A Study of
Confession of Sin
I. All New Testament passages about "Confessing Sins"
Matt 3:6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (KJV)
Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. (KJV)
Acts 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. (KJV)
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (KJV)
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV)
II. Questions to Discuss:
A. What is "confession"?
1. To make known
2. To profess or acknowledge
3. To speak the same thing, to assent, accord, agree with
"To confess a thing is to make it known....We are to confess our faults and turn from them, make them known and indicate our willingness and purpose to quit them. Now, when a sin is well known, the thing is not to make it known, but to indicate or make known our purpose to quit the wrong." Lipscomb, p. 136
B. Who should confess sins?
1. The lost
2. The saved
3. The penitent
C. To whom should these sins be confessed?
1. To the elders or preacher
2. "One to another"
3. To God
4. To the assembled church
5. To those affected or hurt by the sin
"The foregoing considerations make it obvious that our responsibility in such matters involves only those sins which are open and public, before all....Sins known only to God should be confessed only to God; sins known to one or a few, should be confessed only to the one or the few, as the case may be; public sin, sin known to all, should be confessed publicly and before the church. It is a practical rule, clearly grounded in the premises above that the confession should be a public as the sin - but not more so." Woods, p. 212
"I know of no verse of scripture which tells us how private or public our confession of sins must be. And since there is no such instruction, we must be slow to make a law and bind our law upon others. Matthew 18:15-17 does teach us that we must confess our sins to the one against whom we have sinned." Lanier, p. 88
D. When should they be confessed?
1. When made aware of them
2. When repentance moves them
3. When the church is assembled together
"James 5:16, cannot properly be cited to sustain this hurtful and absurd practice of maintaining a "church of Christ confessional; if this teaches that one is to confess to the preacher who makes the appeal, it teaches that the preacher must immediately confess his sins to the confessee! The sins contemplated are those of the confessors and confessees." Woods, p. 213
E. What should be confessed? How specific should that sin be confessed?
Which of these is a proper confession of sins?
1. "I am penitent of my sins."
2. "I have stolen things."
3. "I robbed a bank."
4. "On July 32, 1991 I held up the Third National Bank with a .22 pistol. I got away with $5,607."
There is a difference in personal and public sins.
Christians kill their wounded! See separate study on this topic at We Kill our Wounded.
"One reason brethren hesitate to confess their faults one to another is that we do not know whom we can trust to keep our secrets. If we bare our life to one man today, we may hear the story of our life from a dozen people tomorrow....If we were more trustworthy and more interested in each other's welfare, we likely would share our weaknesses and our prayers with each other more than we do now." Lanier, p. 89
"When a sin is known, the sin is not the thing to be confessed, but the repentance of that sin is the thing needed to be confessed or make known." Lipscomb, p. 137
F. Why should sins be confessed?
1. To let others know of my repentance.
2. To remove any hurt that it may have caused others.
3. To seek their prayers for forgiveness.
4. To seek their prayers to overcome the temptation.
NOTE: The purpose of confession is NOT to inform everyone of the particulars of the sin. The purpose is to let others know that you are sorry for the sin and are making changes in your life.
"The scriptures clearly teach that every known sin, of what ever nature, must be confessed to God. Any sin, every sin, unrepented of, establishes a barrier between God and the individual rendering fellowship impossible." Woods, p. 211
"He who truly repents will be desirous for all who know of his lapse into sin to be informed of his penitence, but he will shrink from any effort to publicize weaknesses which would not otherwise be known and whose circulation would only reflect further upon the cause of Christ." Woods, p. 213
"James 5:16 does teach us to confess our faults to one another. However, this verse does not govern our actions with reference to one against whom we have sinned. This verse simply teaches us to confess our faults in order to secure the assistance of others in overcoming our faults." Lanier, p. 88
"Now, when a sin is well known, the thing is not to make it known, but to indicate or make known our purpose to quit the wrong." Lipscomb, p. 136
"When a sin is known, the sin is not the thing to be confessed, but the repentance of that sin is the thing needed to be confessed or make known." Lipscomb, p. 137
Quotes are from
Lanier, Roy H., Sr., 20 Years of the Problem Page.
Lipscomb, David, and Sewell, E. G., Questions Answered.
Woods, Guy N., Questions and Answers: Open Forum.