Cooperate Confession

The Bible clearly states that we should confess our sins to others. It; however, does not state this will be an easy task. I myself struggle to confess sins for a variety of reasons. Below are the three main reasons I love to hide my sin.

1. Too Personal: Often we think that our business is our business. We conclude our sins are too personal to share with fellow believers. However, this thought is contrary to the Word of God. We are in a fellowship of believers, and we are to be honest and open in this community. This confession is not only for our accountability partner. We should be willing to confess our sins to everyone in the church community.

2. Shame: When we confess our ugly sins to people, we will most undoubtedly be intimidated by the possibility of shame. We fear the judgements of others will intensify the shame we already feel. This is not true. Hiding sin in the darkness causes us to feel deeper pain and shame. We are cut off from our friends and support because we fear honesty. When we confess our sins, we experience release and forgiveness. People may judge you and ostracize you. Still, if God wants us to confess our sins, it is for our good. Those who abandon you are not truly your friends. Remember, the Apostle Paul confessed that he was the chief of sinners. Paul knew the power of the truth, even if that truth wasn't pretty.

3. Reputation: This barrier to confession is most prevalent among leaders in the church. Which is unacceptable because leaders should be more transparent than anyone. If you commit a sin, and confess this sin you may: loose your job, loose financial support, loose friends, among other things. There are consequences to sin. If you hide your sin, you may think you will retain your position and power. Eventually, the sin will catch up with you. David made numerous attempts to cover his sin; nevertheless, God was not fooled. Nathan exposed David's sin. If we don't confess our sins, Jesus will still bring them to the light.

It is necessary for me to learn the art of confession because hiding sin exposes a dark flaw. If we hide our sin, we deny the power of Jesus's forgiveness and blood. When we cover up our failings, we are merely trying to impress temporal man and feed our selfishness. Even though I can preach it, I rarely live up to it. Lord help us.