About the confession of sin  By Pastor Don Chapman 8/77

   1) The word CONFESS, in Biblical terms, means: "to name and admit
that your are guilty of a particular sin."

   A) OT terminology: In Psalm 32:5, David wrote, "...I will confess my
transgressions unto the Lord;..." The hebrew word for CONFESS is
YADHAH. It originally meant: "to throw something"; then it came to
mean: "to accuse someone, to incriminate, to point out by stretching
out the hand". Then it was used meaning: "to confess something, to
admit." Other OT passages: Lev.26:40; Numbers 5:7; Dan.9:20

   B) NT terminology: The Apostle Paul used the greek word DIAKRINO "to
pass judgment on someone, to render a decision in a court of law", I
Corinthians 11:31,32. This verb is in the imperfect tense emphasizing
that believers should be constantly confessing their sins in order to
avoid discipline from the Lord. The Apostle John used the greek word
HOMOLOGEO, also used in court - "to make a confession of guilt, to
plead guilty to a crime", I John 1:9.

   2) The confession of sin removes discipline, it turns judgment for
evil into blessing, and makes it possible for the believer to once
again be filled by the Holy Spirit.

   3) The confession of sin is only beneficial to the believer. It has
been provided by God so that after a believer sins he can return to the
sphere of blessing, and once again be filled by the HS. I Corinthians
11:31; I John 1:9

   A) The issue for the unbeliever is NOT the confession of sin, but
believing the Gospel.

   B) The Pharoah of the Exodus confessed his sin twice, yet remained
an idolater and went to hell when he died. Exodus 9:27; 10:16

   C) Therefore, the unbelievers confession of sin is useless in
salvation.

   4) When a believer fails to confess his sins he does NOT lose his
salvation. You can never lose your salvation. John 10:27-30; II Timothy
2:13

   5) The confession of sin has nothing to do with one's feelings.
Feeling sorry does not impress God. It is not wrong to feel bad about
your sin, but this is a human reaction to failure and NOT a requirement
in forgiveness. Feeling sorry is usually the result of pride. No one
likes to admit that they were wrong! CONFESSION refers to an exhale
from the soul - emphasizing volition, not feelings or emotions.

   6) When a believer confesses his sin, he must specifically name his
sin to God. That is, all his known sins must be mentioned. When a
believer confesses his known sins, the unknown sins are immediately
forgiven also. A believer is NOT forgiven his sins, if all he says is,
"God please forgive my sins..." This is NOT confession.

   A) When confessing your sins, pray to God the Father, not Jesus
Christ and not the Holy Spirit. We are priests unto God the Father.
Revelation 1:6

   B) There are three different types of sin to confess. i) Mental
attitude sins: fear, worry, anger, jealousy, hatred, mental adultery,
pride, envy, doubting the Word of God, bitterness, implacability, etc.
ii) Verbal sins: slander, lying, gossip, etc. iii) Overt sins:
disobedience to the Word of God, disobedience to one's parents, buying
things you shouldn't buy, reading things you shouldn't read, going
places you shouldn't go, doing things you shouldn't do, etc. James 4:17

   7) As long as you live in this life, there will NEVER be a time when
you cannot sin. Therefore, the confession of sin is for all believers.
I John 1:8-10

   8) The confession of sin is accepted by God because of the death of
Christ on the cross. However, the confession of sin is ONLY accepted
when it is done properly. For example, believers who refuse to forgive
are not forgiven. I John 1:8-2:2; Matthew 5:23-24; 6:14-15; 18:21-35;
Mark 11:25-26; Luke 6:37

   9) Once a believer confesses his sins he should forget what he has
done wrong. God has forgiven you. You must forgive yourself.
Philippians 3:13

   10) When a believer sins, four things immediately happen in his life:

   A) He experiences temporal death - Eph.5:14; I Tim.5:6; James 1:15

   B) He loses the filling by the HS - Eph.5:18

   C) He is placed in the sphere of divine discipline - I Cor. 11:31-32
D) He becomes the slave of the old sin nature (Roms.6:16); and is

   therefore classified as "fleshly" (I Cor.3:1-3).

   NOTE: It is possible to sin thousands of times a day and confess
every sin, and therefore NEVER be disciplined by God (unless you sin
that grace may abound - in which case God does NOT restore the believer
to fellowship, but instead intensifies the discipline). There is no
limit to God's forgiveness. BUT if you perpetuate ONE known sin in your
life and deliberately refuse to confess it, you will be disciplined and
eventually die the sin unto death.

   11) There are certain sins (usually overt sins such as murder,
adultery, etc.) which are also EVIL. The confession of sin removes the
discipline for the sin, but it does not remove the punishment for the
EVIL. eg. David II Samuel 12:1-24