Ernest Smith

Last week, I posted two separate posts on confession.  One focused on why confession is so difficult for so many people and the other focused on the benefits that we receive when we confess.

As I said in both of those posts, God has really been teaching me a lot about confession lately.  Last Tuesday, I was at our weekly staff prayer and the topic that we were discussing and praying through was fear.  I chose to go up to one of our prayer team members and ask them to pray for me that I would not succumb to fear in my life.

As I told her what I wanted prayer for, she began to share with me what God had laid on her heart as I was walking up.  She started sharing about confession and what the word confession means.  She told me that confession was not just us admitting our sins to God, but that confession was us agreeing with God in what He says.  Therefore, if we admit our sin and say that we are sorry, we are simply agreeing (confessing) with God that what He says about our sin is what we believe too.

I was laughing on the inside because that very same day I had started a blog series on confession and here was God teaching me another lesson about the subject.  I am so thankful for His sovereignty.

So after that experience, I went and looked up the Greek word for confession.  In 1 John 1:9, we read “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

The Greek word for “confess” is homologeo and it literally means to “say the same thing as another, to agree with, assent.”

Therefore, when 1 John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins, it literally means to say the same thing about our sins as God does.

When you take this same understanding of confession, to say the same thing as God does, it brings a whole different understanding to the concept.  Confession isn’t just saying that we agree with God when we have done something wrong, but confession is agreeing with God when His word has been spoken.

God says that you are His masterpiece…do you agree?

God says that He has great plans for your life…do you agree?

God says that He will never leave you…do you agree?

God says that you will never be able to separate yourself from His love…do you agree?

God gives us a lot of promises that we should confess in our hearts and with our mouths.  We should say the same thing about the promises that God gives to us.  But, practically how do we live this out?

Well, after that prayer team member prayed for me about fear and challenged me to confess, to say the same thing as God does, I went back to my chair and began thinking about the area of my life where I have fear…the future.

Then, I opened an app on my phone and began searching Scriptures that speak of God’s promises about my future.  I wrote down each Scripture and determined that I am going to write out each Scripture on an index card and place them in various places in my life that will remind me to confess the promises of God.

I don’t want fear captivating my heart or my mind.  I don’t want to be paralyzed from doing what God ultimately is calling me, and created me, to do.  Therefore, I need to confess what He already says about my future.  I need to confess, agree with God, His truth and promises in my life.

In what area of your life do you need to confess, say the same thing as God does?

What are some practical steps you have taken to be reminded of God’s promises in your life?