4. The practice of confession

Spiritual priorities

24 July 2011

Psalm 51:1-12

Many Protestant or evangelical Christians have a jaundiced view of confession. This is often reinforced by stories which tell of inveterate drunks, wife-beaters and people of dubious moral propriety who live as they please, go to a formal confession and then start the cycle all over again.

The sketches of the Irish comedian, Dave Allen, did not help. He often cast priests who listened to confession in a less than complimentary light. It would be understandable if we said, ‘How does any of this charade relate to real Christianity?’

However, as we come to the fourth in a series of Spiritual Priorities, I turn to the theme of Confession. I see it as one of those aspects of personal devotion which can help to give stability and purpose to our lives.

In his Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster helps us to understand some of the history of confession. He reminds us that in the early centuries of the Christian era, forgiveness and reconciliation involved a lengthy process of healing by which the offender was restored to health in the total Christian community.

We are reminded that the early Middle Ages saw confession turned into what might be viewed as a private sacrament. Following the Reformation, Protestants in reaction saw it more as an exclusive matter between an individual and God. Bearing some of this history in mind, we need to restate that this was not how it was in the early days of the Christian community.

In the beginning, confession was not the privatised event it is today; in fact, in Matthew 18, Jesus expressed the essential communal nature of confession and how forgiveness can come into a community and prevent destruction. It is God who does the forgiving, but often he chooses human beings as the channel of his forgiving grace.

The very language of confession feels archaic and out of touch with the way we want to deal with this important subject.

Foster recognises that forgiveness and confession are closely related. He contends that four things are often mistaken for forgiveness:-

Some imagine that forgiveness means pretending that an injury did not hurt. That is not forgiveness; it is lying. What we need is reconciliation … not avoidance.
Some think forgiveness means ceasing to hurt. We may hurt for a very long time and forgiveness does not mean we will stop hurting.
Some believe that forgiveness means forgetting … so we often say ‘forgive and forget’. Whilst it is true that as the memory fades, vindictiveness can leave a person, the attempt to force people to forget confuses the meaning of forgiveness.
Some suggest that forgiveness means pretending the relationship remains the same. This will never happen. In fact, it can improve … but to argue it remains the same is less than honest.

In the light of this deeper understanding of forgiveness, we begin to see how confession can become a place where a real and lasting wholeness is discovered.

We have glamorised success and struggle to find ways of dealing with failure. Some game shows developed for television are painful to watch. They build up the tension of the audience to such a crescendo when the contestant loses everything they have won – or just misses the car that one more question would have secured.

It is only as we come to terms with our Christian faith as embracing life’s experience in its fullness, including failure, that we will fully grasp the purpose of Jesus’ ministry amongst us. Confession makes us real about our failure to live as God would have us live.

Alan Palmer, in his study of the Psalms, is right to point out that it is sometimes difficult to find the historical setting for particular psalms. When we turn to Psalm 51, there is no such difficulty.

The psalm describes a sordid background and David’s full involvement is there for all to see. In understanding what it has to say, we must familiarise ourselves with 2 Samuel 11 in our Old Testament. It is a salutary reminder that our Bible presents us with a reliable picture of human nature.

In the Acts of the Apostles, David was described as a person ‘after God’s own heart’ (Acts 13:22), yet he committed a series of terrible acts. It will not do for us to try to explain them away as spontaneous, because they involved David’s full collusion.

David entered into an improper relationship with Bathsheba and, so that he could maintain that relationship, he eventually put Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, into a position where he would be killed in the line of duty.

To cut a long story short, David might have thought that all this would go away, but in due course he is brought to a place where he feels real sorrow for his sin. When we read Psalm 51, we capture a true spirit of remorse … for his sin does not only affect him, but also many who appear to be totally uninvolved (2 Samuel 12:13-20).

Psalm 51 is the fullest expression in the Bible of the acknowledgement of sin and is one of the ‘penitential psalms’ of which there are seven (Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 103 and 143). They have been used in public worship in the Judaeo-Christian tradition for close to three thousand years.

In this psalm, David cries to God for mercy. His willingness to confess his sins tells us as much about his understanding of God as it does about the recognition of his own sin.

Here at Wesley Mission, we seek to help people who have either been hurt by others or damaged as a consequence of their own actions. Every day we see many people whose self-esteem or sense of worth has been hugely damaged by actions that are less than good. When we are advocating for people, we remind the community of our sense of responsibility to care for those around us. However, we are also reminded that our Christian faith has a great deal to say about the new beginning that comes through repentance, confession and forgiveness.

The importance of confession is underlined by the fact that Jesus himself taught us to do it, when he gave us the model of prayer which we know as the Lord’s Prayer.

The Bible is more than a stark diagnosis of what is wrong, however terrible our sins might be; it goes on to explain that forgiveness can be obtained through what Christ has done for us – and this could be said to be the heart of the good news for everyone.

My thinking about confession is separated from the understanding of confession as a sacrament, exercised in the presence of a priest – and yet I acknowledge the importance of confession as a part of repentance – our turning back to God.

Another striking Old Testament example of the place of confession comes from the Book of Hosea, where this theme of repentance and confession is a major part of the prophet’s message. We read:

Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
‘Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.’
(Hosea 14:1-2)

Similarly, we read the Apostle John instructing an early congregation, ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’ (1 John 1:9)

The teaching of Jesus has a number of clear links when we examine the parables, for example:-

The Lost Sons – ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son …’ (Luke 15:17-21)
The Tax Collector at Prayer – ‘God have mercy on me, a sinner.’ (Luke 18:9-14)

These references to confession are personal, but the importance of corporate confession is seen in the ministry of John the Baptist. He not only exhorted the Judean crowds, but called everyone to repentance.

