Confess

"When I keep silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the iniquity of my sin." Psalm 32: 3-5

As part of our Sunday morning worship services, we have a fixed time when we confess our sin to God. Every once in a while I have an astute parishioner who asks a really intelligent question about this: they ask, "if God completely forgives our sins when we become a Christian, those past, those being done right now, and even those we've yet to do (and He does), why do we still need to confess our sin to God on a regular basis?" Now that is a good question wouldn't you say?

I always give back a two part answer as to why it is important for us to do this, and both parts are really for our benefit rather than God's. The first reason is because confessing ones sin has a way of humbling ones heart, recognizing our weakness and brokenness, and ultimately, reminding us of our complete need of a saviour. Confession leads the sinner into an assurance of God's presence and forgiveness. In this sense confession grounds us in the reality of our fallen nature.

I think that today's passage steers us towards the second reason for confession of sin. In it, David speaks of the consequences of unconfessed sin; of bones growing old, groaning, heaviness of heart, and a lack of vitality. David was waxing poetic on something we really already know, and that's that unconfessed sin hurts and oppresses us as humans. It's as if we carry a needless weight around our neck that hinders us from running. It's as if we handicap ourselves with earphones and blindfold hindering us from clearly hearing and seeing God's will. Unconfessed sin can be so oppressive of spirit that it can even have physical consequences - ultimately, unconfessed sin discourages and prevents us from doing God's will.

We must regularly confess our sin to God in order to free ourselves from its burden. Confession is an act of spiritual hygiene - a scrubbing of the conscience with a reminder of God's love and forgiveness.

David knew his brokenness all to well, and he often felt the weight of its consequences. David confessed so that he might once again know God's grace, while at the same time freeing himself from its burden. "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD."

Be God's, Scott