Our church's men's group ( http://www.cheyennehills.org ) is embarking on a summer series in spiritual formation. One of the things we've committed to is vulnerability and openness. To that end, I've been particularly mindful of how sin and secrecy are addressed in Scripture.
A couple of passages I've found particularly convicting are Psalm 19: 12-13 "...forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant from willful sins; may they not rule over me...", and Proverb 9:17 "Stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant."
Today, on Blake Coffee's blog "Church Whisperer," I found this quoted text from Dietrich Bonhoeffer:
Breaking Through to Community
In confession the break-through to community takes place. Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive will be the power of sin over him, and the more deeply he becomes in it, the more disastrous is his isolation. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of the unexpressed it poisons the whole being of a person. This can happen even in the midst of a pious community…
The expressed, acknowledged sin has lost all its power…It can no longer tear the fellowship asunder. Now the fellowship bears the sin of the brother. He is no longer alone with his evil for he has cast off his sin in confession and handed it over to God…Now he stands in the fellowship of sinners who live by the grace of God in the cross of Jesus Christ.
Breaking Through to the Cross
In confession occurs the break-through to the cross…Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride. To stand there before a brother as a sinner is an ignominy that is almost unbearable. In the confession of concrete sins the old man dies a painful, shameful death before the eyes of a brother. Because this humiliation is so hard we continually scheme to evade confessing to a brother. Our eyes are so blinded that they no longer see the promise and the glory in such abasement.
The Cross of Jesus Christ destroys all pride. We cannot find the Cross of Jesus if we shrink from goingto the place where it is to be found, namely, the public death of the sinner. And we refuse to bear the Cross when we are ashamed to take upon ourselves the shameful death of the sinner in confession. In confession we break through to the true fellowship of the Cross of Jesus Christ, in confession we affirm and accept our Cross.
Breaking Through to Certainty
In confession a man breaks through to certainty. Why is it that it is often easier for us to confess our sins to God than to a brother? God is holy and sinless, He is a just judge of evil and the enemy of all disobedience. But a brother is sinful as we are. He knows from his own experience the dark night of secret sin. Why should we not find it easier to go to a brother than to the holy God? …We must ask ourselves whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves and also granting ourselves absolution.
Who can give us the certainty that, in the confession and forgiveness of our sins, we are not dealing with ourselves, but with the living God? God gives us this certainty through our brother. Our brother breaks the circle of self-deception. A man who confesses his sin in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
I'm wondering if anyone here has participated in a group that addresses confession, and if you have any helpful resources.
Thanks!
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Andy, great question and discussion. At our church, the confessional group has been through Celebrate Recovery. I can't say that this is happening in any kind of systematic way outside of this, however.
I think that the main barrier to this is trust. It may be that regular confession is only possible in the safety of a 2-3 people, rather than a typical small group. But we do need to have confession times, for as you have above, confession breaks the power of secret sin. Another way to go about this is to have people in discipleship, spiritual formation, or missional groups of 2-3. Confession does necessarily have to be systematically done or on the agenda in every weekly meeting. But the closeness of the relationship can make this something that happens naturally.
Great Bonhoeffer quote. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, Andy, all of the spiritual disciplines can easily lapse into legalism. Of course, since most people are not using these disciplines, this is not much of a problem for most people. :)
Neil Cole's Life Transformation Groupsare groups of 2-3 and have confession worked into them. Here are the questions that he suggests:
1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
3. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
5. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face-to-face?
6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
8. Have you secretly wished for another’s misfortune so that you might excel?
9. ___________________________
10. Did you finish your reading this week and hear from the Lord? What are you going to do about it?
11. Have you been completely honest with me?
The problem with these questions, in my mind, are that they are so negative in nature. They assume an unredeemed life, and even conclude with the question--have you been completely honest with me? To me, this is not a very positive relationship. I would rather ask more open-ended questions and allow for the opportunity for confession in the context of a relationship, but that is me.
John Wesley used accountability/discipleship groups that incorporated confession. Click here.
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