Confession is an interesting topic. Everyone is okay with 1 John 1:9 that says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We have become masters of sinning and confessing to God and asking Him to forgive us. The problem is that we stop there. But confession goes deeper.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” The second part of confession is to renounce sin. Renounce means to “give up or put aside voluntarily.” We struggle with giving up our sin. We as Christians love sin too much. We have to be willing to give up our sin and run away. But confession goes one step deeper.
James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Confess my sin to someone else? That’s crazy. No, that is the way God set it up. 1 John says that God will forgive us and purify us when we confess to Him. Proverbs 28 says we find mercy when we confess and renounce sin. But this scripture says we will be HEALED when we confess our sin to others.
This is the secret to confession. Most Christians are too private, prideful, or shameful to confess our sin to another person. But if we only confess to God we miss out on our healing. That is why we return to our sin like a dog returns to vomit. If we will overcome fear and confess to another human we will see a difference. Don’t go through life forgiven from sin but not healed from sin. Be brave and find a person and confess your sin to them and experience true freedom.
Woody Burpo is a graduate of Southwestern Christian University with a degree in Youth Ministry. Woody and his wife Jessie are the Directors of Student Ministry at Passion Church in Oklahoma City, as well as the Conference Youth Pastor for the Heartland Conference. Woody and Jessie have one son, Lukas.