By Allen White
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning
all day long. For
day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the
heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my
iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "--
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:3-5
Unconfessed sin is a cancer on the soul. As David writes, it
doesn’t just affect us spiritually, but it also takes a toll emotionally and
physically.
The deception of sin is that it allows us to believe that we
have control over it, when sin actually has control over us. Sin causes us to
think, “I can stop any time I want to.” But, here’s the deal: if you could
stop, then why haven’t you stopped? If you don’t believe me, then I would
challenge you today, to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps and quit. Cold
turkey. If you think you are in control, then you can quit today and never go
back to it. Let me know how it goes for you. Let me know when you need to quit
again.
I’m not saying these things because I am better than you. I
am saying these things because I am you. I’m just as fallen and as prone to sin
as the next guy. I’m just as easily deceived into depending on myself until the
next crisis arises. So, I suppose that I am just as prideful and stupid as
anyone else.
The power of sin lies in our secrets. My friend, Paul, says “I’m
only as sick as my secrets.” We worry about our loss of reputation or
embarrassment if someone found out what we were up to. We can’t believe that we
let ourselves become trapped by sin, yet part of us doesn’t want to get away
from it. The result isn’t life and peace, but guilt and shame.
Here’s the deal: if you were truly in control of your sin
and could quit, then you would have quit already. You can’t. If you are trapped
by over-working, online relationships, smoking, mindless web surfing, endless television
watching, pornography, over-eating, over-exercising or over-anything else, you
need the help of other believers to escape this trap. If you are trapped, that
thought is terrifying.
Why can’t I just confess this to God? Why do I need to
involve anyone else? Because you’ve already confessed this to God, and you’re
right back in it. James writes, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed” (James 5:16). We need the
accountability from someone who loves us, but is not impressed with us. This
isn’t a person who keeps a “record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:5), but someone
who encourages us so that we don’t give up. Paul writes, “And we urge you,
brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be
patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
The blessing of confessing our sins is found in the
beginning of this Psalm:
Blessed is he
whose
transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are
covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the
LORD does not count against him
and in whose
spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1-2)
My hope and prayer for you today is that you will find the
blessing of forgiveness and freedom through your confession, true fellowship
and God’s power.
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