Confession
What is confession? What does it do for us? Does it help? How? Does your church practice confession? How? I know that people confess to God, others confess to priests, others confess to other believers, is there a risk when it comes to confession? If so, what? Have you ever confessed to someone and that person betray your trust or talk behind your back? When trust has been betrayed how does that affect confession? Is it a good thing to practice confession? Why or why not? In a survival of the fittest world in which we live is confession a sign of weakness? Is that why confession isn't practiced as much or talked about as much in Churches today? Should it be talked about and practiced more? Should there be rules when confessing to clergy and other Christians. Should their be liability on the part of others who break confidentiality? Do you practice confession? What has confession done for you?
What do you think?
Share your thoughts.
posted by preacherman @ 9:13:00 AM
14 Comments:
I only confess to God. I tried confessing to other believers but they would go out and gossip about what I confessed about. Yep, so quit that real quick.
James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed." Confession should be done in a mutually accountable relationship and is the most often "missing ingredient" in spiritual formation.
I think confession is a way of living that is about being transparent to others. It is a mature Christian who can openly admit that he/she made some wrong decisions or choices, but in doing so, we are often able to use our own failures to convert them into successes by using them to help others.
The reality is that we aren't really hiding anything from God. He knows what our failures are, and therefore, admission to God is a means for us to become more aware of our own failures.
Confession to others means that we are able to be true to ourselves and we are strong enough to admit that we aren't perfect. This is a step toward humility that many people can't make. I think the opposite of confession is really pride because pride is what is keeping us from being transparent.
Confession doesn't have to take place in front of an entire congregation, but can be a conversation between friends, an admission of failure among believers during the course of a conversation.
I think confession is a maturity towards transparency that many Christians haven't achieved.
In my experience confession works best in small groups.
Confess to God, and will go all the way up to Him. Confess to others, and you´ll be on everyone´s gossip sooner than you think.
1 Jo 1:9..."if we confess...HE is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse..." Not necessarily true in our relationships to other people, but confession within a covenant relationship to other people can minimize the risks.
For me, most growth comes with pain...and that would include the pain of occasional betrayal and having to forgive.
I never confess. It is a sign of weakness.
I understand that Paul mentions confessing to one another but I think there should be established guidelines or rules of confidentiality that should be followed. The apostle Paul should have addressed this!
I was so impressed by the twelve-step groups and how therapeutic confession is in those groups that I decided that was what God meant to be done in the church. So, I tried it. Boy, did I get dirty looks and more! Maybe Twelve-Step groups have it right, but they meet knowing what's expected and the rules are reviewed before every meeting. What is said in that room does not leave that room, and everyone is encouraged and taught to listen without judgement.
Churches need rules like AA when it comes to confession. Or they need to held responsible when gossip breaks out.
If we were all (in small groups not to the church at large) to confess to one another, hold one another accountable and encourage one another in growing in Christ, then confidentiality would be less of a problem. I won't blab about your sin, and you won't blab about my sin. More authenticity is needed all round, including the leaders. Our preachers regularly include details of their sin in their sermons. That helps create the climate for disclosure and trust.
Small groups do work better.
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