Each Friday I receive the Friday Church News Notes from Way of Life Ministries. In this blog I am sharing one of the articles from that weekly email which deals with a subject that I believe is so needed for us to observe and practice in our lives today.
(Friday Church News Notes, February 1, 2008, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from How on Earth Can I Be Spiritual by C. Sumner Wemp: "The word confess in the Greek has at least two ideas inherent in it. One means 'to agree with' God that the deed is sin and wrong. Don't quibble with God. Call it what it is. ... Then there is also the idea of naming it. It is quite easy to try to tone down confession and gloss over confronting sin by praying the vague prayer of asking God to 'forgive us of all our sins'! This is a cop-out! He says confess them (1 John 1:9). ... There remains a barrier in many hearts because they have not named their sin to God. The freedom from guilt and the liberty of true fellowship with God is lacking because some have not been sincerely honest with God and called the sin by name. ... One other course of action often needs to be taken, and that is an apology. Private sin should be kept private. ... but if a Christian offends another person through losing his temper, or is unkind in word or deed, he should go to that one and apologize. This surely is what Matthew 5:22-24 is teaching. Many never will get a clear conscience until they have personally apologized. One step further: public sin needs to be confessed publicly. If a brother has hurt the testimony of Christ and the whole church so that the community and church knows about it, he should confess before the whole church his wrong and his sorrow and apologize for it. This open apology has started many a revival."
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