Day Of Favour

Confession

What role does confession play in the life of the believer? I am speaking here specifically about confession to God, or in his sight, and with a view to improving an actual or perceived damaged relationship with him. I will start by looking at Daniel, who prayed what is probably the most fervent and heart-felt prayer of confession in the Bible. He lived during the Exile, a time of the judgement of God against his nation. Despite his own personal good character, because of the failures of his nation, and the fact that the covenant was also with the nation as a whole, he too had to suffer the consequences. He was taken into exile himself. At some point later on, he read in Jeremiah When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my gracious promise to bring you back to this place (Jer 29:10, also 25:11). So we can see that even when the Lord was pronouncing judgement on his people, he was also merciful in limiting the extent of the Exile, and gave them a gracious promise. The prophesy and the promise prompted Daniel to pray as he did, confessing and pleading that God would hear and forgive. He shows in his prayer that he understood completely the terms and conditions of the covenant that he was under; that his nation had violated those terms; and the dire consequences of it so doing:

Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. (Dan 9:11).

He continues in the same vein. Daniel was highly esteemed (Dan 9:23; 10:11), but should we model our prayer on his? It is true that what he prayed was exactly right for him and for his situation under the Old Covenant. We, however, need to be careful before treating his whole prayer as a pattern for us. The New Covenant is different. God did not copy and paste from one covenant to the other, for the sole purpose of including the Gentiles. When there is a change in covenant, there is a change in the relationship between the parties, and potentially a change in the style of prayer to adopt. We need, therefore, to be as aware of our covenant as Daniel was of his, and not assume that all aspects of Daniel's prayer are appropriate for a Christian.

The first difference to note for our purposes is that with the inclusion of the Gentiles, admission to the New Covenant is by faith, not race. The concept of the nation as we know it has disappeared, as far as the covenant is concerned. In other words, we are no longer in a covenant which also involves our nation as one of the parties to the agreement. There is a reason Daniel prayed we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you (v8). The nation as a body had sinned and that was relevant because of the nature of the covenant. The believer in Christ, however, has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1). There is no codicil that says except if your nation sins, then that peace is taken away. So the believer is not covered with shame because of the sins of his nation, and we do not have to pray as if we were, even if we believe that our nation or its leaders have sinned. On the contrary, Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame (Isa 54:4).

Indeed, as far as the world is concerned, we are aliens and strangers in it (1Pet 2:11). The church itself is a nation: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God (v9). Whatever a passport might say, in God's eyes our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). We have a new identity, and we belong to God. We should no longer identify ourselves with our nation as we come before God. We are His!

There is a another aspect of the Old Covenant which is particularly relevant to Daniel's case, because in his confession he includes the sins of his fathers (v8; v16). In the Law it is written:

I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me (Ex 20:5).

This is, indeed, a generational curse, and it comes in the centrepiece of the Law, the Ten Commandments. Again we need to ask whether this applies to us. The answer can be found in Jeremiah chapter 31, just before the passage about the new covenant quoted previously. Here there is another prophesy:

In those days people will no longer say: The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes - his own teeth will be set on edge (Jer 31:29,30).

This is stating that people will no longer die for the sins of their fathers. It can therefore be seen as referring to the generational curse of the law, and prophesying its annulment. It's placement just before the prophesy concerning the New Covenant is noteworthy, since it can be seen as a necessary precondition before the New Covenant can be established. The reason for this is that it would not help a believer to have his own sins forgiven, if he still has to die for the sins of his fathers!

The last act of Jesus, before declaring It is finished was to say he was thirsty, and be given wine vinegar to drink. This was so that the Scripture would be fulfilled (John 19:28, see Ps 69:21). It has been pointed out that this vinegar can refer to the sour grapes of the saying. When Jesus took the vinegar he was showing that his suffering on the Cross included punishment due under the Law to children for their fathers' sins. There he bore on himself the generational curse of the Law, fulfilling Jeremiah's prophesy that this particular law would come to an end. As a consequence, God no longer punishes believers for the sins of their fathers.

In his prayer Daniel confessed the sins of his fathers, and there is nothing wrong with our doing the same. The issue here is whether God is insisting we do so to him as a condition of coming before him and gaining his mercy. According to Jeremiah, the answer in our case is No. Our teeth are no longer set on edge because our fathers have eaten sour grapes. And further, everyone shall die for his own sin, so God is no longer asking us to confess the sins of any other people. Our own sins are the only issue. We know that that issue was settled forever on the Cross. There we were united with Christ in his death, and so, on those grounds, we died there for are own sin as Jeremiah said. Yes, there was once such a curse, but Jesus has borne it all on our behalf. Our attitude now should be to appreciate what Jesus has done, and be thankful to Him.

