Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the people of Israel were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth, and with earth on their heads. And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day; for another quarter of it they made confession and worshiped the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:1-3
Sins and iniquities. Do we ever confess them? At least in the Catholic tradition there is a place made for confession of sin. But confession for the iniquities of our fathers? The protestant tradition has ‘closeted’ confession (making it basically a private personal matter), and almost all confession of sin – and because of that – it rarely happens, and just stays hidden in the closet never dealt with. We certainly have lost the James 5:16 practice as part of our “Church” community. It is this issue of non-confession that I believe that has caused the great slide into spiritual ineptitude and apathy in the American institutional Church. One cannot get into the ‘meat’ of the Word without dealing with sin, especially the sin that is blatantly surrounding us. Pornography, lust, zero self-control (lack of intimacy with the Holy Spirit), sexual perversion, fear, pride, gluttony, celebrity worship, envy, jealousy, unbridled anger, drunkenness, divisions, and the purposeful stirring up of dissensions. How many could you check off? Because these are not dealt with only ‘milk’ can ever be taught. The love of money has infiltrated the systems of the Church. Would your “pastor” / spiritual leader stay with your body / church community if they weren’t being ‘paid’? Are they truly there from a ‘calling’ from the Lord Jesus or are they just a hireling? Challenging question … I know. Do we work for money or our Lord Jesus? Would you work for Jesus without … pay? Too much of the institutional church has become a business to prop up the system of the buildings, salaries, and production of the ‘machine’ of “ministry”. The institutional Church now looks more like the world’s businesses rather than the Body of Christ. Who do you confess your sin to? Anyone other than God Himself? Do you apply the James 5:16 discipline regularly in your life?
Bringing our sin into the ‘light’ of day by confessing it to another person – somehow makes its power over us so much more diminished. Have you studied the difference between iniquity and sin and how they are related? These are the reasons people don’t mature spiritually. This is why the real meat of the Word isn’t preached from the pulpits. This is why there is so much apathy sitting in the pew on Sunday mornings.
Are you determined to grow spiritually? Begin the discipline of confession. Find someone faithful, spiritually mature, and trustworthy to confess your sins. First confess them before God and them confess them to one another.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9