A Look at Confession

"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
"When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD'; and You forgave the guilt of my sin."
-Psalm 32:1-5

I'm still trying to digest these verses... I love the imagery that is used here:
"my body wasted away" "Your hand was heavy upon me" "my vitality was drained away"...
and then...
"You forgave the guilt of my sin"

What a concept! Just as Proverbs 3:12 states, "For whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." The same is true of our God! He weighs heavily on our conscience when we are living in sin, and when we confess those sins to Him, He forgives the guilt of those sins. Christ's purpose, through His death on the cross, was to take our guilt upon Himself. He paid the price for our sins, and the weight of that guilt and shame was put upon His shoulders, so that we might not be condemned!

Let's look at an example from the life of Christ. Matthew 9:2-7 -
And they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, "Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven." And some of the scribes said to themselves, "This fellow blasphemes." And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, "Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? "Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--then He said to the paralytic, "Get up, pick up your bed and go home." And he got up and went home.

Why was it such a big deal for Jesus to tell the paralytic that his sins were forgiven? I'll tell you why... because, in Jewish culture, people who were blind, diseased, or paralyzed where seen as cursed by God. It was assumed that the paralyzed man had either sinned, himself, or that his parents had sinned and that it was the cause of his paralysis.
Do you see the guilt and shame that this would cause an individual? To have everyone condemn you because of defect? This man's whole life was most likely lived in the guilt of condemnation!
This gives all the more weight and impact to Christ's words to him! "...your sins are forgiven" He was telling this man, essentially, that He no longer needed to live under the guilt of this presumed sin.
This was the reason that Christ came, not just to remove guilt, but to change lives... from the inside out! Notice how He first heals the man of guilt and sin, and then of his paralysis... It is the same with our lives. He has already paid the penalty for our sins, now He continues to work in us, to cause our appearance to be more like Him! "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Friends, do not keep silent about the sin in your life! Confess it to God, to Him who already knows, and repent. The blood of Christ covers our sins, and remaining in Him causes us to be more like Him and to bear good fruit. There is no need to live in the guilt of hypocrisy. Sincerity is freedom! Come... sincerely and repentantly come to the One who removes the guilt and stain of sin. Then... walk in the Shadow of the Almighty! Christ has given you the way of redemption, now walk in it!

May you "get up and walk" in the understanding of salvation today! Believe, confess, and walk in Him! Don't live your life trying to hide your flaws, but rather bring them to the cross and lay them down! Abide in Christ and bear much fruit!

Grace and Peace, dear friends!


Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone!

Ahhh.... the time when everyone tries to do something different than the year before!
Sometimes we do a really good job of keeping our "resolutions" for the new year... other times.... not so much!

Well, one of my "resolutions" if you will, is to get better sleep! So, with that being said, I apologize for the shortness of this entry, but I will be back soon with more than a few things to talk about!

Grace and Peace!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .