Breaking Free From Sin: Why Confession Has Power
"O God, You know my folly, and my sins are not hidden from You." – David, Psalm 69:5 (MEV)
Sin is a ravenous tumor that eats away at our lives. Hiding it away from God is like running away from a doctor or other health expert whose only intention is to free us from the suffering we are going through. True enough, when sin festers inside our hearts, it eats us up inside.
David perfectly explains what unconfessed sin does to us in Psalm 38:3-8, saying,
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"There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation, nor is there health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have passed over my head; as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness. I am bent, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am numb and completely crushed; I have roared because of the groaning of my heart."
Sin as a terrible master
Our sins are terrible masters that convince us of their power. Paul tell us that we are slaves to whoever we obey (see Romans 6:16). When we obey the longings of the flesh and commit sin, we become slaves to that sin.
Sin has this ugly tendency to hide itself. This is how it works: When a person sins, he is condemned by the sin that he committed. He feels guilt, which in turn causes him to feel shame. This shame then makes him want to hide his sin. And because the sin is hidden, the person is now being deceived to commit sin again. "No one's going to see it anyway" is the usual lie.
A liberating truth
The liberating truth here is that while the sinner is deceived into thinking that no one knows his sin, God knows. Nothing escapes the eyes of the almighty and omniscient God. Thankfully, God wants us to be made righteous, and has already paid the price for that to be possible: the blood of His one and only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (see Romans 7:24-25).
So how do we break free from the sin that enslaves and entangles us? By exposing it to the light:
"And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things are exposed when they are revealed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light." (Ephesians 5:11-13)
Bring it to the light
In simpler terms, we confess our sins. We admit them to God, who promises to forgive us when we repent and cleanse us from any and all forms of unrighteousness. First John 1:8-10 encourages us,
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us."
Friends, let's all admit our sins before the Lord. We can't hide them and expect ourselves to be freed from the grip of sin. The only way for us to be freed from its grip is to release them to the Lord. Let's trade our ashes for His beauty, our sins for the forgiveness that Christ purchased for us (see Isaiah 61:1-3).
I leave you with this final exhortation:
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord does not count iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy on me; my strength was changed into the drought of summer. (Selah) I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not conceal. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Selah)" (Psalm 32:1-5)
