It Starts Small

It’s easy to confess our sin, but not every confession is heard. When I look back over my life, I often wonder why I continually did the same thing over and over again. I wanted redemption, but I didn’t know how to be cleansed. How do I turn away from fear, doubt, and unbelief? It all begins in our hearts and confession.

God’s Holy and Precious word gives us 5 examples of false confessions.

#1 The Horrified Confession: Pharaoh

27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Exodus 9:27

We all know the back story here. God told Moses to stretch out his hand and hail and fire would fall from the sky. As soon. As he did, the hail and fire came. Pharaoh “confesses”: I have sinned. Pharaoh was frightened. He confessed himself and claimed Jehovah was God.

34 And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants. Exodus 9:34

When Pharaoh saw the hail was gone, he sinned more and hardened his heart. This is an example of us when storms come to our lives. We plead with God to silence the wind and waves and beg for rescue. When the storm subsides and there is calm, we return back to our same old ways of doing things and living. We confess and make promises with God, but then when the storm passes, return to our old nature.

A preacher called this the fox hole prayer. In the middle of battle, we hide in our fox holes and pray for rescue. Rescue comes, and we forget our rescuer. This is the road to a hardened heart. When we don’t have true redemption or a understanding of confessions and turning away from our sins, we get into this pattern of insanity. Insanity is doing the same things over and over expecting a different result.

#2 Hypocritical Confession: Balaam

34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. Numbers 22:34

Balak went to Balaam to curse the the children of Israel. He told him I will pay you well. Balaam knows he can’t curse them, but he wanted the money. He encounters an angel of the Lord and confesses, but he goes the same way.

This is us when we get “spiritual” for a moment. We get religious, but once the high is gone, we go the same way. His confession was hypocritical. It’s the same for us when we get religious on Sunday and on Monday we sin. This is the road to a nervous break down.

15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 2 Peter 2:15-16

Any man who claims to love the Lord but serves the devil is headed for insanity. This is us when we pray but never change. We are too weak to serve the Lord and too cowardly to serve the devil. This is the cause of frustration. We have one foot in heaven and the other in hell. We are constantly split minded or double minded as God’s word puts it. Our loyalty is divided. We don’t want to sin, but at the same time we love it.

This is us saying, I have sinned, yet I continue to sin after confessing it.

#3 Half Hearted Confessions: Saul

24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 1 Samuel 15:24

This is a confession from a man who never felt guilty for what they had done. This is the type of confession that says, I did it because of “……”. God gave a commandment to Saul to destroy the Amorites. Every human and beast. They go out and when they came back Samuel asks Saul, did you do what the Lord commanded? Saul said, yes…. But in the trail of his words Samuel hears and sees a great multitude of livestock being added to the herds. When Samuel asks Saul where did these come from, Saul says they’re a sacrifice for the Lord. The people decided this and I feared the people.

This us when we say, “I did wrong, but let me tell you why…..” This is sin with an excuse. Making an excuse or alibi for our sin never reaches the ear of God.

I have a bad temper, but….. it runs in the family.

I got in trouble, but….. I was in the wrong crowd.

I said hateful things, but….. she made me say them.

I did “xyz” sin but…. It’s because she did xyz. It’s wrong, but I had no choice.

Until we admit what is wrong with us, there’s never going to be a cure. Everyone has an excuse for sin. Someone to blame. Something to blame. God refuses to hear these confessions. The only confessions he hears is God, I did this. I chose to do this. I’m laying it on your alter and cleanse me of this unrighteousness.

These sort of counterfeit confessions leads to God not hearing us. God will no longer come to us until we take responsibility for our sinful choices and actions we chose to commit.

#4 Hymned up Confessions: Achan

20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: Joshua 7:20

All of the spoils of Jericho were to go to the Lord’s treasury. Achan kept part of the spoils for himself. As a result Isreal was defeated at the battle with Ai. This is the sort of confession that comes too late. The Lord spoke to Joshua and told him why they lost the battle. Joshua spoke to Israel and told them whomever has sinned let them come. When no one came, he divided them up into tribes. The tribe in question was Judah. Eventually it was dwindled down to Achan. As the Lord closed in on him, he had many chances to confess, but it came too late.

Every unsaved man will confess, but not all will be forgiven. They took this man, his family, and his livestock and killed them. This sounds harsh, but it’s a picture of what will happen to the unsaved. God is great and merciful. He gives all of us the opportunity to be saved, but one day, we will all stand before him. Had he come to Joshua right away and confessed, he would have been forgiven. Don’t wait until it’s too late to be saved.

#5 Hopeless Confession: Judas

3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

Judas confessed out of remorse for what he had done. He had no concept of what he had done. He felt bad, but no repentance. It was repentance of remorse, but not towards God. He regretted what he had done, but no repentance towards God. It’s a confession of despair. He didn’t expect to be forgiven.

When we have this sort of confession, we don’t find God or forgiveness. We live as we die. Often times we believe there nothing we can do to change. We accept the lie that God is not forgiving or all powerful to bring wholeness to our lives. In deep despair, we are led to dark places of suicide. Remorseful sin is not taking responsibility or understanding the depth of the sin we have committed. It’s feeling bad for ourselves because we were caught. It doesn’t acknowledge the act committed or embraces the redemption God gives to turn away from it.

Covering our sins prevents prosperity in our lives. Making excuses, frightened confessions, half hearted confessions, and hypocritical confessions causes a great separation between us and God. It causes separation in our relationships.

True confession leads to a true redemption. A change of our hearts and minds through Christ to walk away from sin and transform our heart and mind to have a reverence of God’s commandments. We have to take responsibility that our actions have hurt someone else, ourselves, and ultimately God. Our actions and words. They’re not the cause of someone else or something else. We chose to sin.

God is merciful!

Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; Deuteronomy 7:9

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. Lamentations 3:22

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians 2:4-5