Let us look together at Psalm 51 and take its practical, devotional message as central to our understanding of confession:-

A broken heart – v.v. 1-2

David approaches God on the basis of mercy and unfailing love (v.1). These words would be written some time after the cause of his contrition … and it is not unreasonable to conclude that he wrote from a place of power as a king. The concept of grace here infers the attitude of a superior in relation to an inferior – and Norman Snaith concludes ‘this carries the idea of unmerited favour’.

As I refer to ‘a broken heart’ it is hard to put into words, but I am conscious that there will be many who can relate to this. More often than not we think of it in terms of a broken relationship. Here David’s actions have destroyed relationships and he was a broken man.

He asks God to ‘blot out his transgressions’. This picture suggests a separation from God and hence a broken heart. The idea of ‘washing’ and ‘cleansing’ reinforces this.

When was it broken?

His life was damaged because of what he himself had done, but it was only as he began to recognise the implications that the heart would feel broken.

When Jesus talked about the gift of the Holy Spirit, he reminded us that ‘When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.’ (John 16:8)

Bishop J C Ryle spoke of the seriousness of sin and how we may be unaware of its depth: ‘The very animals whose smell is most offensive to us have no idea that they are offensive, and are not offensive to one another. And man, fallen man, has no idea what a vile thing sin is in the sight of God.’

What brought it about?

Clearly, David’s actions were the contributory factor to how he now felt as he approached God. When we consider what David did, there is a danger of somehow putting his actions outside of the arena of our own lives.

It was Jeremy Taylor who reminded people that ‘No sin is small. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch.’

Even the great prophet Isaiah, when receiving his call to the prophetic ministry, declared: ‘Woe to me! I am ruined. For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips …’ (Isaiah 6:5)

As the prophet approached God, he became aware of his own helplessness and the need to be empowered for the task that lay ahead.

A bruised spirit – v.v. 3-6

One of the most striking verses in this psalm comes when David says, ‘For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.’ (v.3)

The hurt which can last

The fact that the psalmist talks of his sin ever being before him bears out the fact that hurt can last. What seems to be suggested here is a continual awareness of sin … and also, as one commentator wrote, ‘an ever present tension which is the source of fear and shame, hope and despair.’

It was Nathan the prophet who brought David to his senses by telling him a story – what might be considered an Old Testament parable (2 Samuel 12:1-15). It was a simple story of a powerful farmer taking advantage of a powerless stallholder. The rich man took the small sheep which meant so much to the poor man. This was grossly unfair and David realised this. David’s response was that the rich man should suffer for such unkind actions.

Alan Palmer contends that ‘David’s reaction is surely a sign of a tender conscience. Like the rich farmer, he had taken advantage of a person who was unable to defend himself.’ Nathan declares that David is that person.

The healing which brings renewal

The road to recovery is one of healing. The recognition that his actions have been against God opens up deep pain and the need to confess, but also an understanding that God is a God of forgiveness.

Here in Sydney, we have recently been visited by Lady Gaga and, for a few brief days, she provided our media with much material not only by what she said, but also by her outlandish costumes. Many who walk the red carpet in the full gaze of the media spend thousands of dollars upon the finest clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics and (perhaps even more disturbing) plastic surgery. All of this speaks of public image and outward expression.

When God brings healing in response to David’s confession, it reaches into the very deep places of his life.

A restored joy – v.v. 7-12

David says, ‘Cleanse me with hyssop …’ (v.7). This is akin to the cleansing of a leper, which tells us something of how David felt about himself.

The confession of David clears the way for his renewal and restoration, which brings joy and is:-

A gift of God

God’s forgiveness is a gift that is:-

Free – when received.
Yet it is costly – 1 Peter 1:9.
It impacts upon how we see the world.
It allows us to put the past behind us.

David comes to a point where he asks God to bring something totally new into his life: ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ (v.10)

The concept of creation is helpful, because it is the same word that is used in the opening words of the Bible – for God creates out of nothing.

A grace which transforms

As David comes to God and confesses his sin, his dormant conscience is aroused and his life is transformed – and, in every sense, he will become the great singer of Israel. His words have inspired generations of people in their worship of God – and it all begins as he confesses his sin.

In his monumental The Treasury of David, C H Spurgeon comments: ‘He appeals at once to the mercy of God, even before he mentions his sin. The sight of mercy is good for eyes that are sore with penitential weeping.’

Restoration can bring a whole new beginning. Just think of Peter and his encounter with Jesus on the beach after the resurrection. John 21 tells us how Peter was not only to deal with his past, but also to find a new ministry.

Chuck Colson, the former White House aide to President Nixon, spoke on television in 1985 and said that it was through the failures of the Watergate scandal and his own imprisonment that he began to experience God’s presence and love in his life. His time in gaol led him to reflect upon how his seeming self-sufficiency had in fact been his undoing. It was from this beginning that he gained a new perspective on life.

When we begin to understand the power of confession, we see it not as a negative aspect of our prayers, but a vital spiritual priority which helps us to turn failure into the opportunity of salvation.

Often we are so busy trying to be a success for God that we forget that it is through the doorway of God’s grace that we find the way of living life to the full.

C S Lewis wrote in relation to the deep searching of the human heart, ‘For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me; a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.’

Confession may well be a word or an idea from which we recoil, but it is the beginning and the sustaining of a healthy Christian life for each one of us.

Christian Life