Contents

1. Introduction

2. Chapter 1

1. The Purpose of Confession

3. Chapter 2

1. The Fellowship of Confession

4. Chapter 3

1. The Person of Confession

5. Chapter 4

1. The Faith of Confession

6. Chapter 5

1. The Practice of Confession

The Cleansing of Confession

Introduction

How proficient do you think the average saved person is at confessing their sins? Would you say that many go for long periods of time with unconfessed sins in their hearts, on their minds and against their consciences?

The confessing of sins committed by the saved, is a necessity which needs to be practiced on a regular basis. As Bible Believing Baptists, we have discipleship lessons to indoctrinate the newly saved in the basics of the Christian life; but do we teach about the importance of the confession of sins? How often do you spend time bowing before God’s mercy seat?

Having lived here on this earth; The Lord Jesus knows the potential for His redeemed ones to be tainted by the filth and wickedness of this world. Because He “…was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin…” (Hebrews 4:15), He is able to get us through every temptation we will face. Although it seems humanly impossible; God’s Word teaches us that with Him, it is possible, for a saved person to say no to sin. If it were not so; He would not have commanded us not to sin.

I John 2:1 “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous…”

We must never allow ourselves to think we are incapable of sinning. But, if God commands us not to sin; then we can choose to obey Him more often than we do!

The Lord also knows our human weaknesses and natural tendency to commit sins. That is not to be an excuse for why we sin. As saved people, even though we are supposed to know better, when we sin, we sin because we chose to do so. That is why God created the cleansing of the confession of sins.

In Hebrews 4:16, The Lord teaches the saved that we can “…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Isn’t asking for “…mercy…” an open admission of being guilty of committing sin? And isn’t “…grace…” the receiving of what we do not deserve as saved sinners?

Do you openly, and from your heart “…confess…” your sins at God’s Throne; with a boldness and humility that turns His ear toward you?

Powerful Confession provides the cleansing needed to live a Christ-Like life. Without it; this world, other believers, and even The Lord Jesus, will see only defeated believers.

T.S. Luchon

Chapter 1

The Purpose of Confession

I John 1:4-10 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 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 to 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.”

For saved people; to “…confess our sins…” is probably one of the most neglected commands given by God. The Lord Jesus wants every one of His redeemed ones to live a joyful and productive life while on this earth. We are told in I John 1:4, that the very topic of confession of sins is written so that our “…joy may be full.” Fulness of joy will sure beat the melancholy and depression of the average person who professes to be born again.

Think about this for a minute. If you have been saved from the penalty of Hell and The Lake of Fire; and your sins are washed away forever, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and you will walk the streets of Heaven; then why is it that saved people constantly suffer so many dark days of despair? This may at times be the result of a strong temptation. Feeling downhearted may come from physical sickness or adverse circumstances of life itself. But consider this carefully. We are commanded in Philippians 4:6, to,

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Answer this question. If you are troubled and anxious about anything; isn’t that a direct disobedience to God’s command to “Be careful for nothing…” The only truthful answer is yes! But how many times, do we as born again believers, fail to “…confess…” that miserable depression as a sin?

Disobedience to that command is a sin which needs to be confessed. When we obey that command and request to be forgiven for that sin (and all others), in a time of confession, then our fellowship with The Lord is restored.

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Years ago I heard a preacher say, “Saved sinners need to keep a short sin list.” What he was saying was for us to be sure to get those sins confessed, and off of our list as soon and as often as possible. But seriously; how many saved people actually keep a sin list? Maybe we should! If not, what if we forget to confesses a sin? Because we happen to forget a particular sin; does that mean the “If we confess our sins…” does not apply to the ones we do not remember committing? Stop right here for just a moment! Are you 100% sure; that the cause of some of your own lack of “…joy…” as a believer, is not due to a sin which has gone unconfessed?

The confession of sins has been created and given to us by God so our “…joy may be full…!” If that is why we need to “…confess our sins…” then perhaps we need to become extremely proficient and skillful at doing so.

