Confession and Affection

This evening as I was talking with a friend a thought dawned on me about the relationship between our confession of sin and our affection for Christ. When we neglect the spiritual discipline of regularly and systematically confessing sin (both to God and to one another), we keep ourselves from experiencing the deep affection for Christ that comes when we acknowledge before him and one another our utter sinfulness and desperate need for a savior.

When we eschew confession, instead of experiencing grace and forgiveness, we end up feeling guilty and distance from God but not really knowing exactly why. This is because instead of confessing sin we have chosen either to ignore it or to justify ourselves. Yet, our souls are never content with either of these options. Between our consciences and the Holy Spirit, ignoring sin can last only so long. And in the end self-justification is really just self-deception. We know that our "righteousness" will never be enough to free us from the guilt and fear that come from a life in which sin is seemly ever present.

All to often we forget that the entire thrust of the gospel is the good news about the forgiven of sins! Consider just a few passages:

Matthew 26:27-28
27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)

Luke 24:45-47
45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (ESV)

Acts 2:37-38
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)

The good news of the gospel is that our sin have been forgiven through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. However, when we are out of the habit of regularly confessing sin, we forget how much we need this forgiveness and consequently our affection and thankfulness for Christ decreases. Whenever we decrease the amount of sin we confess by either ignoring or justifying it, we truncate the scope of the glorious work of Christ on our behalf. I would submit that our affection for Christ is directly related to our perception of what he has done our behalf.

In his Gospel Luke records the following events:
36 Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. 37 Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.

39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." 40 So Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." He replied, "Say it, Teacher." 41 "A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little." 48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." (Luke 7:36-48, NET)

The more we comprehend our own sinfulness, the more affection we have for the one who has said to us, "Your sins are forgiven." Therefore, let us confess our sin to God and to one another in the assurance that God is faithful and just to forgive us because of what Christ has done on our behalf. As we do this our gratitude and affection for Christ will grow and deepen and ultimately it is a deep abiding affection for Jesus that allows us to see sin for what it truly is and flee from it into the arms of the one who has declared before the Father and the community, "Your sins are forgiven."