Last week a friend of mine came to see me about something
she had done to someone a long time ago. She never told me what she had done;
it didn’t matter. What did matter was the question she asked, “Will God ever
forgive me if I never go and apologize to the one I offended?” I love those
kind of questions because they always give me the opportunity to remind myself
and others of the incomparable Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Imagine if God’s forgiveness was predicated on the
sufficiency of our apologies. How would we ever know if our apology had enough
integrity for a Holy God to accept it? Moreover, what would be the threshold of
forgiveness needed from the offended party to sway God’s opinion of the
sufficiency of our apology? Thankfully, divine forgiveness if not based on the
sufficiency of our apology, or the response of another, it’s based solely and
exclusively on God’s judgment on His own Son. There’s only one standard by
which God grants His forgiveness and that’s the sufficiency of the finished
work of Christ.
What’s true of an apology is equally true of a confession.
We’ve cited the story of Martin Luther and his insatiable attempts to be made
holy through the confession of his sins. Remember, he wore out several
confessors in the process, believing that unless he named every one of his
sins, he would surely be damned to hell forever. What a glorious day it was
when he came to understand the true meaning of Habakkuk 2:4, “The just
(righteous) shall live by faith.” What Luther came to learn is what the New
Testament overwhelmingly affirms – “Now it is evident that no one is justified
before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” (Galatians
3:11)
And yet, throughout the history of the church confession of
sins is a necessary part of spiritual growth. Indeed, confession is the vehicle
by which we continue to stay in touch with who we are and who God is.
Near the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, a German
reformer by the name of Martin Bucer took a look at his life through the prism
of the Ten Commandments and wrote the following prayer of confession:
“I
poor sinner confess to thee, O Almighty, eternal, merciful God and Father, that
I have sinned in manifold ways against thee and thy commandments.
I
confess that I have not believed in thee, my one God and Father, but have put
my faith and trust more in creatures than in thee, my God and Creator, because
I have feared them more than thee. And for their benefit and my pleasure, I
have done and left undone many things in disobedience to thee and thy
commandments.
I
confess that I have taken thy holy Name in vain, that I have often sworn
falsely and lightly by the same, that I have not always professed it nor kept
it holy as I ought; but even more, I have slandered it often and grossly with
all my life, words and deeds.
I
confess that I have not kept thy Sabbath holy, that I have not heard thy holy
Word with earnestness nor lived according to the same; moveover that I have not
yielded myself fully to thy divine hand, nor rejoiced in thy work done in me
and in others, but have often grumbled against it stoutly and have been
impatient.
I
confess that I have not honored my father and mother, that I have been
disobedient to all whom I justly owe obedience, such as father and mother, my
superiors, and all who have tried to guide and teach me faithfully.
I
confess that I have taken life; that I have offended my neighbor often and
grossly by word and deed, and caused him harm, grown angry over him, borne envy
and hatred toward him, deprived him of his honor and the like.
I
confess that I have been unchaste. I acknowledge all my sins of the flesh and
all the excess and extravagance of my whole life in eating, drinking, clothing
and other things; my intemperance in seeing, hearing and speaking, and in all
my life; yea, even fornication, adultery and such.
I
confess that I have stolen. I acknowledge my greed. I admit that in the use of
my worldly goods I have set myself against thee and thy holy laws. Greedily and
against charity have I grasped them. And scarcely, if at all, have I given of
them when the need of my neighbor required it.
I
confess that I have born false witness, that I have been untrue and unfaithful
toward my neighbor. I have lied to him, I have told lies about him, and I have
failed to defend his honor and reputation as my own.
And
finally I confess that I have coveted the possessions and spouses of others. I
acknowledge in summary that my whole life is nothing else than sin and
transgression of thy holy commandments and inclination toward all evil.
Wherefore
I beseech thee, O heavenly Father, that thou wouldst graciously forgive me
these and all my sins. Keep and preserve me henceforth that I may walk only in
thy way and live according to thy will; and all of this through Jesus Christ,
thy dear Son, our Saviour. Amen.”
What is abundantly apparent from Bucer’s confession is that
our sin is thorough and pervasive. Who among us can fully understand the depth
of our sin? Answer: no one! Indeed, without the convicting power of the Holy
Spirit none of us would have the first hint of the gravity of our sin.
What Bucer’s confession clearly points out is that the
necessary ingredient to deep and effective confession is a Holy Spirit led
memory. Just look at the extent of the confession the people of Jerusalem in
Nehemiah 9. It’s all a reflection on their memory. No wonder it’s the longest
prayer in the Bible.
We will be digging into this chapter and prayer this week.
In preparation for Sunday, you may wish to consider the following:
1. What is significant about the timing of this confession?
2. What is the Lord telling us about the order of His dealing
with the people of Jerusalem from 8:1 through chapter 9?
3. Is God’s grace and forgiveness predicated on their
confession?
4. What can we learn about our confessions from their posture
in verses 1 & 2?
5. Why do they separate themselves again from all foreigners?
6. What is the purpose of such separation?
7. How does verse 7 act as a linkage between them and their
forbearers?
8. What are they saying about God in verse 32?
9. On whom are they depending for their righteousness in verse
38?
10. How does chapter 9 drive us to the Gospel?
See you Sunday!
