In Scripture, the word confession is made up of two Greek words: homo, meaning ‘the same’, and logeo, meaning ‘to speak’. Therefore, confessing our sins to God means saying the same thing about it as He does. It means calling a spade a spade – not a gardening tool! Nowhere does the Bible refer to our sins as mistakes, bad judgements, and slips. However, it clearly says God forgives our sin: ‘I…am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins’ (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV). So let’s be clear. 1) Confessing isn’t about apologising. Saying sorry is appropriate and necessary at times. But we could never be sorry enough to deserve or earn God’s forgiveness. Confessing is agreeing with God about the nature, extent, and offensiveness of our sins. 2) Confessing isn’t about feelings. Some of us plunge into remorse, guilt, and sadness over our sins. And when those feelings lead to confession, they’re useful. But even when we don’t feel these emotions, our confession is just as genuine and effective. 3) Confessing isn’t complaining. Making a list of our sins and telling God how terrible we are is more like complaining than confessing. Coming clean with God and agreeing with His evaluation of our sins is what He wants us to do. Then, like David, we can say, ‘I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt…And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.’ So, confess your sins to God – then be confident that you’ve been forgiven!