Daniel's prayer was powerful and effective. He understood the greatness, the faithfulness, the love and the mercy of God (vv 4,9). All these truths we can learn from today. Notice how Daniel understood that God is merciful (see Ex 34:6) even despite the strictness of the Old Covenant that he was under. But certain aspects of his prayer relate specifically to the Old Covenant as related above, and do not need to be followed by the New Covenant believer. I have already mentioned that he put on sackcloth and ashes (v3), a practice not followed by many Christians today. If we agree, it gives another example of the need to distinguish between practices relevant to us and those which are not.

Short Accounts

I have maintained above that we don't have to confess the sins of other people, including those of our nation, or our fathers, as Daniel did in his prayer. But he included himself in his confession, using the pronoun we, and saying we have sinned (v5), or variants of that, throughout his prayer. King David also confessed his own sin (Ps 38:18, 41:4; 51:4). What about us? Do we have to confess sin in order to receive forgiveness?

The answer according to the Law, for each sin, is yes:

When anyone is guilty in any of these ways, he must confess in what way he has sinned and, as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin ... and he will be forgiven (Lev 5:5,6,10).

The need for such a procedure indicates that such a violation of the Law was meant to be the exception. It necessitated a trip to the Tabernacle or Temple with an offering, so it would have been quite an upset to one's daily routine. But we do see here a legal requirement under the Law of Moses to confess every sin before it can be forgiven. It is legitimate to ask if this requirement under the Law has been retained for us as Christians. It is certainly essential that we admit to our own natural sinful nature, otherwise we would have no need of a Saviour. But do we also have to confess every sin, as under the Law? Is it one of the terms and conditions believers must obey, or has the New Covenant brought a change to this, as in other areas?

The Greek word for confess is homologeo, so it means something like to speak the same. An apt translation could therefore be acknowledge, and indeed that is the word used in the NIV where John tells us that anyone who acknowledged [homologese] that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue (John 9:22).

To admit that our nature apart from Christ [the flesh] is sinful, is essential. Further than this, to acknowledge something in particular to be sinful is a great blessing to us. It is possible to go for years with some character trait we treat as just being me. To see it for what it is, and agree with God about it, is the first step towards change in that area. We can talk to God about it; tell him we are sorry; and ask for his help to do better.

There was once a teaching that encouraged us to keep short accounts with God. To the extent that this is interpreted as meaning something similar to what I have just described, this is fine. However, this exhortation, being given in accounting language, implies to some that a certain procedure has to be followed without fail on every occurrence. We have been presented with an invoice, and we must pay it - every time. This interpretation makes confession essential for every sin that we are aware of, before we can be forgiven for it. This is similar to the situation under the Law. It should be done as soon as possible because this keeps our accounts with God short. The implication is that there is a gap of condemnation between committing a sin and getting round to confessing it, when peace with God is forfeited. So it becomes necessary to confess such wrongdoing quickly, in order to get it under the blood, and maintain a right relationship with God. Until that is done for each sin it is not covered by the blood; not forgiven; and the relationship with God is damaged.

If this interpretation were true, and our relationship with God can suffer for any unconfessed sin, it is a serious matter with consequences for the believer. After all, Jesus brought a whole new revelation of sin, not spelled out in the Law, that not even John the Baptist taught. To say to someone you fool is punishable by hell. Love your enemies. Do not judge. James said Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins (James 4:17). Paul said everything that does not come from faith is sin (Rom 14:23). If we believe we need to be strict about keeping short accounts, then how short? They may be longer than we think. If only we had a statement! What about the sins we have forgotten? What about the sins we are blind to and don't even know about? Can they safely be ignored? How detailed do we have to be? With all this uncertainty our assurance of forgiveness would evaporate. How can we tell others that God forgives their sins in Christ, if we are unsure of our own current status? Is all this really required? This puts all of us in trouble and in bondage. Is the New Covenant a conditional one after all, dependent on continuing confession? Is the grace of God going to be turned on and off for the rest of our life?

