reality of this forgiveness happens day by day as we own any sin choices we make and confess them honestly to the Lord. We can then gratefully live in the truth of 1-е посл. Иоанна 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Go:
When are you tempted to hide, excuse, or blame others for your sin?
What is one next step you can take to grow in the practice of confession?
Workout:
Overtime:
“Lord, thank You that when I confess my sins, You are faithful to forgive me and cleanse me. I pray that I would respond quickly when You convict me of sin. I want to honor You with my life. Amen.”