The Way of Jesus:
Forgiveness and Confession

Forgiveness is about our freedom. Without Jesus, every human is yoked with the weight and consequences of his or her own sin. Without Jesus, every human is a slave to sin and death.

But through Jesus we are freed from the guilt of sin, freed from the power of sin and the weight of its shame, and freed from the fear of death. In place of death, shame, and penalty, we receive life, mercy, love and a freedom to be in right relationship with God.

“For [Jesus] has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins” (Colossians 1:13-14 NLT).

“He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is his love to those who fear him. And as far as sunrise is from sunset, he has separated us from our sins.” (Psalm 103:10-14 MSG).

As followers of Jesus, we have this beautiful promise! What a truly precious gift!

Amazing as forgiveness is, God’s plan is more than just about the forgiveness of sins. We’ve said before that God’s plan is the redemption and renewal of all things. A huge part of that renewing work takes place in our hearts. The prophet Ezekiel wrote these words from the Lord: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you” (Ezekiel 36:26). God is committed to changing us so that we can live more like him in this world.

Confession is a part of that renewing process because confession is not just about guilt removal and making us feel better—although that does happen. It’s also about life change and setting things right. Confession is one way we participate with God in his redeeming work.

Guilt is certainly something we’ve all felt. Along with the shame, insecurity, self-disgust, and regret. In one of his psalms, David declares,

“My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins… I am exhausted and completely crushed” (Psalm 38:4-5, 8 NLT).

David intimately understood that the shame and guilt of sin crush us. Our enemy wants us to think that denial, keeping things hidden, or minimizing are our best strategies. But these only lead us further from God and from healthy relationships with others. Confession breaks the power of guilt and shame in our lives and helps us live free and honest with Jesus and with each other. It gives us a chance to mend what is broken in our relationships.

Confession is a gift from God which allows us to participate in the renewing process, to usher in freedom for ourselves and others, to make amends, and to restore joy.

You may have heard someone define confession as agreeing with God about the truth of your sin. That’s a good definition. It’s a verbal expression of our sin and our sorrow over that sin. It’s acknowledging that we’ve messed up and that we need Jesus to make it right because we can’t on our own. In fact, knowing that we are forgiven through Jesus, should drive our desire to confess because we can be confident in Jesus’ work on the cross!

As we consider what confession should look like in our lives, here’s a couple points to reflect on. First, we shouldn’t be confessing only to God. If we’ve wronged someone else, part of making it right is admitting our wrong to that person. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to each other. And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his followers to reconcile with any person they’ve wronged.

Second, our work is not done with confession. Confession is agreeing with God about our sin.

But more than just agreeing with God, we need to be committed to the change that confession is meant to draw us toward.

The Bible uses the word repentance as part of the process of confession. Repentance means we feel sorrow about our sin because of how it hurt God and other people. It means we are ready to turn our back on that sin and go in a new direction. This is how we participate with God’s renewing work in our own hearts.

Sometimes this means making amends with another person. Making amends is more than saying you are sorry—it’s taking steps to correct a situation and act different moving forward. Remember Zacchaeus? He put this principle into practice when he promised, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount’” (Luke 19:8).

Finally, confession should be a habit in our lives. You may recall from the chapter on prayer, we introduced you to a practice called the Daily Examen. In this prayer practice, one of the habits built into it is time spent facing your shortcomings, your sins, and talking to God about them. Whether you choose to use the Daily Examen or not, confession should be a habit in the life of a Jesus follower. This helps keep our hearts soft and in tune with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Action Step

Go back and check out the Daily Examen again. Spend time each day this week asking Jesus to reveal anything you need to confess. As you think of things, write them down in your journal. Be attuned to any person God lays on your heart that you may need to make amends to.

(You can find an explanation of the Daily Examen in chapter 1, section 3. You can find a guided audio clip of the Daily Examen in the resource section of Disciple Path at providencechurch.net/disciplepathchapters.)

Daily Scripture

Read the daily Scripture passage and journal your responses.

Luke 16 | Luke 17 | Luke 18 | Luke 19 | Luke 20

What to do when you meet
with your group:

Begin with a short prayer.

Ask God to open your eyes to his perspective on things. Take turns each week.

Questions.

Begin by discussing how you are loving others.

What opportunities has God given you to love other people through serving, speaking truth in love, or pointing them towards Christ since we last met? How did you respond?

Talk about what God has been stirring in you through your time in the Word.

Share about one of your quiet times in the Bible.

Practice mutual confession.

Questions about section 1.

Have you experienced the difference between confession with and without repentance? What impact does repentance make?

Is confession a regular part of your prayer rhythm right now? If not, why is that?

End your time by praying for each other.

Pray over each other as you practice mutual confession. Pray that you would be humble and vulnerable together. Rejoice in God’s unfailing mercy!