As Christians, we’re called to confession and repentance. To keep short accounts with God. After all, if we say we have no sin, we’re kidding ourselves. But if we confess our sins, He forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8–9).
So often, I treat confession like I’m just flying through the drive-thru window at a fast-food stop. Throw a few things at the order taker, grab the forgiveness, and drive on. “Hey, I don’t have a lot of time, and I’ve got to get to the meat of my prayer time—the asking!”
But what if I stopped? What if I lingered? What if I took confession seriously, like God does?
This isn’t about guilt or shame. God doesn’t have any condemnation—none—for those who are in (believe in, abide in) His Son, Jesus (Rom. 8:1). The Son has set us free, and we’re free indeed (John 8:36).
Our drive-thru confessions show just how cheaply we take the sacrifice of Jesus. We’re forgiven and free, but does that give us a license to sin?
That’s not what Paul says: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Rom. 6:1–2).
Dr. Gregory R. Frizzell has written a book that can help us go deeper in confession—Returning to Holiness: A Personal and Churchwide Journey to Revival. Regarding the importance of personal confession, he says:
. . . growing numbers are realizing that profound cleansing and holiness are not the foreboding terms of legalism, but the essential language of a love relationship with Holy God (1 John 3:3, Heb. 12:14).
In the book, he identifies seven categories of sin (knowing there is overlap):
- sins of thought
- sins of attitude
- sins of speech
- sins of relationships
- sins of commission (what we do)
- sins of omission (what we don’t do)
- sins of self-rule and self-reliance.
In each section, he asks questions that trigger confession, as the Spirit leads. Of course, the Word of God is the primary way the Spirit works in convicting us of sin. But this book lists questions that help us look carefully and completely at various categories of sin—places where we might just race right by.
Remember, the goal is conviction through the Holy Spirit. It’s not shame and blame and accusation, which comes from the enemy. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor. 7:10).
So next time you’re tempted to “grab and go” through confession, take a few extra minutes. Stop. Linger. Eat more fully from the buffet of God’s grace in the gift of confession. And be filled again.
JOAN SHERMAN is editorial assistant for Prayer Connect.
