Introductory Thought:
“1 And coming together on the Lord’s day of the Lord, break bread and give thanks, confessing beforehand your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure. 2 And everyone having a quarrel with his fellow member, do not let them gather with you until they have reconciled so that your sacrifice may not be defiled. 3 For this is what was said by the Lord: “In every place and time, offer me a pure sacrifice because I am a great king says the Lord, and my name is great among the nations.”” (Didache, 14.1)
My Response:
There are two types of Christian confession: confession of sins and also confession of faith.
Jeff B. Pool talks about confession of faith in his article The Heart of Christian Confession. He lists three major features in the fundamental experience of confession. The first is convocation. That is, God’s call to us; His declaration of love and invitation to accept it and love Him in return. The second is confirmation. That is, our acceptance of God’s love and our declaration to love Him in return. The third is communion. That is, the experience of God continually showing His love for us while we in turn show love for Him. As we live in this communion, God also wants us to act as His mouthpiece initiating the convocation to the remainder of creation.
Pool believes that all other confessions of faith must derive from this basic confession of love; otherwise it misses the essential heart of Christian confession. I agree with Pool in this regard. This confession (the mutual love between God and creation) is of utmost importance. All else is secondary.
Galatians 5:6 says “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Love is the ultimate key. The confession of mutual love between Creator and created is most important. But as the Jews got stuck up on rules such as circumcision and how Gentiles weren’t following it, many Christians of today are stuck up on theological dogmas and creeds. While those things are of some importance they are of no importance if the confession of mutual love is not underlying.
It’s likely that the doctrines of some have become so ingrained in them they cannot imagine Christianity without it. Doctrines have become a sort of law for them. For them, to achieve salvation a certain set of doctrines must be believed in. But the only thing that is truly needed for salvation is the acceptance of God’s forgiveness of one’s own sins through the blood of Jesus and the commitment to love God.
For many this might seem to simple. But as Romans 10:3 says, “For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law.” In a way the Gospel is very simple. Some cannot understand it and thus stick to their works based faith and keep themselves from the freedom found in God’s grace.
We live in communion with God. But God desires for all to receive His love so He has commissioned us to go out and to share His love with all people so that they might love Him as well. We show our love for God in loving others as He would. This includes confessing (or proclaiming) our beliefs to each other as well as confessing (or admitting) our sins to each other.
Proverbs 28:13-14 says “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Blessed are those who fear to do wrong, but the stubborn are headed for serious trouble.”
Confession of sin to God is imperatively important. God knows everything so it isn’t important because it gives Him knowledge of sin. It is important because it is an act that shows yourself and God that you are sorry. That you are ashamed and regretful of what you did. Confession tells God that you know you have broken the mutual exchange of love; you have left His love and failed to love Him in return; but that you want to come back to His love and continue to love Him. Not confessing is hypocrisy. It is living in sin while claiming to still be in the mutual exchange of love with God. You are only fooling yourself and serious trouble is coming!
Confession of sins to fellow believers is also important. For one it is a tangible representation of confessing to God. Second, it takes humility to approach someone and share your failure while confessing to God can often seem “easy” because God is not often tangible to us. Third, confessing to people builds intimacy with that person which is what God wants for us in community. Fourth, confession to people can be a helpful way to overcome sin through accountability with that person.
In my past, confessions of sin to God have always been “easy” in a way. I’ve always known God loves me and offers unending grace, mercy, and forgiveness so I’ve found it too easy to approach him. Also the fact that He is not tangibly with me when I confess always made it easy for me. My shame would be so great if He was tangibly present with me. For that reason I’ve always found confession to other believers so very difficult. My shame was always great and I did not want to appear as I truly was when everyone saw me as the perfect child. But as I learned to confess to fellow believers I unlocked a new help in overcoming sin through accountability. And I also realized that people loved me even more when I opened up to them about my struggles.
Confession of sins to my teammates is going to be just as important here on the Race as it always has been in the past. I cannot let my pride keep me from confessing. It hinders my spiritual growth and also my intimacy with my community. And as James 4:16 says healing comes with confession. I must not let my spirit grow dark and wounded with sin. I must confess and find healing.
Regarding confessions of faith, the whole purpose of my being here on the World Race is to confess my faith. But how can I do that if I am uncertain of what I believe? Living among so many different people with all of their differing theological beliefs and backgrounds stirs up thoughts about what I believe. But as I share the Gospel with people around the world it is imperative to figure out what is most important; what is essential to the Gospel and what isn’t.
What Pool talks about regarding the three major features in the fundamental experience of confession rings true in my heart and always has, even if I couldn’t put words to it before. First, God has called and is calling us to Himself in love. Second, we must accept His call and love Him in return. Third, we experience the mutual love in communion with God throughout life. That is what is most important and what I should spend all my effort trying to share to people around the world. Extra theological details are of little importance in comparison and can wait. God loves us; that is so amazing and must be shared!
This will be important to remember as I go throughout the world talking to people about God and Christianity. And this is going to have a great impact on my own relationship with God. It will cause me to focus more and more on God’s love and my communion with Him. And as I focus on it more and more I will experience God’s love more and more. As I get caught up in worldly things and fleshy sins I will fall more and more in love with God as I continue to confess to Him and return to His ever faithful arms.
