I wanted to add a bit from my post last Monday about having openness. I read a verse the other day which reminded me that first and foremost, our openness should come between us and God. Hebrews 4:13 says “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
It’s easy to cover up ourselves to others. My church calls this putting on masks….hiding our true selves because we are afraid of what others will see. But, as the verse above eludes to, we cannot do this sort of hiding from God. “For a man’s ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths” (Proverbs 5:21). “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
It is my tendency to hide from God. It’s scary to approach an almighty, holy, perfect, God with my imperfect, sinful, self. But, this is what God desires. God knows the secrets of our hearts already (Psalm 44:21). God’s desire is for us to humble ourselves before him and acknowledge the condition of our hearts. To own up to our motives. To uncover our inner thoughts. To be honest with him. To let our life be an open book before Him. To confess where we have messed up. God reassures us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Once we confess, we find ourselves not in place of guilt or shame, but in a place of grace and mercy.
On the contrary, when we carry our sins around we feel heavy and burdened. We cover up our tracks. We keep quiet. We hide. We give birth to pride. We are held captive by our own sins. The Bible often refers to this as living in darkness. If we choose to hide there are consequences. One of them is that our closeness with God suffers (Isaiah 59:2). And yet, even with the best of attempts, it is impossible to hide from God. “He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts” (1 Corinthians 4:5)
It’s good to remind myself that it is not just the act of confessing that God is interested in. Afterwards should come repentance. A change of heart. Not just going through the motions – not just confessing sin yet intending to do it again later. But, a change of ways.
I also found some good notes in my Life Application Bible that share why confession is still important for believers to take part in, even though our past, present & future sins have already been wiped out by believing in Jesus. They say: If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death, why must we confess our sins? In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are 1) agreeing with God that our sin truly is sin and we are willing to turn from it, 2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from him and consequently from ourselves, and 3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
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