Confession and Relationship

This is an interesting connection. Confession is really a form of communication. But this particular form has elements of transparency, vulnerability and intimacy that are not found in other forms.

Communications have many different reasons and many different goals, yet they will all carry some component of each. Some communications are to pass and receive knowledge. Some are to transact business. Some are to fulfill emotional needs or to project emotional feelings. There are some that are designed to establish power and authority. Some forms are merely smoke screens to hide and protect.

But ideally, communication should be to illuminate and share truth (which really is love).

The bottom line is that you cannot have meaningful (I say any real) relationship without communication.

Communication is generally made up in words. There are other components, such as tone, body language, facial/physical expression, but words really are the defining factor. Choice of words, structure of sentences and tense of words used are all factors of communication.

But since this paper is about confession, let’s look at it specifically. Confession is always about truth. To confess is to tell the truth (unless it is being used to suppress or hide the truth which negates the whole purpose of confession). In its Latin roots, “con”-expressing with intensive force and “fateri”-declare or avow. So putting that together makes-to declare or avow  [using words] with intensive and forceful expression that the words used are true and right. This makes a claim that confession is the making of a communication/statement that is confidently and defendably true.

Not only is confession used in a legal sense, but it is a predominant theme in Christianity. In fact, one could go so far as to say that the Bible itself is a confession. Not that is is trying to defend anything, but that it tells the truth. If one were to consider it in regards to a crime, according to the Bible, the crime would be by mankind against God and the Bible being the testimony of God proving His innocence. In fact, the crime goes even deeper into realms that humanity cannot even comprehend. The spiritual fabric of light and dark, the definition and essence of life and death, of love and hate, of eternity. These things are not where we are going. They are issues of God and for Him to reveal at His discretion and in His time.

Confession. This is my thesis: “Confession, as mandated by the Bible, is God’s command and vehicle for true and meaningful relationship”. It carries and activates all the components of love. For the confessor, Truth, remorse for pain caused, sacrifice and vulnerability in opening personal fault and guilt to another, emotions (correct or incorrect), transparency and rejection of every hiddenness that provide self-protection, baring oneself, the idea of nakedness. Which in turn invites the one receiving the confession (odd that the term confessor is used for this person also) to relate in like manner (in the spirit of relationship) to acknowledge wrong/harm done and to forgive. Maybe even to accept fault or some part of it and open a return path of forgiveness to the other. To trust that Biblical confession is the antidote for pain and damage done for both parties. That God has mandated this function between people so that the magnitude of His forgiveness can be felt, acted out and operate in both this sphere of flesh and blood as it is so done in the spirit. Mercy and grace are major components in the confession/forgiveness scenario. In many cases (maybe all?), forgiveness cannot happen without mercy and grace. These are attributes of God and not normally of mankind. Humanity works predominantly on rights and self-protection (which is truly selfishness). The idea of protecting one from another is the picture of building walls and fortresses to separate people in order to keep them safe from each other. Or hiding in caves and forests so as it to be found (or known). These are antithesis’ to relationship.

There is also an element of purity in the process of confession. Because of its nature in truth, a case for holiness can be introduced. Perfection would be absolute truth and Holiness. This is not an attribute we find in humanity. I would venture to say,not even in any created thing we can sense in this created world. True confession is at its core holy and therefore of the nature of God. Not that He needs to confess anything, but that He, being holy and perfect, can and does take all of our guilt and offense Himself in Jesus Christ in order to extend mercy, grace and forgiveness so that we have the avenue of perfect love to be with Him forever. In perfect marriage prose, “till death do we part”....... and in Him we have eternal life, meaning we will never die and therefore never part!

So confess your sins to one another and to God so that the love of God may abound between you in all mercy, grace and forgiveness. In this way, you will love one another (not blaming), love your self (being honest, remorseful and repentant without shame) and mostly, love God in obedient worship by doing so.