Confession of Sin and Real Forgiveness

Introduction

One very common problem that Christians have in their Christian lives is the problem of spiritual clutter. Many Christians don’t know what to do with various unresolved sins and problems, and so they do nothing. Over time these problems accumulate, and before long there is a real mess.

You have seen this phenomenon in various places, have you not? It happens in closets, it happens in your junk drawer, it happens in your home’s designated fright room, it happens at the back of your garage, it happens when your garden fills up with weeds, and so on. Why wouldn’t it happen in your spiritual life? It certainly will if you let it.

So one of the first things that Christians should learn is this. They need to learn to deal with the sin . . . of not really dealing with sin. If we are told to lay aside every weight, then it would be a sin not to. If we are told to deal with the sin that “so easily besets” us, then it would be a sin not to.

The Text

“Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

On Not Kidding Yourself

So the first thing to realize about all of this is that confession of sin is an ongoing necessity. I described the problem as being one of spiritual clutter, but the thing about clutter is that you can get used to it as it accumulates. You begin by thinking that perhaps your life is “a little untidy,” and then move on to excuse the fact that it looks like a bomb went off in your conscience, and by the end of the process your conscience looks and smells like a closet at the crazy cat lady’s house.

So ongoing and regular confession of sin is a necessity for everyone. What must you do if you want a garden filled with weeds? What you need to do is absolutely . . . nothing. Just let it ride. We know that sin can accumulate in this way because of the way Scripture speaks of it. If we just go along in our own fashion, we will get accustomed to how disheveled we are.

But if we peer into the looking glass of Scripture, we will there see our true condition. We don’t learn that true condition by means of morbid introspection—we learn our true condition through faithful and submissive Bible reading.

As James puts it:

No one should ever simply assume that he is “doing fine” simply because the roof hasn’t fallen in yet. And to continue the earlier metaphor, just because you haven’t looked in the mirror does not mean that your face is fine.

So Scripture tells us our true condition.

And the apostle John sums all of this up.

Suppose a young man is learning how to do maintenance on his car, and he is told to change his air filter every 12 to 15,000 miles. And then suppose he were to ask his instructor whether he still would have to do this if the filter hadn’t gotten dirty yet. The problem with this young man is that he doesn’t know what kind of a world he is living in. That filter is dirty, count on it.

And the only effective way to head off the great sins is by mortifying them when they are small. Notice what David tells us about this process.

Notice the progression. It begins with secret sins. It moves on to presumptuous sins. And then, after that, it culminates in the great transgression. Secret sins would be private—inside your own head, or done completely in isolation. Presumptuous sins would those that happen in front of family or close friends, but which are never addressed or dealt with. Outbursts of temper in the home, for example, and no seeking of forgiveness. Those who know tend to make excuses . . . “that’s just him.” And the great transgression happens when some scandal blows sky high.

What to Do

The way to deal with the effects of such accumulated guilt through sinning is by means of honest confession.

This is a glorious promise, so let us take a moment to consider it very carefully. In this verse, we are described a certain way, and then we are to do something. In addition, God is described as being a certain way, and then He does something.

We are described as sinful (we cannot confess sins unless we actually have some). So we are described as sinful, and what we are told to do is confess those sins. God is described as being faithful and just, and what He does is forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We are sinful, and He is righteous. The sinners do the confessing, and the righteous one does the cleansing.

When we confess our sins, we are not cleaning up. When we confess our sins we are asking another to clean us up.

So what is it to “to confess” then? The Greek word that is rendered here as confess is homologeo, a very interesting compound word. The first part, homo, is the Greek for same. The logeo is a verb that means to speak. Consequently, if we put them together, homologeo means “to speak the same thing,” or saying it another way, to acknowledge.

If Scripture calls it a lie, and you call it mild prevarication, then that is not confession. If Scripture calls it adultery, and you call it infatuation, then that is not confession. If Scripture calls it theft, and you call it requisitioning, then that is not confession. The reason it is not confession is that it is dishonest.

So the central issue in confession of sin is honesty.

A paraphrase of this therefore would be that people who are dishonest about the way they are living are people who will not flourish. These are people who will not prosper—God’s Word declares that they will not prosper. And for those who refuse to be honest about the way they are living, it is gonna go hard. “Good understanding giveth favour: But the way of transgressors is hard” (Proverbs 13:15).

The alternative is what is promised to the honest believer—honest confession and honest forsaking results in mercy. This honest mercy means that God is blessing that man. Nothing bad results from this.

The Blessing of Real Forgiveness

Forgiven transgression is the blessing of God. To have sin covered is the blessing of God. To not have iniquity imputed to you when it easily could have been imputed to you is the blessing of God.

But note that descriptor—“in whose spirit there is no guile.” Honesty before God is therefore the ticket. And even there, remember that if God were to mark iniquities in our confessions no one could stand. Even our repenting needs to be repented of. Even here we need the grace of imputed righteousness. Christ not only suffered the penalty for our sin, with that payment being imputed to us, He also lived out in His active obedience a true repentance that is imputed to you. The only time your repentance for any sin was perfect was that time that Jesus repented on your behalf in the Jordan river two thousand years ago. He began His earthly ministry by identifying with His sinful people, and by receiving a baptism of repentance.

This is why, at the end of the day, all our sins must be confessed in Jesus’ name.

Preached at Trinity Reformed in Moscow (03-02-25)