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2 Samuel 12 ; Psalm 32 * I think I am coming to discover (in my own journey and as I hear the hearts of others) that there is a deepening hunger in me (and many others) for a new way of relating to God and to each other. * It’s a theology (understanding of God) that allows me to say such things as… “I don’t know”, or, “I’m not sure what I really think about that”, or, “I could be wrong”. * I know that disappoints some, but, for me, it lends itself to confidence (be more sure of the things I feel I do know). And, it’s not an abandonment of the pursuit to understand; it’s just that I’ve noticed that sometimes that stuff keeps me from “being with” you!
* The hunger I’m feeling (as well as others) seems to indicate the failure of my previous approaches to satisfy; that I could participate in a barrage of religious activity and have accumulated a wealth of knowledge, and still not be authentic.
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…” (Philippians 2)
* There is a part of me that so desperately wants to let you “in”; and there’s an even more powerful part of me that wants to fortify the walls and deepen the moat; to protect the last stronghold of self. I was reminded this week that it’s part of the biblical concept of “losing my life” in order to “find it”. * I am coming to discover confession as a vital part of this new way to live. It allows me to come out of hiding and “exhale”. In essence, confession is about our desire to be found; and repentance is about finding a new way to do life which helps to eliminate the obstacles in our relationship with God and others. * This spiritual friendship is characterized by a trusted friend who will “be with” you in life. If you are committed to it… “it’s going to get ugly!” It’s risky. There’s a chance your trust will be violated. It includes conflict which can only be overcome by a power which is bigger than my sin… God’s love poured into our hearts! (Romans 5:5 “God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given”). * I have also come to discover that sin is more than just a laundry list of things that makes God angry. All sin, at some level- seems to deal with the impact that it has on our relationship to God and others. * So, instead of performing this mental “Google search” for sin, we should simply ask ourselves… “What effect will this (whatever this may be) have on my relationship with God? With others?” * I also realize that my approach to confession may be a bit too pragmatic; meaning, I am aware of its value because it works. Reflections… Confession does not guarantee repentance. Having received a new “heart”, we still realize the need for a transformed soul. I need a renewed way of thinking, feeling and choosing. Proverbs 28:13 “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” [“renounce”- to leave; forsake; abandon; let go; to leave entirely (conveys a note of finality)] Confession merely discloses our guilt, but forgiveness actually removes it! Without the possibility of forgiveness and restoration, confession merely rehearses all that’s wrong with us, intensifies our guilt and reinforces our hopelessness. Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you (admitted it) 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. “guilt”- the internal conflict that we feel as a result of our sin. It’s the “residue” of our sin; the constant reminder. Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us argue this out," says the LORD. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool” (NLT). Feelings of Guilt… Guilt is both a condition and an emotion: as a condition, it’s having committed the offense--- as an emotion, it’s the inner-conflict we experience as a result of the offense. Goal? Typically, to relieve ourselves of the bad feelings! (by hiding or justifying our actions). * God gives us this gift of conscience to help us recognize right and wrong and respond in a way that is healing. - A healthy conscience responds appropriately through confession and repentance. - An unhealthy conscience ignores (or covers up the sin) and becomes increasingly indifferent; it causes your soul to become “numb” (1 Timothy 4:2) Guilt- as an emotion- can only be healed as we assimilate grace [accepting it and having it consistently reinforced by a spiritual friend] (i.e. accident when I hit the child: the police officer exonerated me of any wrong “conditionally”, but it could do nothing to eliminate the guilt I felt emotionally). The problem? We feel guilt more than we feel loving-acceptance. It’s easier for us to be identified by what’s wrong with us, rather than embracing God’s offer to make us right! It sounds too good to be true! Confession is not something we do to keep our “salvation”, it’s what we do to get back our joy! (settled-confidence) (Psalm 51:12) The wholeness that God anticipates for our lives involves body, soul and spirit. Therefore, it’s impossible to suggest that we can sin without there being significant impact on our soul (“let me hear the sounds of joy”, “restore to me the joy of your salvation”, etc.) The context of such confession appears to be “spiritual friendship”. “The Lord sent Nathan to David…” (2 Sam.12:1) Nathan He seems to have written a life of David (1 Chronicles 29:29). Maybe he could write a book about David because he could read him like a book?! * Nathan is invited, by God, to be part of the healing process for David. Sometimes God uses others to speak into our lives because he can’t get our attention! Nathan confronts the atrocity of David’s sin in a way that he knew would be most effective; he appealed to David’s sense of right and wrong. He didn’t just call him out, he helped to lead him out! (gives him permission to come out in the open). * When I confess my sin to another trusted friend who is on a similar pursuit of the God-life, I find it healing. It’s not only disarming, but invites them to come out of hiding as well. “How many of us are involved in the type of relationship which makes room for the loving correction from a godly friend?” (Do you have a friend that can “get in your space”?) Fill in the blanks: “I know _____________”. “____________ knows me”. Proverbs 27:6 “Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from the enemy”. Maybe our primary objective is not so much to avoid sin, as it is to recognize and acknowledge it. (1 John 1:8 “If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth” NLT). The gift of confession is that recognizing and confessing my sin allows me to recognize and acknowledge the God who is able to restore me. If it’s God’s kindness that leads people to repentance, it’s our kindness that leads them to God! (may sound a little or trite) It seems that we have always needed to experience tangible expressions of spiritual truths in order for them to become reality for us. Deep down- in our souls- we all long for someone with “skin” who will be exposed to the worst of who we are and still love us (who won’t run off screaming into the night!); someone who can not only point out the “badness”, but can call out the “goodness” in us. If confession to God is about being “forgiven”; confession to another is about being “healed”. I am discovering that forgiveness comes as we confess our sins to God, but healing comes as a result of confessing our sins to a trusted spiritual friend. Forgiveness is not contingent upon confessing our sins to another; but the experience of forgiveness from another allows forgiveness to become a reality to us. Are we to believe that for an entire year, David did not confess his sin to God? Or, are we to assume that healing came as a result of confessing his sin to another spiritual friend? * I believe that David confessed over and over to God, but still was unable to experience the freedom of forgiveness. Theologically, David was forgiven, but it didn’t seem “real”; he needed some temporal/tangible demonstration of a divine truth. Have you ever repeatedly confessed to God without the “experience” of forgiveness; then, confessed to someone and you say, “I feel so much better having told you”. John 17:25-26 “… that the love you have for me may be in them…” John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply (means that we cannot continue to maintain superficial relationships), because love covers over a multitude of sins”. 1 Peter 4:11 “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God”. Could it be that our confession to another is a desire to hear God say, “You’re forgiven”?! (2 Samuel 12:13 “The Lord has taken away your sin…”) Dangers in confession: If it becomes ritualistic- it becomes just another “Get Out of Jail Free” card. It allows us to boldly do what we were going to do anyway, with the assurance of forgiveness to follow. It’s “turning your nose up” at God’s kindness. If we discard it as a tired ritual- we run the risk of becoming hypocritical (hypocrisy). Because if we aren’t serious about being holy (complete), then we settle for the next best thing… “appear holy”.
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