Let’s face the Biblical facts here. A born again person at his or her best, is still 66% unsaved! Don’t think that is heresy; just do the math. We who have trusted and asked The Lord Jesus for His gift of eternal life, have been saved and saved eternally! A saved person can never lose salvation. But we need to understand the sinful truth about ourselves. According to Ephesians 2:1, our dead spirit inherited from Adam, was “…quickened...” the moment we trusted Jesus to save us. According to Titus 3:5, The Holy Ghost of God then worked His work of “…regeneration…” which resulted in the making of a “…new creature…” (II Corinthians 5:17) in our being; which did not previously exist! That part of our being is only 33% of what we actually are now. According to Ephesians 4:22, we still have to deal with our “…old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts…” I wish it wasn’t so, but that “…old man…” makes up 66% of every born again person; and will be there troubling our “…new creature…” until death or when the trumpet sounds! Because of those Scriptural facts; that means saved people need to be much better at the confessing of sins!

We are now in a time when the preaching against the sins of believers seems to be at an all-time low among many Baptists! It seems that many who once did so, are being caught up in the message of the emergent churches smiles of tolerance when it comes to sins. Such neglect to the calling of God’s preachers speak the whole truth; only encourages the “…old…” sin nature of the saved to emerge; and the “…new man…”is then adorned and overshadowed by sins of worldliness.

It is the preaching against sins that is to keep Baptist Churches, which are part of the future Bride of Christ, as clean as possible. This allows more of the Presence of God in the services of our kind of Independent, Fundamental, Baptist Churches. The same goes for each of the individual “…members in particular…” on our local church rolls. When sins are not pointed out as needed in the public preaching; the result is less sins confessed in private at the altar. The more sins that go unconfessed in a church body; there will be less of the Presence of God known.

Sin is not to be the only topic of our Old-Fashioned Baptist sermons; but it must not be left out in attempts to make saved sinners feel better about themselves while at church! All that does is to create a “Come as you are; and leave no cleaner than you came” attitude.

Many saved people are leaving Baptist Churches where the Holy Ghost filled Overseer levels down on sins These precious children of God are being lured out from among us; because they are being influenced against the very kind of preaching; which points them to confess their sins so they can be genuinely joyful!

Many so-called baptists, are giving the people no more than the equivalent of a cortisone shot, to mask the pain of a serious injury which needs proper diagnosis and surgery! Many who are saved, are thereby being robbed of one of God’s sources of genuine, unmanufactured “…joy…!”

Being full of “…joy…” could be as close as one session of confession at The feet of Jesus!

Chapter 2

The Fellowship of Confession

I John 1:4-8 “And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The words in I John 1:4-8 are in context; the subject of the confession of sins. It could be said that the confession of sins gives us as saved sinners, the power to have “…fellowship…” with God and others.

One of the greatest blessings of being born again; is that it has provided us with the possibility of being able to have “…fellowship…” with our Creator! According to I Corinthians 1:9, to that we have been called.

“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”

What a wonderful calling! What a privilege! We must guard this relationship with our LORD! The definition of “…fellowship…” is not a bunch of Baptists getting together to eat! That is a blessing to enjoy. But Biblical “…fellowship…” is so much more. While in “…fellowship…” with God, we can enjoy:

‘Companionship; mutual association of persons on equal and friendly terms; association; partnership; joint interest; company; a state of being together.’

That kind of “…fellowship…” is a very fragile thing. That is because of Who and What God is! He is much more particular than men, when it comes to with whom, and with what He has “…fellowship…”

When saved people get involved with things or people that are contrary to those good things; And our sins in those areas are not properly and fully confessed, all of those good things slip into the dark. It is then that deceit comes in to the hearts, minds and souls of the disobedient. These, if not brought back out into the light of God, will find companionship with others living in the dark. And all the while; they may say, think, and feel that they are still in “…fellowship…” with God.

