Lesson 8
March 28, 2004
What we
must recognize and confess is no small subject.
Transformation
is the goal of the whole process. Actually, we will either experience
transformation [positive response] or there will be change, a negative impact
in our life if we fail to confess our sin and maintain fellowship with Christ.
We must
recognize that character cannot develop upward without working on the hidden
issues of the heart/mind through honest confession and repentance, a change of
mind about those issues.
When
we're out of fellowship and are challenged by the teaching of the Word or
through personal contacts with other believers, we will do one of two things:
we will either become like robots who are conformed at least outwardly to what
is expected because we want to be liked and accepted by the group or we will
simply rebel and go our own way.
Where does honest confession
begin?
(1) There is first of all the
problem of the big lie that man doesn’t need God and can become like god himself . Gen. 3:1-7; 2 Thes. 2:10-11
What we have got to come to grips with is that we deeply need God. We
were created in His image so that we might know Him, love Him, and serve Him
and to live out of His resources and supply.
Our
solutions to life’s problems, regardless of the form they take, stem from the
fiction that we can make life work without total dependence on God.
The
renewing of the mind includes discovering and changing those innermost belief
structures that promote self-sufficient living by our own protective
mechanisms in place of a belief structure that requires absolute dependence on
the Lord (cf. 2 Cor. 10:3-5).
True confession goes beyond the surface issues.
First, confession includes acknowledging
the presence of these self-protective ways. Paul defined these as weapons of
the flesh raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor.
10:5).
Second, biblical confession
acknowledges them as sinful and invalid in our relationship with Christ.
We may approach the need for confession either by
retreating from our problems, attempting to ignore them or by charging forward,
believing deeply in ourselves and thinking positive thoughts, “I (we) can do it.”
(2) We must understand that confession must extend below the surface to the underlying
and unseen issues of the heart.
Sin must
be seen as more than just the visible part, just as with an iceberg there is much
more than the visible part.
Recognizing
that we have chosen to handle life by our solutions identifies what must be confessed
and rejected
so we can turn in total dependence on the Lord through an upward focus.
Again,
They and far too often we also are Seeking
to live independently, failing to throw ourselves completely on the grace of
God for everything in life.
We are
rational beings created in the image of God with basic longings and an
emptiness which only God can fill.
For instance, we believe that in order to be
happy, people
must treat us the way we want to be treated.
These
strategies are often irrational and totally wrong when judged by the truth of
the Word of God, yet we tenaciously cling to them.
The
pursuit of life through our own efforts must be recognized, confessed, and
abandoned.
What
does God use to expose us to our sin?
(a) He
uses His Word (2 Tim.
(b) He uses the Holy Spirit (John 16:8, 13; 1 Cor.
(c) A conscience filled with divine viewpoint norms and standards Prov. 20:27;
(d) He uses people in the body of Christ (Gal. 6:1f; 1 Thess.
(e) He uses the trials of life (Ps. 119:67, 71; Jam. 1:2f; 1 Pet. 1:6f)
Conclusion:
Confession then, whether we have sinned
or if we have failed to apply the word known is the first step to refocusing on
the Lord to stop the downward process.
It is a
positive act of volition and faith which shows:
(a) I am
trusting God to completely forgive all the sins involved in my wrong responses
including neglect of His grace and to deal with my self-protective mechanisms
or solutions, (He does that as I grow
and mature in the faith and increasingly rely on dvpt
in my life)
(b) I am
trusting God to take control and to enable me, through the principles of the Word that we're learning, to submit my life to His purposes in the
midst of the trials or burdens He allows into my life?