Dr Paul Allen

Instinctively, we think of confession as a gloomy, dour, introspective activity that, by focusing on all the things we have done wrong, makes us (quite literally) miserable sinners. And there is a grain of truth in this: Our sin is terrible, and we should never trivialise it or excuse it. But David takes a much more positive view of confession in Psalm 32. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. (Ps. 32:1–2) When I stayed silent and did not confess my sin, David elaborates, life was truly miserable. My bones wasted away, I groaned all day, and my strength was like dry ground in a summer drought (Ps. 32:3–4). But then I acknowledged my sin. I confessed it all to God. And he forgave it all (Ps. 32:5), fully releasing me from my debt and causing me to “be glad in the Lord and rejoice” (Ps. 32:11) rather than experiencing “the sorro...

  1 John 1:6-2.2.  Th ree important tests of profession are in these verses; they are introduced with the words ‘If we say.’ The first is in verse 6. It tests the profession of salvation. The ongoing walk of a true child of God must be in the light, for he has been delivered from darkness. The second is in verse 8 and tests the profession of a person’s nature. Claiming sinlessness is untrue. The most spiritual believer is conscious of the ever-present inner desires of the flesh, resulting in the commission of various sins. What then is the way for a Christian to gain forgiveness? It is to pray, but this is not the normal prayer of communion; it involves confession of sin. ‘Confess’ is an interesting word; it means to ‘agree with’ or to ‘speak the same thing.’ Thus, when we confess, we are telling God about our sin and agreeing with His verdict on our conduct. When David sinned with Bathsheba, there was an initial period when he ‘kept silence’; he did not admit to God what he h...

“And forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12). Believers confess their sins; unbelievers deny theirs. Christians struggle with sin . That surely comes as no surprise to you. As you mature in Christ, the frequency of your sinning decreases, but your sensitivity to it increases. That doesn’t mean you are more easily tempted, but that you are more aware of the subtleties of sin and how it dishonours God. Some people think you should never confess your sins or seek forgiveness. But the Lord instructed us to do so when He told us to pray, “And forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12). That’s the believer’s prayer for the Father’s forgiveness. John said, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:8–10).  That passage doesn’t tell u...