No, according to Paul, who tells us that we are not under law, but under grace (Rom 6:14). We are no longer under the Law, of which the quotation above from Leviticus is a part. If we think that unconfessed sins are unforgiven, it implies that while they remain unconfessed we are no longer under grace, but back under law, and that Romans 6:14 is untrue. It's as if those sins are kept in a bottle to be held against us, when in fact our pardoning God hurls them into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19). Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Grace is unmerited favour. Through Jesus Christ we have received abundant provision of grace (Rom 5:17). Being abundant, it doesn't keep getting turned on and off. With Jesus Christ, it flows continuously. Paul stated where sin increased, grace increased all the more (Rom 5:20). Our sin comes as no surprise to God. It really is his purpose, his plan and his will for us that we receive and walk in the abundance of his grace. Oh, the freedom of knowing our sins are all forgiven! That is the gospel. We really do have unbroken peace with God: Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (Rom 5:1,2). He is our High Priest who has already, once for all, and never needing to be repeated, made atonement for us with his own blood (Heb 9:24-28). It's done. So unlike with the priests of old, we no longer need to come to Jesus to explain each new sin so that he can atone for it properly. It's all done. The work is finished, and that is how he treats believers, and justly so (Rom 3:26), because the penalty for all sin has been paid by Christ. There are no gaps of condemnation for the believer.

I said above that King David also confessed sin. Verses 3 to 5 in his Psalm 32 describe the dire straits he was in before he finally confessed and found relief. Paul quotes from this psalm in Romans 4. He might have quoted from this section, encouraging us likewise to confess in order to be forgiven, but he did not. He quoted from the first two verses instead: Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin (Rom 4:8 NKJV, Ps 32:2a). Paul stated that this condition of man was the same as when Abraham was credited with righteousness by faith, not works. David was envying such a man, whose sin was not imputed to him. Apparently, David's sin was imputed to David himself, which is why he needed to confess it, and so throw himself on the mercy of God. Surely we are the blessed people David was talking about, who trust in Jesus for forgiveness through his blood. The amazing truth is that sin is not imputed to the believer. And, if sin is not imputed, then there remains no requirement to confess it!

Nor is it a question of needing to inform God about our misdemeanours before he can forgive them. God is omniscient. He knows all about us, including our sin. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin (John 16:8). So now we know. And God knows. And we know God knows!

Paul, as Saul of Tarsus, had persecuted the Church, putting many in prison. Jesus himself was the one who told him of his sin: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4). There is no record of Paul confessing his sin to God. What reason could there be for that? God already knew! Neither did Ananias require a confession from him when he visited him, nor is there any account of confession by Paul to the Church in Jerusalem.

The best response, when convicted by the Holy Spirit, is to acknowledge the sin. But this is not done in order to be forgiven. The truth is that we are already forgiven by the One who offered for all time one sacrifice for sins (Heb 10:12). But even while we are stubborn and do not acknowledge a particular wrongdoing, as believers we remain under the New Covenant in his blood (Matt 26:28). It is an inviolate blood covenant, which cannot be broken.

According to Hebrews, the fault with the Old Covenant sacrifices was that they had to be continually repeated and were therefore an annual reminder of sins. If they had worked properly the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins (Heb 10:2). The Cross succeeds where the old sacrifices failed. The believer no longer feels guilty for his sin!

At one time a woman, described as a sinner, went to the home of Simon, a Pharisee, where Jesus was a guest. She came to Jesus and wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair (Luke 7:38). That's all she did. These tears were tears of love, not pleading. She didn't confess anything. We know that fact because the Pharisee said to himself If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner. If she had confessed anything, it wouldn't take a prophet to know the truth about her. She said nothing, but just showed how much she loved Jesus. And, according to Jesus, she went away forgiven. She hadn't confessed. Likewise the Woman of Samaria didn't confess either (John 4). Nor did Jesus demand confession of all those who came to him for healing, or of those who came to be his disciples. If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever, why assume that he has changed? Why put up a barrier between us and Jesus that He has not erected?

As stated above. we must acknowledge that in our natural state we are sinners, and that we have sinned (Rom 3:23, 1 John 1:8). Indeed, unless we do so, it will be impossible to have faith in God for his righteousness. How could we believe to receive something from God if we falsely believe we have it already? We cannot be justified by faith if at the same time in our minds we are justifying ourselves. We will never receive the gift of righteousness if we think we are righteous in ourselves and deny that we have sinned! This is the point of 1 John chapter 1: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us (v8). The next verse but one is similar: If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar (v10).

But what about the verse in between: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)? The problem here is not in the statement itself, but only if we emphasize the If and thereby insist that its corollary is true, i.e. if there is any sin we do not confess, then God will not forgive us. But in the context of the verses before and after, John appears to be addressing those who denied that they had any sin. They probably thought that admitting sin would incriminate themselves. Hence, as in court, they would plead not guilty in the hope of being acquitted. They think that those who plead guilty will receive a tough sentence. But John is effectively saying in verse 9 that the act of acknowledging sin, or pleading guilty, does not bring the condemnation that they would expect. Instead, God is faithful, and forgives.

