https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Confession-of-Wrongdoing.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Psalms 32<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Each time we gather, we offer an invitation to those who desire to become Christians to\ndo so without delay. We also offer an opportunity for those who desire the prayers of their\nbrethren to make that desire known.\n A. At times brethren use that opportunity to confess their sins and ask for\nforgiveness.\n B. Some religions make elaborate rituals of confession. Some require discussing your\nsins with a member of their clergy.\n C. What we desire to do in this lesson is examine the biblical foundations for the\nidea of confession.\n
II. To whom must confession be made?<\/p>\n
A. Confession must be made to those who have been harmed by your sin.<\/p>\n
B. All sin is against God and must be confessed to Him<\/p>\n 1. When David committed adultery, he knew he had sinned against God –\nPsalms 51:1-4\n
2. I John 1:8-9 – If we confess, then God will cleanse us from our sins<\/p>\n 3. It is more than an admission of guilt, confession also requires a change in\nour future plans – Acts 8:18-22\n
C. Many of our sins also harm others<\/p>\n 1. Matthew 5:23-24 – Settle matters with you brother before trying to worship\nGod.\n
2. James 5:16 – Confess your sins to one another<\/p>\n 3. Ephesians 4:31-32 – When a brother has asked for forgiveness, we must be\nwilling to accept his request\n
4. Colossians 3:12-13 – forgiving any complaint, just as the Lord forgives us.<\/p>\n 5. For the same reason, confession to our brother must be more than mere\nwords, there should be effort to correct the wrong we have committed.\n
D. At times the harm we do in our sins have a far reaching impact. <\/p>\n 1. Each of us represents Christ and his church to the community around us. –\nMatthew 5:14-16\n
2. When we sin, we degrade the standards the church is suppose to uphold.<\/p>\n 3. When I lie to someone, it shows a lack of moral character on my part, but\nit also implies that those who accept me tolerate my misbehavior. It gives\nthe impression they approve of my wrong-doing – Romans 1:32\n 4. When my sin harms the reputation of my brethren, I should seek their\nforgiveness for causing that harm\n 5. A brother among the Corinthians had committed fornication, he was\nwithdrawn from by the church, but when he turned from sin, the brethren\nwere urged to forgive him – II Corinthians 2:5-8\n
a. Notice that he cause sorrow (harm) to the brethren<\/p>\n
b. Now the brethren were to comfort him<\/p>\n
III. Why must I confess my sins?<\/p>\n
A. To be forgiven<\/p>\n
1. David sought God’s forgiveness – Psalms 51:1-3<\/p>\n
2. Confession is required to be forgiven – I John 1:9<\/p>\n
B. To restore fellowship with God<\/p>\n
1. Sin separates us from God – Isaiah 59:2<\/p>\n
2. We cannot have fellowship while remaining in our sin – I John 1:6<\/p>\n
3. Yet, if we do not confess our sins to God, our sins remain<\/p>\n C. When we are unwilling to admit our sin, the knowledge of our nature destroys us\ninternally – Psalms 32:3-5\n
1. Without the admission of wrong, we are living a lie – Psalms 32:2<\/p>\n
D. To restore fellowship with my brethren – II Corinthians 2:7-8<\/p>\n
E. To restore the honor of Christ and his people<\/p>\n 1. To admit wrong doing is to state that Christ was right in calling our\nmisdeeds sinful.\n 2. Our willingness to admit wrong and do right is seen by others – I Peter\n2:11-12\n
IV. What confession is not<\/p>\n
A. It is not a sign of a weak person<\/p>\n
1. It takes a strong man to admit he was wrong<\/p>\n 2. Though David sinned, we admire his desire to do what was pleasing to\nGod.\n
3. The weakness is displayed when we sin, not when we confess.<\/p>\n B. It is not a time to look down on a person, but a time to lend him strength – II\nCorinthians 2:6-8\n 1. The time for disapproval is when a person remains in his sin or refuses to\nrecognize his error.\n 2. Once the realization comes and he is willing to admit his deeds were\nwrong, then is the time for healing, not further rebukes.\n C. In the same light, confession is not punishment. Punishment comes upon the\nunrepentant.\n
V. What must I do to confess?<\/p>\n
A. Have the proper heart <\/p>\n
1. Confession requires humility – Luke 18:13-14<\/p>\n
2. It requires sorrow, yes even guilt, over wrongdoing – Psalms 38:10-11<\/p>\n
B. It requires a hatred of the sin and a change in life<\/p>\n
1. Must confess and forsake the sin – Proverbs 28:13<\/p>\n 2. The Corinthian church had done many things wrong. They did not wallow\nin the mire of self-guilt but strove to set things right – II Corinthians 7:8-11\n
C. It requires trusting God’s promise – I John 1:9<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Psalms 32 I. Each 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. A. At times brethren use that opportunity to confess…<\/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-62042","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":39697,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-must-i-confess-before-i-am-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":62042,"position":0},"title":"What must I confess before I am baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Let me start off by thanking you for all that you do in the name of Jesus Christ. A few weeks ago I had prayed to God asking for guidance in finding the true church of which I can become a part so that I may further my understanding\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":21733,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-detailed-does-a-confession-of-sin-have-to-be\/","url_meta":{"origin":62042,"position":1},"title":"How detailed does a confession of sin have to be?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How detailed does a confession of sin have to be? Do you need to list out all that you've done wrong? Answer: First, we need to remind ourselves what is the purpose of confession. Confessing our sins means we are facing up to the fact that we were in\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":33266,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-to-everyone-that-i-wronged\/","url_meta":{"origin":62042,"position":2},"title":"Do I need to confess to everyone that I wronged?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the past, because I had heard the phrase \"the confession needs to be as public as the sin,\"\u00a0 I became very busy spending much time thinking of times I had sinned in front of others.\u00a0 I then would write them a note, message them, talk to them, etc.\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":62042,"position":3},"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":23197,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-good-confession\/","url_meta":{"origin":62042,"position":4},"title":"The Good Confession","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Timothy 6:6-16 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We all have heard of the five steps of salvation, even though there are really more than five steps. Five just makes it easier to remember. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Today we are going to focus on confession. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Exactly what is to be confessed? How is it to be\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":18886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-there-be-repentance-without-confession\/","url_meta":{"origin":62042,"position":5},"title":"Can there be repentance without confession?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about repentance.\u00a0 I have always wondered if there was such a thing as a lack of repentance? 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