Confessing Your Sins

Confessing your sins means you agree with God that you have offended His holy character, are worthy of punishment, and in need of forgiveness. That's exactly what we see Daniel doing in verses 5-16. Verse 20 summarizes his prayer: "I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God."

Unlike some who suffer God's chastening, Daniel didn't shift the blame for Israel's calamity. Instead he admitted that his people had willfully disobeyed God's Word and ignored His prophets, thereby bringing judgment upon themselves. Once they were a nation blessed by God; now they were aliens and captives in a foreign land. God had kept His promise to curse them if they disobeyed Him (Deut. 28:15).

In verses 12-15 Daniel analyzes the consequences of Israel's sin, which included her captivity and the guilt she bore for her arrogance and reluctance to repent.

Verse 14 reflects perhaps the most important aspect of confession: Daniel's affirmation that "the Lord our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done." The Gentile nations knew that the Israelites were God's chosen people. Surely the fall of Jerusalem raised questions about God's character: What kind of God would stand idly by while His people are ravaged and His Temple plundered? What is the benefit of having a God like that? This, in effect, is Daniel's response: "God is righteous in everything He does. We deserve this punishment, so don't accuse Him of acting unjustly."

Confession therefore serves a dual purpose: it brings forgiveness and frees God to chasten us without bringing accusations of inequity or injustice upon Himself.

Daniel's prayer came at a special time in Israel's history, but undoubtedly confession was a regular part of his life. That should be your pattern as well. Don't wait until disaster strikes before you confess your sin. Make it a daily practice.

If you have not developed a systematic approach to prayer, the "ACTS" format is a good way to start.

Adoration—praising God Confession—confessing sin Thanksgiving—thanking God Supplication—praying for others

Read about David's sin in 2 Samuel 11:1—12:25 and his confession in Psalm 51. What are the similarities and differences between David's confession and Daniel's?

Confession therefore serves a dual purpose: it brings forgiveness and frees God to chasten us without bringing accusations of inequity or injustice upon Himself.

If this sentence says what it appears to say, that chastening follows confession, it is dead wrong doctrine when talking about how God operates.

The most pertinent verse dealing with this is 1 John 1:9, as follows:

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When one has transgressed God's rules of behavior (including thoughts), The Indwelling Holy Spirit brings the sin and sinful intention to the regenerate mind, usually much sooner than would occur to an unsaved worldling. There are three ways that the child of God can respond to the warning from God's Spirit concerning his sin:

(1) to deny the occasion and ignore the summons of The Spirit to accountability at the bench of judgment, the Mercy Seat
(2) to admit of the instance, even being sorrowful, hoping for forgiveness, but without intent to repent from the behavior or the thought behind it
(3) to fully admit the occasion and the thoughts from which the behavior came, that confession bringing a godly sorrow that results in a full reversal of course and a full intention and commitment to abandon both the thought patterns, as well as the actions that resulted from them.

So what does this mean, in context?

In the verse quoted, "to confess" is in the Greek ὁμολογέω (hom-ol-og-eh'-o) which means "to say the same as"; that is, to acknowledge, agree with, or confess. From other scripture, it is God's Will that a child of His not sin. So in this verse, the word "to forgive" means something more emphatic. That word, in the Greek, is ἀφίημι (af-ee'-ay-mee), which in this context has the sense of "to give up a debt without demanding payment for it" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 1889 ed., pp. 88-89, 1.d.), that is, to forsake the instance without laying any further claims to it; to abandon, and forget a debt. When, as in 1 Jn. 1:7 it is Jesus' Blood that cancels it, it is fully paid; and when the person is in the path of repentance (a reverse of mindset) it is forgotten (Is. 44:22,23; Ps. 103:12).

With this in mind, considering Circumstance (1) above, for God's child to attempt to deny or ignore the transgression, he/she can expect chastening (1 Jn. 1:8,10; Heb. 12:5-10) until one has at least proceeded to Stage (2) above, where one may assent, even with a worldly regret, but without intent to firmly reject the offensive-to-God behavior and mindset (2 Cor 7:9,10). In this case, the chastening may be even firmer, even to the point of physical death, until one comes to terms with The God, summoned by The Spirit, and says the same as God has said, to wit:

"Most Holy and Reverend Father, Thou hast said that when I have come into full admission of the warning of Thy Holy Spirit, and I have truly been wholly sorrowful such that I wish to totally abandon my past behavior with no intent or desire whatsoever to revisit it, that Thou wilt also forgive my sin debt, which has already been paid for by the Blood of Thy Precious Son, as well as abandoning any further claims or reference to it, forgetting as if it never existed, and will throughly cleanse me of it. This is my earnest plea."

Having instantly performed as He has promised, with foresight knowing the repentance has taken place, The Father responds with:

"Forgive you . . . for . . . what?"

Does the reader not see that allthe chastening of God's child takes place before the moment when God The Judging and Just Father has forgiven and cleansed from ALL unrighteousness, through the Blood of The Messiah? And when The Father has forgiven and forgotten, though men may not, there will be no further chastening from Him?

Hopefully, after some 25 more years of spiritual growth, John MacArthur will have come to a different opinion than the one expressed in the sentence from 1993 as quoted above.

But for you and for me, the time to be alert and instantly respond to the Guiding Voice of The Holy Spirit is always Now, eh?

God has blotted them out, I'm happy and glad and free.
God has blotted them out, you can turn to Isaiah and see:
Chapter Forty-four, Twenty-two and -three;
God has blotted them out, and now I can shout,
For that . . . means . . . me!"

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