Apart from what is often inferred from that verse, there is no instruction to believers to confess their sins to God after John the Baptist [and even there the confession is not specifically stated to be to God] until God's judgement seat. Paul never mentions the issue in all his letters. To the jailer in Philippi Paul and Silas said Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). He didn't add and confess all your sins and keep confessing them from now on. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles (Rom 11:13), and had been charged with the mission to bring the name of the Lord before them (Acts 9:15). He was surely remiss if he neglected something like this if it was of such importance. Of course, it is perfectly in order to confess our faults to one another. Some converts openly confessed evil deeds, including sorcerers (Acts 19:18-19). James instructs: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed (James 5:16). Here we do have an instruction to confess, and it is in the context of releasing the power of God for healing. Yet the confession is not to God, but to each other. But why does James say this? He cannot mean that we should confess every sin to everyone. I suggest he is saying that the acknowledgement of our own sins is helpful because it emphasizes that all the righteousness and holiness and power to heal is from God alone. As Peter said Why do you stare at us as if by our own power and godliness we had made this man walk? (Acts 3:12). All the praise must be to God.

We as believers have a relationship with God. By the Spirit we call him Abba, Father (Gal 4:6). He is no longer a distant deity to be appeased with a legally required list of wrongdoing. God himself has drawn near to us and offered us peace and made us family (John 1:12). So when we do pray to God about our sin, it is not in order to be forgiven, but knowing, as believers, that we are already forgiven. It is this awareness of his abundant grace towards us that gives us added reason to please him more. It is New Covenant Life bearing fruit. We come to the Father as children within his family, not as the accused standing before a judge. We are family, now.

Shall We Go On Sinning?

If sin is already forgiven, and there is no requirement to confess individual sins, doesn't that lead to complacency and a lack of desire for improvement and godliness? No! Although confession of sin is no longer a legal requirement, acknowledgement of sin to ourselves is a blessing if it leads to change. You may go on to ask: Why is change a blessing? After all, if God has already forgiven all our sin; if grace is abundant; and if we are no longer under law, why change? The answer is that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). God has put his laws within us, according to Jeremiah. We have died, and have been raised to new life in Christ. In other words, God has given us a new nature. Paul expounds on this in Romans 6, explaining that we have died to sin, and that we no longer want to offer ourselves as slaves to sin (Rom 6:2,16). So we have a new nature, and now it pleases us to please God.

Furthermore, when we understand what God has done and appreciate that we are saved by grace, we will want to please Him even more. It is the appreciation of the grace of God that leads us to repentance and godliness:

do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God's kindness leads you towards repentance (Rom 2:4)?

And again:

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).

So we are drawn towards holiness in two ways. He gives us a new self, which is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24). This is a push from within towards godliness. But he also draws us to him by a revelation of his nature and the depth of his grace towards us. This is the pull factor. He simultaneously enables us and draws us. All we have to do is to agree with God; to say Yes to him. Without the push, we couldn't do it. Without the pull, we wouldn't do it. God knew that. He has bent over backwards to bless. Oh amazing grace!

We need that pull! We need to have a revelation of his grace. When we know we have sinned, and yet know that God still loves us despite our sin, we are changed inside, where it counts. We will put on the new man, as Paul instructed (Eph 4:24), which will manifest the new creation that we now are. Grace changes hearts. God knows that. He is not seeking servants who obey the law out of fear and duty. Rather he is seeking a people who will love him with all their heart. Grace and grace alone achieves this response, and grace came to us through Jesus Christ. It is when we really understand the abundance of his grace, that it becomes for us the motive for repentance, for changing our minds about ourselves, and seeking better ways. And when we really understand how abundantly we are forgiven, we are motivated to forgive others and treat them with the same grace (Eph 4:32). We have a new motivation within, and a desire for a new direction of travel. Indeed, we will even want to be pro-active, and examine ourselves against any command, and see how we measure up. Have I loved my neighbour as myself? We should not ask such questions in order to condemn ourselves. But rather, when we see how we have fallen short, it should prompt renewed gratitude to the Lord for his blood that was shed for us on the Cross, together with an openness for further change in how we live. It is the recognition of grace that leads to godliness, and this is also seen in practice in the ministry of Jesus. He taught the right way to live, yet he went about doing good and healing freely without censure. He healed all who came to him in faith, demonstrating grace in action. He showed grace towards all who sought him out, eliciting godly responses such as that of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:8), and of the woman who wet his feet with her tears (Luke 7:38). She loved Jesus, showing that she would fulfil what Jesus himself said: If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching (John 14:23). It is the knowledge of the extent of God's grace and love towards us that prompts our desire to please him. In the new life, it pleases us to change.