Biblical Confession

Exhoration | Lord's Day—March 16, AD 2025

You have heard it said before, and you certainly know by your own experience, that to be a Christian is not to be sinless, but to know your sin very well, and to know what must be done with it – repentance and confession. But when it comes to the act of confession, there are two ditches that Christians must avoid. 

The first is a kind of glossing over sin with excuses or euphemisms. You do not say you lied, but accidentally misspoke. It was not adultery or fornication, but an “affair” or “inappropriate relationship.” You were not angry and speaking harsh words to your wife, but were simply “frustrated” because of what she said. In all of this, you are demonstrating that you aren’t really willing to acknowledge what you have done, but rather willing to minimize your sin with clever words and excuses. 

The other ditch is to elevate your sin beyond what it truly deserves. Rather than straightforwardly confessing it, you sensationalize or exaggerate the sin, putting on a show of contrition that serves only your own flesh and attempts to bring forth pity from those you have already wounded. These actions ultimately cause more turmoil for those around you than the original sin.

So, if sin were a mess of mud on your entryway floor, the first error is like waving a towel over the mess, laying it on top, and considering it clean. You’re not really acknowledging the reality of the situation – but covering it up. The second error is like taking an already muddy towel and spreading the mud further around the floor, again, thinking you are doing something pious while only making the mess much worse. 

So what is the solution? How do you actually clean up the mess of your sin? 

The Apostle John taught that if we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9). The Greek word there for confess is homologeo, which means same (homo) and speech or word (logeo). To confess is to agree with God concerning your sin – to speak in accordance with His Word and to call it what it is. You are to confess your sin to God, and when necessary to each other, by using the word God calls it by, straight up, with no squirming or excuses attached. 

What is the result of this biblical approach? God is faithful to forgive you of your sin and to truly cleanse you of all unrighteousness – leaving no mud in sight.