I grew up in a Christian holiness evangelical tradition.  I have many things to be thankful for as a result of those formative years including:  an unswerving allegiance to the Lordship of Christ; a faith that sought to found itself on the Word of God; a willingness to ask hard questions about lifestyle in the pursuit of holiness; and a vision beyond the local to the global community.

In my thankfulness, I realize there were also some pieces missing, especially in the areas of developed spirituality.  One that I have reconnected with recently is Confession.

 

            Now I am not saying that confession was not a part of our community life.  But it was so individualized that it often remained as simply a transaction between an individual and God.  We were told to keep our accounts short with God by daily confessing sins in private prayers to the end the day.  And in church, at least once a month, we were told to examine ourselves well before taking communion.  Something is lost in confession when it is hidden under the rock of individualism. 

 

            The Bible assumes that confession will be a community discipline not just an individualistic discipline.  In the Epistle of James we are told how to prepare for healing in the church,

 

     “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each

       other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man

       is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).

 

The confessional system of some historical church traditions saw the value of confession and then the release of announced forgiveness.  I think we need more confession booths!  Why?  Because I believe that the process of bringing our sin into the light exposes it, weakens its hold on us, and allows us to hear God’s forgiveness through a human voice.  Jesus pointed to the authority that he was releasing to his followers to confer forgiveness to the repentant heart (John 20:23).

 

            So why is confession so powerful?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:

 

                   “A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no

                     longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the

                     other person.  As long as I am by myself in the confession of my sins everything

                     remains in the dark, but in the presence of a brother the sin has to be brought into

                     the light”  (Life Together, p.116).

 

I experienced this recently.  For a few months I struggled with an attitude that was new to my life and an attitude that I did not feel represented the Christ way.  So I wrestled with it.  I studied and read about it.  I confessed it privately in my quiet time.  But nothing seemed to shift in me.  Then the day came when I met with an accountability partner.  I talked with him about this attitude and how I was confused since it seemed to be a new development.  He listened and we prayed.  He did not specifically announce forgiveness over me.  But something broke that day – in my heart and in the heavenlies – and I have found that the struggle with that attitude disappeared and the Kingdom of God opposite took its place.

 

            When was the last time you had a good confession?  It frees the heart up in not carrying around unnecessary baggage.  My discipline for this week is confession – it is a path to a light heart.