“If the Christian is in the fellowship of confession with a brother, he will never be alone again, anywhere.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The journey to be more like Jesus can be lonely at times…if we let it. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we know that we still make choices to take the pleasure of the moment over the pain of growth, which brings victory.
We mess up! Yet, what do we do? We either hide behind a fake smile at our church gatherings. Or, we are so ashamed that we don’t even come until we get back on track. Right? Guess who wins? I know it’s not you or me.
Want to stop hiding or being ashamed? Confess your sin with at least one other believer. Oh, wait a minute, I thought I only confess my sin to Jesus, right? Yes and no.
Yes, we confess our sin to Jesus. We do this in order to receive forgiveness and to be cleansed of sin (1 John 1:9). This gives us the ability to look forward to our future victory over sin, rather than backward at the defeat by sin.
And no. The Spirit writes that we are to confess our sins with at least one Jesus believer (James 5:16). This brings healing, which is wholeness (aka saved) of the entire person.
Forgiveness comes from Jesus. But confession is part of the life change process. This way we don’t need forgiveness…at least in that area of our life.
Confession not only takes away the shame of falling, but it takes away the need to hide. There will be at least one person who knows you’ve messed up, accepts you despite it, prays for your life to change; and, is there to walk with you forward to perfection in Christ.
No shame. No hiding. No fake smiles. Just a real believer walking with another real believer towards Jesus. Oh, that sounds like being church. Yes, it is. Being church, not just going to church, is where real life change takes place.
I have three brothers that I meet weekly with to share this mutual confession to victory journey. How about you? Download a Bible Impact Card under the Resources tab. It will show you have to be church using the truth of mutual confession!