Confession of sin

Speaker: Jo Crawford

Notes

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Sin gets in between us and God. Jesus died for us and if we accept that then God forgives us.

We try to ignore sin, pretend it wasn't sin, pretend it doesn't matter, try to hide it ... but we should be admitting it to God.

Confession = I did this. It was wrong and I'm sorry. I'm not going to do it any more (please help!). Forgive me.

God forgives us because Jesus shed his blood for us. We cannot add anything to that and so we do not need to confess to be forgiven. (Eph 4:7, Eph 2:8-9). People who admit their sin are the opposite to people who claim not to sin (1 John 1:8).

The purpose of confession is "so that you will not sin" (1 John 2:1). We see the sin clearly and get God’s help to stop it.

Application

Look at James 5:16. What do you think about confessing sins to each other? When? Which sins? How? Why? (Check out Albert Finney on this).

Since you're forgiven anyway, what difference does it actually make to confess your sin to God?

Is anyone worried that they have done something unforgivable? Explain and pray!

Feeling brave? - Worship God and then invite him to come and show you what you should be confessing ... and then do it (to God or to each other).

Study / discuss Psalm 51.

Look at Ezra 9-10. Is there a place for corporate confession - where a body of people confess to something which not all the individuals actually did? What about public confession?

Posted: 15 Jun 2008