Sin is described in the Bible as being\u00a0spiritual slavery that masters and controls\u00a0us (John 8:34; Romans 6:6). In modern language,\u00a0sin can easily become an addictive\u00a0behavior. Drunkenness, sexual sin, drug\u00a0abuse, overeating, gossiping, and even\u00a0compulsive shopping can all become\u00a0addictive, sinful lifestyles. Addictions\u00a0thrive in secrecy. The cycle of destructive\u00a0behavior and addiction is only remedied\u00a0when it is brought into the open and confessed.<\/p>\n
Satan\u2019s kingdom is found in the realm of\u00a0darkness and his spiritual forces work\u00a0under the shroud of shadow (Ephesians\u00a06:12). Satan controls us when we keep our\u00a0sins, struggles, and temptations in the\u00a0darkness. But true disciples of Christ have\u00a0been \u201cdelivered from the domain of\u00a0darkness\u201d and transferred \u201cto the kingdom\u00a0of His beloved Son\u201d (Colossians 1:13,\u00a0ESV). Followers of Christ allow the light of\u00a0God\u2019s Word to expose every dark place,\u00a0every sinful action, and all hiding places in\u00a0their lives. The power of forgiveness is\u00a0only found when we confess <\/span> our sins\u00a0before God, allowing His light to let all of\u00a0our failures and heinous sins be seen in\u00a0the open.<\/p>\n At conversion, I became one of\u00a0the \u201cchildren of light\u201d (Ephesians 5:8), and\u00a0that light shines into my life exposing my\u00a0sin and destroying the darkness where\u00a0Satan controls me. Satan operates in the\u00a0realm of darkness and he thrives in the\u00a0places of secrecy. But when I admit\u00a0everything about myself, when I open\u00a0every dark corner of my life for everyone\u00a0to see,when I let the light come in, Satan\u2019s\u00a0power is mitigated and the light of God\u2019s\u00a0presence fills my life.<\/p>\n We all want to experience freedom from\u00a0guilt and sin; that is one of the main reasons\u00a0that converts are baptized into\u00a0Christ. Yet, as we live the Christian life, we\u00a0discover that we continually face many\u00a0wearisome battles against temptation and\u00a0sin. Satan certainly focuses the heat of his\u00a0attacks against those who are trying to\u00a0live for God. Satan is the master deceiver,\u00a0and he whispers in the Christian\u2019s ear,\u00a0\u201cYou are a reputable Christian. You go to\u00a0church every week. You would be publicly\u00a0humiliated if people knew what you struggle\u00a0with. You can defeat this sin on your\u00a0own. Nobody needs to know.\u201d<\/p>\n So I keep\u00a0my struggles to myself. I keep them\u00a0secret. I keep them in the dark. And Satan\u00a0thrives in the darkness. He is master over\u00a0the realm of shadows. But I want so desperately\u00a0to be freed from this slavery. I am\u00a0weary from my private battles! The only\u00a0way to be freed is to let the light scatter\u00a0the darkness! I must confess my struggles\u00a0and expose them to the light (Ephesians\u00a05:11-13).<\/p>\n To be freed from sin, we expose all\u00a0our sins by confessing them before God\u00a0(1 John 1:8-9). We must confess our sins\u00a0so that we can experience God\u2019s forgiveness,\u00a0so that the light of His presence can\u00a0destroy the darkness and secrecy of our\u00a0lives. Yet, even when we confess our sins\u00a0to God, secrecy can remain. After all,\u00a0when I confess my public sins alone (only\u00a0before God), in a sense my sins still remain\u00a0in the dark. Sin needs to be exposed to His\u00a0light. Ultimately, Jesus Christ is my high\u00a0priest. I don\u2019t need a human mediator to go\u00a0to God in my behalf (i.e. Catholic priests).<\/p>\n The Catholic ecclesiastical, confessional\u00a0system is contrary toBiblical teaching.But\u00a0as Christians,we are to practice brotherly\u00a0<\/span>confession with one another. Disciples of\u00a0<\/span>Jesus Christ are a \u201croyal priesthood\u201d (1\u00a0Peter 2:9).We are all meant to function as\u00a0priests for one another. As believers, we\u00a0are to <\/span>\u201cconfess [our] sins to one another,\u00a0and pray for one another so that you may\u00a0be healed\u201d <\/span> (James 5:16, ESV, emp.\u00a0added). The freedom of confession is only\u00a0liberating insomuch as I am specific about\u00a0my sin.\u00a0When I generically confess \u201cI have\u00a0sin in my life,\u201d I leave my specific sins in\u00a0the darkness and I experience no real\u00a0freedom.<\/strong><\/p>\n Why does this kind of confession seem\u00a0so difficult for us today? Too often we view\u00a0the Church as being a \u201cmuseum of saints\u201d\u00a0rather than a \u201chospital for sinners.\u201d We\u00a0often feel like everyone around us in the\u00a0Church has advanced to a high level of\u00a0holiness \u201cleaving us isolated and alone in\u00a0our sin\u201d (Foster 145). Because we feel as if\u00a0we are the only ones that are still struggling,\u00a0we hide our true selves from one\u00a0another. If we could all come to realize\u00a0that before Jesus made us a fellowship of\u00a0saints by His grace, we were first by our\u00a0own actions a \u201cfellowship of sinners\u201d\u00a0(Foster 145). The Church is to be a gathering\u00a0of people who feel open to confess\u00a0their needs before Christian brothers and\u00a0sisters without fear of judgment.<\/p>\n I am not alone in my sin and my struggle.\u00a0Fear and pride cause us to resist the real\u00a0healing that exposing the dark places of\u00a0our lives can bring. But we must realize\u00a0that it is in the power of open confession\u00a0that we are released from this fear, where\u00a0our sins are forgiven, and our souls are\u00a0healed. It is when we allow ourselves to\u00a0be \u201cweak\u201d with one another that we really\u00a0gain the greatest spiritual strength of all\u00a0(cf. 2 Corinthians 12:10).<\/p>\n By Jonathan Jones II<\/strong><\/p>\n This article first appeared in\u00a0<\/em>Think magazine. To learn more or to subscribe, click\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cited:\u00a0Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual\u00a0Growth. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1978.<\/p>\n photo credit: Depression<\/a> via photopin<\/a> (license)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sin is described in the Bible as being\u00a0spiritual slavery that masters and controls\u00a0us (John 8:34; Romans 6:6). In modern language,\u00a0sin can easily become an addictive\u00a0behavior. Drunkenness, sexual sin, drug\u00a0abuse, overeating, gossiping, and even\u00a0compulsive shopping can all become\u00a0addictive, sinful lifestyles. Addictions\u00a0thrive in secrecy. The cycle of destructive\u00a0behavior and addiction is only remedied\u00a0when it is brought into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,59,66],"tags":[617,203,204,618,29,352],"class_list":["post-1246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-christian-living","category-think-excerpts","tag-confess","tag-confession","tag-guest","tag-secrecy","tag-sin","tag-think","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n