Lesson 8  March 28, 2004

The Objects, the Core Issues of Confession

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, Israel’s behavior in Numbers 13 and 14 is a classic illustration.

 

 

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. 3:16; Heb. 4:12);

 

(b) He uses the Holy Spirit  (John 16:8, 13;  1 Cor. 2:11-15);

 

(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. 5:11; Heb. 3:12-13);  and

 

(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?