In The Word of God, “…darkness…” is where the light of God’s Word is not noticed or known by the world; and any other person who lives according to it. The lost live without God’s light. But saved people can also slip, fall, or run into this “…darkness…” That “…darkness…” is were sin lives. When that is the case; as long as a saved person remains in that state of being; their “…fellowship…” with God stops.

The saved who commit sins and turn into that “…darkness…” are blinded from the “…light…” of God’s Book while there. The life and light of God are then not able to be seen and to shine out of their life. Saved people may become so deceived by that “…darkness…” that they do not even know the danger in which they have put themselves. Many a child of God is groping in that realm of no light. They are miserable, unhappy, confused and depressed. They feel that there is no power on earth to help them.

I hope it is so, that deep down inside their saved being; they have to know the reason for their unhappy state; is that their “…fellowship…” with God has been broken. That should never be the situation of a saved one!

We need only to identify an unconfessed sin; speak it openly to the ears of Jesus; and we will then know how confession of sins keeps us in perfect “…fellowship…” with God. No saved person has to suffer because of unconfessed sins. Our sins need to be dealt with properly in order to have victory.

There is a specific thing that needs to be addressed in this very time. The devil is leading a movement tempting Baptist people to lighten up on old fashioned separation from the world. Many are now caught up in this and have lost real “…fellowship…” with God. There is an open disobedience to Scriptures such as found in Romans 12:1-2. Saved people in our own kind of Baptist Churches are violating this inspired command more than ever before! Can you hear the heart of The Lord Jesus in these words written by The Apostle?

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Lightening up on the preaching of old fashioned separation from this world is being championed as a way to reach more of the lost. That is a lie of the devil! And worse, it is a conscience soothing act of cowardice by those who do not want to hold to the doctrine of separation from this world!

In just the case of women wearing worldly, immodest pants, instead of a godly dress; how many Baptist preachers have not confessed the sin, of not preaching that it is a sin, to dress in conformity to the fashions of the world? That is a sin against The God Who called and ordained him to preach “…all the counsel of God…?” (Acts 20:27)

Because of preachers not holding to just the example of that one standard; I have often wondered, just how frequently a woman “…professing godliness…” (I Timothy 2:10) has had their “…fellowship…” with God and His Holy Spirit hurt…partly because of their pastor! If they do not hear Biblical dress standards preached from the pulpit; or they fail to learn this standard on their own; they may go for years holding in the unconfessed sin of cross-dressing before the Holy eyes of God. The LORD is offended when a women dresses immodestly and appears as an “…abomination…” in clothing “…which pertaineth unto a man…” (Deuteronomy 22:5). Any pastor or evangelist who will not preach against abominations in unisex dress styles and immodesty; causes the women (and the men) in their congregation much unnecessary hurt! Just stop and think of what this will cause in just the life of a pastor. How many Baptist preachers right now; are full of the sins of:

1Not preaching that Deuteronomy 22:5 is still for today.

2Not being faithful to teach the women in his congregation of this particular sin in how they dress.

3By this they are guilty of having a part in the sins of the women who appear in public as an abomination to God.

4They are also complicit in the sins of men who are tempted to some sin; as they view an immodestly dressed women in their congregation.

5And, because they do not “…preach the word…” concerning this standard of dress; the husbands which are under their oversight, do not hold the line of standards at home.

6Now the next generation future young ladies in the church, will see no need to obey Deuteronomy 22:5!

Hey! Don’t forget! Those are just the sins the preacher has to be aware of and confess! If it is the case, that you as the reader have not settled with God on Deuteronomy 22:5; Please, you need to think this through carefully.

You say, “That’s taking it to the extreme.? Ok. Here is a scenario to consider. Open up your King James Bible to Deuteronomy 22:5; and out loud, using only the words in that one Scripture; teach it to The Lord Jesus so He understands why a woman “…professing godliness…” (I Timothy 2:10) should be able to wear clothing “…which pertaineth unto a man…” And teach Him also when that standard ceased to be an abomination! If that does not work; you may have to wait and try using that with The LORD at The Judgement Seat of Christ! That is extreme! But the ungodliness of it is far, far worse!

