The Practice of Confession

Tim Challies has an excellent article titled The Practice of Confession. Here's an excerpt, but I would highly recommend clicking through to read the full article.

Some time ago I was reading the site of a Roman Catholic apologist and read a statement that showed a misunderstanding of Protestant theology. And there may be good reason for this error. The author said simply, “Protestants do not believe in confession.” The statement is correct only insofar as Protestants do not practice auricular confession (confessing ones’ sins to a priest in order to receive forgiveness). That statement along with others I have heard and read shows that there is a misunderstanding about the Protestant view of confession. That God calls us to confess our sin is clearly supported by Scripture. The Bible offers us clear teaching on this subject. Yet this is not an aspect of Christian living to which Christians tend to give a great deal of attention. Today I want to look just briefly to the practice of confession.

[snip]

Most Christians have, at one time or another, learned the acronym A.C.T.S. as a model for prayer. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication is a good and a logical way of ordering prayer. There is logic in this model. Giving God the adoration due his name will inevitably prepare us for confession. Focusing on God’s attributes will help us see where we have fallen short of his standards. A part of our adoration is focusing on the attributes of God that we shared with him before our fall into sin. For example, we may give God glory for being perfect in holiness. As we do this it opens our eyes to the fact that this perfection is God’s standard for us. He demands and expects no less from us. Once we have established who God is and what he has done we cannot help but see how our lives and character fall short of the perfection he demands. The reaction of a contrite and broken heart can be nothing other than confessing our sinfulness before him as we begin to pour out our requests before him.

I am reminded of Steve Green's song "I Repent"

I regret the hours I have wasted
And the pleasures I have tasted
That you were never in.
And I confess that though your love is in me,
It doesn't always win me
When competing with my sin

Chorus
And I repent, making no excuses.
I repent, no one else to blame.
And I return to fall in love with Jesus
I bow down on my knees and I repent

I lament the idols I've accepted,
The commandments I've rejected
To pursue my selfish end.
And I confess I need you to revive me,
Put selfishness behind me
And take up my cross again.

Chorus
And I repent, making no excuses.
I repent, no one else to blame.
And I return to fall in love with Jesus
I bow down on my knees
And I return to fall in love with Jesus
I bow down on my knees and I repent

I Repent - Steve Green

Snapshots and Screenshots

Tim Challies' blog is one that I have come to enjoy reading and look forward each day to his posts. I think perhaps one my favorite features of the blog is his almost-daily A La Carte postings - snippets and tidbits of information from around the web, mostly along the Christian realm.

He has just posted a short (30-page) booklet of sorts that, in his words, "is a means of introducing myself and introducing what I write. It is a collection of my favorite articles..." Each poignantly written article is accompanied by evocative images that seem to only add to each article's mood. If you are not familiar with his blog, I would highly recommend checking out his Snapshots and Screenshots.

As a preview of sorts, here is just one of the articles, but in my opinion the most stirring. Tim notes at the end, "The story is so powerful that, as I writer, I can do little more than tell it. I wrote this through tears, thinking of my own children every moment. Though this is the earliest of the articles I’ve collected here, it remains a favorite. I always struggle with the temptation to dramatize or embelish it. But again, the story tells itself. It seems an appropriate place to close. Morning is coming!

Morning Will Come (by Tim Challies)

Dr. Criswell, long-time pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, was once traveling by plane to attend a speaking engagement on the East coast. After boarding the aircraft and getting settled, he was thrilled to recognize the man in the seat beside him as a well-known Christian theologian. Criswell greatly admired this man and was eager to get to know him. Soon the plane left the ground and after it settled into cruising altitude, Criswell introduced himself and the two began to speak.

The theologian told the pastor how he had recently lost his four-year old son to a terrible illness. It began innocently enough when the child was sent home from school one afternoon after developing a fever. At first the parents thought it was a typical childhood illness that would soon run its course, but his condition continued to worsen so that evening took him to the hospital. The doctors ran a battery of tests and told the parents tragic news - their son had a virulent form of meningitis and there was nothing they could do for him. The child was beyond their help and was going to die.

The loving parents did the only thing they could do, which was sit with their son in a death vigil. It was the middle of the day, only a few days after he became sick, and the illness was causing the little boy’s vision began to fade. He looked up at his daddy and said softly,”Daddy, it’s getting dark, isn’t it?”

The professor replied, “Yes, son, it is dark. It’s very dark.” And for the father it was.

The little boy said, “I guess it’s time for me to get to sleep, isn’t it?”

“Yes son, it’s time for you to sleep,” said the father.

The theologian explained to Dr. Criswell how his son liked his pillow and his blankets arranged just so and that he laid head on his hands while he slept. He told how he helped the child fix his pillow and how his little boy rested his head on his hands and said, “Good night daddy. I’ll see you in the morning.” With that the little boy closed his eyes and fell asleep. Only a few minutes later his little chest rose and fell for the last time and his life was over almost before it began.

The professor stopped talking and looked out the window of the airplane for a good long time. Finally he turned to Dr. Criswell and with his voice breaking and tears spilling onto his cheeks said, “I can hardly wait for morning to come!”

Though it may merely sound like the cry of a grief-stricken parent, the father’s words speak of far more. They speak of a profoundly beautiful truth, for the Lord Jesus Christ promised us that the morning will come. Death has been defeated and even now we await the dawn when Christ will return and death shall be no more. Only through Jesus can we have the hope of eternal life that sustains the grief-stricken father. Only through Jesus can we have assurance that he “will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.” (Revelation 21:4) Little boys will be reunited with their fathers so together they can dance for joy before the One who tasted and defeated death so others could have life.

God offers us this assurance only to those who will look to Him. Do you believe in Him? Have you looked to Jesus and cried out for Him to give you life? Cry out to Jesus, that when that new day dawns, you will be found in him.

Morning is coming