Slides: Confession In the Bible

Confession In the Bible

Henry Reyenga

The Penitent Heart

1 John 1:8    Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. ⁹ But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. 

The Healing of the Soul and Body

James 5:15-16 The prayer offered by those who have faith will make you well. The Lord will heal you. If you have sinned, you will be forgiven.

So admit to one another that you have sinned. Pray for one another so that you might be healed. The prayer of a godly person is powerful. It makes things happen. (NIRV)

Human Need of Confession

Psalms 32:5   Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.

  I said, “I will confess

my transgressions to the LORD”—

and you forgave

the guilt of my sin.

Godly Conscience 

Psalms 32:6    Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.

Psalms 38:17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me.

I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.

Human Accountability

Romans 14:10  You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

  “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will confess to God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Confession Ceremonies in the Bible

Leviticus 16:20     “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. ²¹ He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. ²² The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert.

Confession and Restitution

Numbers 5:6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty ⁷ and must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution for his wrong, add one fifth to it and give it all to the person he has wronged. ⁸ But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.