Unconfessed worldliness in just that one case; by God’s people and in the lives of preachers; is causing a lot of broken “…fellowship…” with Holiness!

The Lord does not allow for any kind of “…fellowship…” with this world, false doctrine, worldliness, carnality or any other sinful thing that is not “…according to godliness…” (I Timothy 6:3). He does not teach tolerance of such things in order to make the world feel that we are more approachable to fellowship with them! We are supposed to approach them with our sins confessed; in full “…fellowship…” with The Holy Ghost; as separated soul winners attempting to win them out of the consequences of their sins, and out of living according to the culture of this world!

Excuses for worldliness among professing saved people are being condoned under the guise of being more like the world; so the lost will not feel so intimidated by separated Christians! There are so many things wrong with that last statement when placed against Bible truth! But that is the backward thinking of this day. And such sins of those caught up in them are not even thought of as needing to be confessed!

We need a revival of clean, unworldly “…fellowship…” with God! Instead, many are downgrading sins of worldliness to the place were some of us Baptists think such things no longer need to be confessed as the sins they still are! God has not changed His command and the question found in II Corinthians 6:14 “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”

Compromise with the darkness of worldliness is sin that must be seen as sin, and confessed as sin.

In Ephesians 5:11-13, God commanded us to “… have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.”

It is the power of confession of sins which drives that “…darkness…” away. Confession allows the light of God and His Word to bring us back into perfect “…fellowship…” with Him again.

It took the power of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to purchase and to secure our eternal “…fellowship…” with God! Unconfessed sins hold the power to ruin our relationship with The Heavenly Father, The Lord Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. Thank God for the power to restore “…fellowship…” with Him by the confessing of our sins!

Chapter 3

The Person of Confession

I John 1:1-3 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

It is amazing how God has arranged the writing of His Word! These words surrounding the context of the words in I John 1:9, “…if we confess our sins…” are all about The Person with whom we are to stay in “…fellowship…”

If our “…fellowship…” is not kept right with God by use of the confession of sins; all other aspects of “…fellowship…” concerning people will be affected. Far too many saved people are trading their “…fellowship…” “…with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ…” for something unconfessed as sin.

Once we figure out that all we really need is the Presence of God in our lives; confessing sin will be a source of joy!

The key to having “…fellowship…” with God is confessing sins to the right Person of God. Faults may be confessed to another sinner; but confession of sins is between the mouth of the sinner directly to the ears of The Saviour!

If we want a strong relationship with The Heavenly Father; sins committed against Him must be heard by The Saviour. If we desire power to win souls and live in victory from The Holy Spirit of God; sins against Him must be spoken to be heard by The Lord Jesus. It was He Who paid sins awful price. He was The Person of the Godhead Who suffered in the past, for the sins we will confess today! Jesus is the only “…mediator between God and men…” (I Timothy 2:5)

Have you ever had a time of personal devotion alone with The Lord; thinking what it must be like for Him to have to hear you speak, of the very sins which caused His body pain on the cross; and His soul such grief in your spot in Hell? Have such thoughts ever crossed your mind? Have they affected your heart? Have you tried to see what those filthy words of confession must do to Him?

There are many sides of our God. Romans 11:33 says of Him, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

To those out of touch with God and His Spirit; these things are considered as contradictions. But these things; when they are “…spiritual discerned…” (I Corinthians 2:14), they are a source of great “…fellowship…” in The Presence of The Person of God.

One part of The Godhead does not remember my sin. But one part of His Person is to hear me, my voice, confessing my sins! One part of God sees us saved sinners as if we have never sinned; yet Proverbs 15:3 tell us that, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

He commands me in I John 2:1 not to sin; yet He also says that when I do sin, I “…have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” Who is ready to plead my case before the Throne of God, because my sins are already paid for in full!

