Confession takes a huge amount of vulnerability, which takes a great amount of trust, which ultimately is rooted in love. Being vulnerable also leads to freedom. Freedom from the pressure of hidden sins or secrets. All these things have been very evident in my spiritual life in relating to confession. I think that confession is a good thing and a necessary thing. We are commanded to approach God's presence with clean hands and pure heart, and in order to do that we must confess you sins. When we confess, God is faithful and just to forgive us. In my experience, I truly don't grasp or feel God's forgiveness until I confess what is on my heart and anything that is keeping me from him. Guilt is a signal showing us that we need to confess. I think a healthy spiritual life would consists of being sensitive to guilt and how the Holy Spirit is convicting us. Whenever you are going to approach God in prayer or through his Word, I think is important to confess the state of your soul.
Now, personal confession is a great and important thing, but in James 5 we are commanded to confess our sins to each other. This community confession can be taken in many ways, I think it is best in small groups with close brothers and sisters in Christ. I think being able to have a smaller group of people (maybe like 3-5 people) who you can be vulnerable with and confess to in order to hold you accountable is key for a healthy spiritual life. I do, however, think that corporate confession, like publically in front of the Church, is good when giving your testimony. Being able to be honest and confess where you were before Christ to show how God has changed you, I think is very important for your soul and the growth of the Church. I think that corporate confession can be easy to take and guilt inducing, but I think as a church family we should be able confess in some way before each other. In general, confession is a great way to grow in your spiritual life.
Comments