Confessing is a form of apology, it expresses regret at having hurt someone, that is what an apology is.
James 5:16 " 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. "
Leviticus 5:5
"5 So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned."
"5 So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned."
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Proverbs 28:13
"13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
"13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."
Matthew 5:23-24 "…23 Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."
We cannot reconcile with those who have offended us if they refuse to admit they have done anything wrong. We are told in Matthew to go and tell our brother their fault so they will confess it to be cleansed and reconciled to us. Just as we are to go to our brother if they have something against us.
There cannot be reconciliation with God or man if someone refuses to confess to be cleansed.
2 Corinthians 7:1
"Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."
"Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."
We cannot be cleansed from that which we refuse to admit we have done.
Those who will not confess when confronted are full of pride. Those who will not confront to avoid conflict are also full of pride. Those who would rather pretend someone has not sinned to spare their own feelings, is causing further sin in the lives of those they will not confront.
It is possible and likely that those who tell others to forgive when there has been no confession are afraid of being accused as a trouble maker.
It is not the one who confronts sin who is the trouble maker, it is the one who sins and is rebellious who are the trouble makers. The one who sins often wants others to just give them a pass so they don't have to do any thinking about their character or changing their behavior.
We have become a culture of fear of accusation and fear of rejection more than we are a culture of justice and righteousness.
Fear of man brings a snare as God tells it! When we allow a culture to silence us to allow the sinner to continue in their sin, we have given ground to the devil and to the evil man. We see this clearly in our culture.
Those who are pampered and coddled the most are those who willfully sin without conscience. The one who is chastised is the one who holds the evil doer to account for their sins.
2 Timothy 3 describes perfectly the times we live in!