His Word teaches me in Isaiah 64:6, that all my “…righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” And yet in II Corinthians 5:21, I’m told that because of what Jesus did for me, that I “…might be made the righteousness of God in him.

He is The Person before Whom I will give an account for every word I speak, teach, preach, write or think; yet while I stand there at The Judgement Seat of Christ; only the works that I do now will be there to be tried by fire; my sins will not be there on that day; for they are forever under the atoning blood of The Lamb of God!!

God has set up the confession of sins; not for His benefit; but for mine and for yours! He has already settled the sin questions at His death, burial, and resurrection. His blood is more than sufficient to take away my sins. He needs no more sacrifice for sins; and that also includes my confession of sins for which He already paid! Confessing to The Person of Jesus Christ is so you and I can have the blessing of His Presence in us! He sees us eternally as one of His own. By the way, I thank God that I cannot fully understand or explain such a wonderful set of truths surrounding The Person to Whom we are to confess our sins. I do know, that when I think of His Person as I go to confess my sins; my heart is at times overwhelmed with the fact that I have caused His Holy ears to hear of sins that once cost Him all!

When The Person to Whom we confess our sins is considered; more than the sins; when we are more concerned about what those sins did to Him; that special, private, intimate time with The Saviour brings us as a saved sinner, into His world of forgiveness and peace!

Have you ever been broken in heart as you speak the details of your sins? Have you been moved to emotion by the fact that those sins are the very things which caused Him to lose His “…fellowship…” with The Heavenly Father and The Spirit of God while He was on the cross. The sins you and I repeat to His ears were the very sins which were on Him when the sun went dark! I often think when confessing sins that I have brought Him back through that terrible darkness away from Heaven’s view.

But, then I remember what The Scriptures teach about what He did for me! When Jesus died for my sins; in just a small moment, while suffering in that darkness, He knew me! He thought of me! He had to have done so in order to pay for my sins! He was taking my punishment! He knew my name while in that darkness! He knew the filth of my sins were on Him in that suffering! I was the person He was dying to save! And with all that; He knew what He was about to do next; for me, as recorded in Isaiah 53:10, when He would “…make his soul an offering for…” my “…sin…!”

And here is another thing that I have not quite figured out. When Jesus was paying for my sins; in that awful time; The Scriptures speak in Hebrews 12:2 of “…the joy that was set before him…” while He did so. What was that “…joy…?” How about it? It was you; as He paid for your sins! You are that “…joy…” He knew what His suffering would bring for you; and in that agony He was joyful for you.

How about letting that “…joy…” be the reason for the next soul you try to win to Him? They are that “…joy…” Hey! It is also the “…joy…” that we as a saved sinner will experience after the confession of our sins! And it is the “…joy…” we bring to the Heart of Jesus, The Father, and The Holy Spirit, as our “…fellowship…” is restored once again with God. It will also be the “…joy…” felt by the next person you forgive for what they did to you; and thereby they sinned against God as they hurt you! Jesus is the only Person we ought to be concerned about when it comes to the confession of our sins. All sins hurt Him much more than some wrong doing has hurt you or I.

That is The Person to Whom you and I are to confess our sins.

Chapter 4

The Faith of Confession

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Because of The Lord’s sacrifice for all sins; all people can be saved from the penalty of their sins. When a repentant sinner places their faith in Jesus and asks Him for eternal life; all those prayers are answered. Every sin committed in the past, present and the future, has been paid for in full! Our eternal life is absolutely secure! When we as saved people commit sins after we have been born again; the final penalty of those offences against God is covered forever; but we must deal with our sins of the present.

As we were saved by faith; so we must also use that faith to be cleansed for the sins of today. When confession of sins is neglected or forgotten; those unconfessed sins will cause many unnecessary problems in the lives of the saved.

The original cleansing of our eternal salvation, was not conditional upon our being good or doing good works. But there is a condition placed by God on being cleansed from our sins after salvation.

