https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/ConfessingOurFaults.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Psalm 32<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. I John 1:8-10<\/p>\n A. Forgiveness of our sins is not automatic. God has always required action on our\npart to gain His forgiveness.\n
B. In this passage we learn that God wants us to confess our faults.<\/p>\n
II. Confession has always been required by God<\/p>\n A. In the garden, God asked man where he was and who told him he was naked.-\nGenesis 3:11\n 1. It wasn’t that God did not know what had happened, but that He was\ngiving man a chance to confess his wrongs.\n B. Sometime later, when Cain killed Abel, God again asks Cain where his brother was\n– Genesis 4:8-10\n 1. Again God shows He knew what had happened, but he wanted Cain to\nadmit his error.\n C. Job’s friends thought his troubles were due to some sin that Job had hidden. They\nwere mistaken, but notice how they thought Job could regain God’s favor – Job\n33:23-30\n D. Under the Mosaic Law, confess as well as restitution was required from those who\nsinned – Numbers 5:6-7\n E. God warned of the havoc He would bring on Israel if they sinned, but He also\nwould forgive them if they confessed, humbled themselves, and made amends. –\nLeviticus 26:40-42\n
F. Before being baptized by John, people confessed their sins – Mark 1:5<\/p>\n G. As we have seen, confession of sin is still required under the Law of Christ – James\n5:14-16\n
III. Why is confession of wrong necessary?<\/p>\n
A. Those who sin, try to hide their deeds.<\/p>\n 1. I Thessalonians 5:5-7 – We are not of the night (where misdeeds are\nhidden).\n
2. Isaiah 29:15 – People think that if no one sees, then they are safe.<\/p>\n
3. But hiding our sins will not help us in the long run – Proverbs 28:13<\/p>\n
4. David prayed to be forgiven of his secret or hidden sins – Psalm 19:12<\/p>\n
B. Confessing our sins means we understand that we did evil in the sight of God<\/p>\n
1. Psalm 32:1-5 – When we acknowledge our sins, God forgives<\/p>\n a. Notice the paradox – to have our sins covered, we must first expose\nthem.\n
b. Notice too that the guilt of hidden sin will haunt a person.<\/p>\n
2. “What if someone finds out? I’ll never live it down.”<\/p>\n 3. Once we expose our errors, that fear is removed. It is still embarrassing,\nbut the stress of hiding is gone.\n
4. Only then can we heal – James 5:14-16 (read earlier)<\/p>\n
C. Confessing sins makes them “real”<\/p>\n 1. I was listening to Dr. Laura the other day and she mentioned an interesting\nfact. \n a. People call her for moral advice and typically she takes the situation\nthat is described to her and repeats it back – but in a blunt, clear\nfashion that is disrobed of all excuses.\n b. The surprising thing is that most people immediately distance\nthemselves from the very thing they just said. Why? Because\nhearing it out loud forces us to understand what we are doing. \n
c. It is easy to deceive ourselves if we don’t face what we are doing.<\/p>\n (1) The adulterer doesn’t say, “See you later hon, I’m off to\ncommit adultery.”\n (2) No, he avoids thinking about the issue, while at the same\ntime going where he should not. \n (3) Then all of a sudden, he is “surprised” to be where he\nshouldn’t be, but he soothes his conscience by saying “he\ncouldn’t help it.”\n 2. Which leads to a simple action when we are faced with a moral quandary:\nSay what you are about to do and why you are going to do it out loud.\n a. The simple action of confessing your deed and your motive forces\nyou to face reality.\n b. Even better, when we think we about being tempted, find a trusted\nfriend and say exactly what is going through your head. It makes it\nharder to pretend – Hebrews 3:12-13\n
D. Confessing our sins show we have conquered our pride<\/p>\n 1. No one is without sin, but not everyone is willing to admit their weakness –\nI John 1:8-9\n
2. God gives grace to the humble – James 4:6<\/p>\n
3. Psalm 51:17 – God wants a broken and contrite heart<\/p>\n
IV. The Scriptures are filled with examples of those who confessed their sins<\/p>\n
A. David confessed his adultery – II Samuel 12:13<\/p>\n
B. Peter, when faced with the deity of Christ, confessed his unworthiness – Luke 5:8-9<\/p>\n
C. The prodigal son – Luke 15:18<\/p>\n
D. The thief on the cross – Luke 23:39-41<\/p>\n
V. No sin remains hidden<\/p>\n
A. God sees all, so no sin can be hidden from His eyes – Psalm 139:11-12<\/p>\n
B. All we do in secret is in the open before God – Psalm 90:8<\/p>\n
C. Every hidden thing will be revealed – Luke 12:2-3<\/p>\n
D. Acknowledge your sins and return faithless sons – Jeremiah 3:13,14<\/p>\n
E. God is just waiting for us to acknowledge our guilt – Hosea 5:15-6:2<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalm 32 I. I John 1:8-10 A. Forgiveness of our sins is not automatic. God has always required action on our part to gain His forgiveness. B. In this passage we learn that God wants us to confess our faults. II. Confession has always been required by God A. In the garden, God asked…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[51,179],"class_list":["post-39827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-confession","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5001,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-have-to-do-penance\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":0},"title":"Do we have to do penance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do we have to do penance? If we sin and we ask for forgiveness is it enough or do we need someone to give us a penance? Answer: Penance is a Roman Catholic concept which is not found in the Bible. If we stayed with the actual definition of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39825,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-my-use-of-pornography-to-my-preacher\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":1},"title":"Do I need to confess my use of pornography to my preacher?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: God bless. I have been a Christian for many years, but I was addicted to porn and I committed fornication against myself (my body). I never had sex with anybody, just myself. I have repented from that sin, and I recognize my sin, so do I need to confess\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35831,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-a-person-doesnt-know-the-wrong-you-did-is-confession-required\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":2},"title":"When a person doesn’t know the wrong you did, is confession required?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have committed adultery many times during the past 30 years of my marriage and in many instances lied to cover up my absence. During the last year or two, I have earnestly started to read the bible and now feel extremely guilty about my past poor behaviors. Since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62042,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/confession-of-wrongdoing\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":3},"title":"Confession of Wrongdoing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Each time we gather, we offer an invitation to those who desire to become Christians to do so without delay. We also offer an opportunity for those who desire the prayers of their brethren to make that desire known. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At times brethren\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-adultery-be-forgiven-should-i-tell-my-spouse\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":4},"title":"Can adultery be forgiven? Should I tell my spouse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 28, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My husband and I separated because he committed adultery. A few months later I too committed adultery one time because I was stupid and lonely. I am closer to the Lord now and I knew it was and know it is wrong for what I did too. Will He\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-a-confession-need-to-be-taken-before-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":39827,"position":5},"title":"Does a confession need to be taken before baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We are having a problem with words in our congregation. 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