I’ve learned that bringing sin out of the darkness through confession is one step toward living in victory over the enemy. I’m also realizing that I too often take confession lightly. Maybe one of these quotes I’ve recently encountered will help you think about this important step in our Christian walk. I’ve highlighted the words that most caught my attention:
“Let me speak especially to you who desire to find peace with God and salvation through the precious blood: you will do well to make your confession before God very frank, very sincere, very explicit. Surely you have nothing to hide, for there is nothing that you can hide. He knows your guilt already, but He would have you know it; therefore, He bids you to confess it. Go into the details of your sin in your secret acknowledgments before God. Strip yourself of all excuses; make no apologies.”
Charles H. Spurgeon, Power in Prayer (p. 65). Whitaker House. Kindle Edition.
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“God has promised that ‘if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). But that does not mean that confession is a light and easy thing, a simple mouthing of words, a verbal ritual. Mere admission is not confession. We dishonor Christ by a frivolous view of confession that fails to appreciate how much our sin cost Him. Although not a spiritual self-flagellation, biblical confession does involve at least some degree of grief for the sin committed.”
Donald S. Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life (p. 205). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
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“. . . we must confess our specific sins. I would suggest making a list of our sins, for the act of writing them out helps materialize this personal reality for us. C. S. Lewis said, ‘We must lay before him what is in us, not what ought to be within us.’ This done, we should confess each sin by its ugly name, and then thank God for His forgiveness through the blood of His Son.”
R. Kent Hughes, Disciplines of a Godly Man (Wheaton: Crossway, 2019), 113.