We have been granted the way to be forgiven for those sins; but only “If we confess our sins…”

I have dealt with professing saved folks who have struggled with the sins committed after they were saved. They once were able to exercise faith to be saved from Hell itself; but can’t seem to use that same faith in order to be clean before God today. They know they have been born again; but it is a fight with their flesh to have their conscience purged of an offence. They say things such as, “I feel like I am not forgiven.” To that I ask, “Were you saved because you felt saved; or were you saved because of putting your faith in Jesus to be saved?” I have also asked, “What if your salvation depended on what you felt at the time you prayed for eternal life; would that make your being saved by feelings or by faith?”

Faith is not a feeling: it is trusting The Lord to do what He said He would do in His Word! Feelings do result after salvation; but are not to be relied upon to be saved. The same must be applied to the confession of sins. Faith must be used as we confess our sins. If we are relying on our ‘feelings’ to be cleansed; just like we would never have been born again; so we will not experience the cleansing of confession as saved people. Our confessing of sins must be based on faith. But this is a very specific placement of our faith.

The Scriptures say in I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we learned from The Word of God what Jesus did for us to be born again; that is what brought about the faith needed to be saved. Our being saved was based upon only what The Bible said. This must be applied to the confession of our sins.

It is God Who is “…faithful and just to forgive us…” The cleansing of our sins as God’s children comes to us because The Scriptures declare that God is “…faithful…” And He will cleanse us from sins if we will accept that He is what He has said. Many times people will say, “Well yes, I know God is faithful; but I still don’t feel cleansed from what I did wrong. The problem here is not that they are doubting God’s faithfulness. But the real issue here is that those in this predicament may not understand what God’s Word means when He says that not only is He “…faithful…” but that God is also “…just…”

Here is where the problem of “not feeling” cleansed after confessing sins is finally put in its place! God has the power to forgive and cleanse saved people for their sins because He now owns those sins! Do not miss that. He bought our sins with His blood. Not only sins of the past; but all our sins!

Let me try to illustrate it like this. Suppose you are called to stand before a Judge to answer for a crime you committed. The law states clearly that you violated that ordinance. You openly admit to the Judge that you know you are guilty of the crime. The law also states that the punishment for that crime is 5 years in prison. Others who have been guilty of the same crime have been sentenced to do their 5 years in jail by the same Judge. But you come before the Judge feeling more remorse than the others before him felt; and that Judge takes it upon himself to let you go free because you showed him how bad you felt for your crime. That crime demanded a punishment; but the Judge allowed you to pay for the crime with only your feelings. That Judge did not follow the law in your case. He was an unjust Judge! Now, if that same Judge said to you, “I see and I can hear that you are truly remorseful for what you did; so I decide that I will go to prison in your place for the next five years.” Now the Judge would be considered a “…just…” Judge for he himself paid for the crime you committed! If the judge just let you go free without the satisfying of the price for the payment for the crime; that would be considered to be unjust.

Thank God, Jesus paid the full and “…just…” price for the sins you and I will confess to Him in the near future! If we do what He as THE JUST JUDGE said to do when we sin after we have been saved; we will be cleansed by Him. He owns that right to do so! And that is where our trust needs to be placed. Set the feelings about your sins aside as you go to Him to confess your sins! Go to Him as your “…just…” Judge. The next time you go to confess your sins, bow before Jesus with a thankful heart and an understanding mind; knowing that the forgiveness and cleansing He is about to grant you is 100% justified!

Jesus is not granting us a cleansing based upon some undeserved favor. He and He alone already owns what your sins and my sins truly deserved! You cannot forgive yourself for sins; that would take away from the price Jesus already paid! You cannot ‘feel’ your way to a cleansing; Jesus already has been “…touched with the feeling of our infirmities…” He “…was in all points tempted like as we are…” (Hebrews 4:15), and He never sinned! He is our Justifier! Look carefully at these Scriptures from Romans 3:24-26.

