A Physical for the Christian Soul

“For him who confesses, shams are over and realities have begun; he has exteriorized his rottenness…he longer smears it over with hypocritical show of virtue – he lives at least on the basis of veracity (truth).”

 

William James

Confession is good the for soul…it takes a heavy burden off your shoulders by cleansing you and is the first step in dealing with life on life’s terms. The Bible tells us that those who conceal their sins will not prosper, but those who confess and forsake those sins will find mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

I know it’s good, but who do I confess to?

Secondly, if your sin injured someone, you need to confess to them as well. The Old Testament teaches that we must confess and restore 120% of the loss to the injured party. (Number 5:1-7) Imagine how our legal system and society would look if we practiced this one! Incidentally, it seems the Bible leans more to the restorative side of justice for the victim, rather that the penal side for the convicted.

Thirdly, it’s just good practice to confess your sins to another trusted human being. Confessing your sins will allow people you trust to be able to specifically pray for you and help you stay away from those sins. (James 5:16)

Someone needs permission to ask you the hard questions about your struggle with sin. This is one way to keep one another accountable; to move you toward Christ-like behavior; and to develop a deep bond that you can draw upon when life get choppy.

Confessing sin draws people together to create a tighter community as we restore one another, pray for another, and help one another in our walk with the Lord.