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Jenily |
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December 06, 2007 at 10:59am |
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Thanks! During this week i have been studing about forgiveness and relationships, and I like when to say that we used to compare ourselves with other. This is a tipical mistake, we have to measure with Jesus, then we realize it we came short!
thanks brother |
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JessIAm |
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December 06, 2007 at 11:14am |
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I think 12 step and other recovery groups have got a good handle on this. They have something called "share groups", where everyone who wants to gets 3-5 uninterrupted minutes to share whatever they want. The only expectation is that people be honest. Notice it doesn't say:
confess your sins to one another and judge one another over them
confess your sins to one another and fix each other
confess your sins (but only the ones other people find socially acceptable) to one another ... |
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| Great blog, We all need to confess our sins that way we stay close to our Heavenly Father. God Bless, Doyle Crowe. |
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| When my friends confess to me or to our group, my heart goes out to them and I want to do whatever I can to build them up and help them know they are loved and accepted - particularly b/c of their clear choice to embrace God no matter the cost. Hmmm, confessing to one another is hard! ~mike |
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JessIAm |
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December 06, 2007 at 11:30am |
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| I've noticed that when I confess my sins to people I trust, my shame goes away. |
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LorenDP |
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December 06, 2007 at 12:22pm |
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That's the key JessIAM! Right there! It frees us of the burden of hidden guilt. It frees us from the binds that Satan puts on us when we hide our sin. Unrepentant, unconfessed sin does nothing but hurt us. I like the other points you made above too.
Great thoughts from everyone. |
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| Thanks Loren! May I ask when the last time you confessed a humiliating sin to Christian brother(s)? |
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Confession takes away the burden of shame or guilt for me. I don't have to lug that excess baggage around and it makes me a better person. Sometimes it is painful, but out of that pain comes growth and maturity....
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LorenDP |
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December 06, 2007 at 1:52pm |
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| Mike - good question. I'm a rookie at this to be honest. It's only something that God has revealed to me within the last few years. The environment that I grew up in taught that your sin was between you and God only. There was never any discussion of accountability partners, or just even sharing faults with other Christian brothers and sisters. I can honestly say that I've found this to be a good tool in my marriage. It's been difficult though. Pride is a big thing when it comes to confessing your faults. Along with the confession also should come the realization of what damage your sin might have done to another person. I know that the times that I've been honest about my faults with someone else that God has blessed that situation. It requires much prayer before entering the situation. Prayer that the right words would be said, in the right tone, with the right effect. And always for the purpose of bringing honor and glory to God. If we approach it in this spirit....I feel pretty confident that God will bless us. |
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| Thank you again Loren. I appreciate your willingness to share your experience. ~mike |
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Gene |
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December 06, 2007 at 3:55pm |
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Loren,
I think you're right on the mark with this one. God knows what we've done and what we've been thinking. If we can act that way among one another, and be comfortable with that, I think we're on the way to imagining what heaven will be like - open and free exchange between people.
Thanks for the insight. |
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JessIAm |
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December 06, 2007 at 5:01pm |
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I'd agree with you TG, if the verse limited the sins to confess. If it said "Confess your sins against your brother to your brother..." or something like that. It says "Confess your faults to one another..." without limits. Imagine what life would be like if I didn't have to carry around shame and guilt for sins Christ has forgiven me for. By God's grace, I don't have to imagine that. By doing what this verse says, I'm living it. James 5:16 (Amplified)
Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. |
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| Good discussion! I have heard testimony of people with arthritis healed after confessing bitterness against some third party. So even though I agree with TG and Jess that it is good to confess specifically to the one you faulted, confessing to a faithful friend about a third party is healthy and powerful as well. Do the Catholics have part of this one right? |
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Gene |
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December 15, 2007 at 7:00am |
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I'll disagree .... slightly.
The Catholics have this right to the extent that they at least acknowledge confession and a possibility of fault within one's self. There are many, many places around the country where the very concept of confession "is just between you and God." Wrong! As you point out Dennis, that's repentance - not confession.
The unfortunate thing is that with many institutions, anything that becomes institutionalized tends to become a set of rules rather than admonishment to "do the Gospel." Hence confession became legalized sin.
The benefits of cenfession is that it allows us to begin living an open life. In heaven there will be no secrets. The closer we can emulate that attitude now, the better we'll be as a Church. |
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JessIAm |
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December 15, 2007 at 12:25pm |
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Jess...confession does not make us righteous
I don't see where I said confession made anyone righteous. From James 5:16, it talks about healing, not righteousness. Just because someone is righteous and forgiven in Jesus doesn't mean their healed in body or soul.
I think the Catholics have it wrong by making confession anonymous. When I confessed my sins to my sponsor, his acceptance of me helped me see how God accepts me in Jesus regardless of my past. BTW, the sins I confessed to my sponsor was my list of all my resentments, dishonesty, fears, selfishness, and shames. The list covered everything I could remember, throughout my life. When I confessed it all to my sponsor, I was able to start accepting God's grace. The funny this is my behavior changed after I confessed. No amount of effort on my part changed my behavior before I confessed. By confessing my sins to my sponsor, I was healed in my soul. The healing in my soul (which is a process, but it started with confession), lead to more righteous living. |
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