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Those words tell us that our salvation came at the first because of what Jesus did to redeem us. That means ‘to buy us back!’ He paid “…for the remission of sins that are past…” That covers when we were saved! Then God’s Word goes on to say the words; that everyone who struggles with being cleansed as a saved person, has got to hear and understand. Not only can the “…righteousness…” of Jesus be declared concerning our sins before salvation came; but we can now “…declare…” “…at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

All we need to know at the confessing of our sins are these wonderful, Biblical, Scriptural facts! Jesus is “…faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When this is not accepted by faith; and we attempt to put our feelings out in front in order to be cleansed; we are then found guilty, of the sin of taking away from the glory it was to God, to purchase His right to cleanse us! By the way; do not neglect to confess that sin to Him also! Amen?

Chapter 5

The Practice of Confession

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins…”

If we are born again; we are to be Bible believers. If we hold and believe the words in our English King James Bible: then we qualify as a believer in the perfect, inspired and preserved Book of God. To believe what God wrote also requires that we understand the inspired words which He has recorded for us to read. As unhypocritical Bible believers, we are to live our lives here on earth by every one of His words. Not only are we to believe His words; understand His words; and how He gave them to us; but we are to put those words into visible, active practice. That being true; let me ask you a question. Can you accurately define and explain the word “…confess…” as God used it in His Book…in English?

I believe that if a saved person does not understand the meaning of God’s words that they are not going to benefit from the power of the life of God; which He put into every word in His Book with His own breath. God’s Word is to produce in the saved what He wants produced. In Isaiah 55:8-11, God speaks about the effect that His words will have on us.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Please go back and look at each of those words again, but carefully and thoughtfully; as applied to this subject of the confession of sins.

If a saved person is not taught from the Word of God what His words mean; the words God speaks will not help them. If I am being warned of danger by a person speaking a language that I do not understand; those words are of no help to me! If they use words in my language that are over my head; I will not be able hear what I need to know. The same goes for the words in God’s Book. If we do not understand those words; just as they are understood by The God Who wrote them; those words will not benefit us at all!

The first time The LORD wrote the word “…confess…” in His Book is found in Leviticus 5:5. That Book of The Bible lists many specific things which if disobeyed; are said to be sin, and are in need of being confessed when violated.

“And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing…”

So from this we first learn that when an individual is “…guilty…” of something named as a sin; that person is to “…confess…” specifically “…that thing…” Sounds simple enough. But what if a “…thing…” was committed; but the confessor simply said about that sin, “God forgive me for what I did,” but he failed to name exactly “…that thing…” which he did wrong? Now he would be guilty of two sins! The first offense; and the sin of not naming the “…thing…” he did!

From this you and I learn that our confession of sins is not to be a general “…thing…:” but it is the speaking of the exact “…thing…” in which we sinned. You do not need Hebrew or Greek to figure that out. The English word God has preserved for us to know is all we need.

The English definition of the word “…confess…” is first to be understood as a verb. It is something we are to do. It also means:

•To own, acknowledge or avow, as a crime, a fault, a charge, a debt, or something that is against one’s interest, or reputation.

• Publicly to declare a belief in and adherence to.

•To declare to be true, or to admit or assent to in words.

• To show by the effect; to prove; to attest; to hear; to disclose faults, or the state of the conscience.

Is that your previous understanding of the inspired word “…confess…” If you are a pastor, do those under your oversight understand what it means to “…confess…” their sins before God’s Throne? No matter who you are; do you own that powerful word? When you “…confess…” your sins before God; is that definition in your understanding as you do so?

Psalm 32:5 tells us that confession of sins starts in the mind; is brought up from the heart; all manner of sins are to be spoken in the ears of The Holy One; and then comes God’s forgiveness; not just for the specific sin; but also “…the iniquity…” that was caused by our sin. That is the result of knowing what it means to “…confess…”

“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”

Proper confession is an entire package deal wrapped up in the grace and mercy of The Lord Jesus! “If we confess our sins…” the way He had in mind for us to do; it never leaves those who practice it empty of forgiveness, cleansing, joy or of peaceful fellowship with our God! Amen!