I John 1:8-9
The discipline of confession fosters forgiveness, healing, growth, and community.
For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow, and a determination to avoid sin. St. Alphonsus Liguori
Confession is a difficult discipline for us because we all too often see the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners. Richard Foster
- Our spiritual journey begins with a confession of faith
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NIV
- As believers we must regularly confess our sin.
If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. I John 1:8-9 The Message
- Private confession or public confession?
- Personal sin or corporate sin?
- Acknowledgement of sin
- Assurance of forgiveness
- We may grow as we practice other experiences of confession.
- Confession of our needs
- Confession of our fears
- Confession of our covenant with the church
- Confession of our calling or mission in life.
As we practice the discipline of confession, we discover that God wants to forgive our sin, to make us whole, to cultivate our growth, and to connect us with this dynamic spiritual community called church.
