Confession – Proverbs 28:13

Here is a list of 100 Scriptures about confession of sin.  Kind of an important issue for believers.  It was the make or break issue in king David’s life (2 Samuel 12), and he wrote two psalms about it (32 and 51).  On my AskThePastors blog I have dealt with the consequences of not confessing sin.

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. (Proverbs 28:13, ESV)

I was struggling severely with a temptation and fearful that I was going to yield to it.  I called a friend and confessed to him what I was struggling with.  He was so understanding and so merciful, yet committed to what was right and expecting me to do right.  The temptation immediately lessened, in fact disappeared.

James takes up the essence of this proverb when he says,

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, ESV)

David describes how when he “kept silent” about his sin with Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah, his “bones wasted away through groaning all day long” and how his “strength was dried up,” but that when he “acknowledged” his sin to God he experienced the blessedness of God’s forgiveness and mercy (Psalm 32).

The great Methodist movement began with John Wesley’s preaching, of course, but was carried by Wesley’s formation of believers into gender specific groups that met weekly for prayer, accountability and confession.  As believers opened themselves to one another they experienced such grace and power that they spread the faith like wildfire.  Who do you confess your sins to?