A meditation on confessing our sins to God, seeking forgiveness through Christ, asking the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of sin’s pollution, and to enable us to fight sin by His power.
(I made these notes some years ago while reading, Making All Things New by David Powlison. This wise man, now with the Lord, and the Holy Spirit are responsible for any help found here.)
What should a believer do when he/she sins? Meditate on the penitential songs in Scripture, e.g. Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, and 143. The greatest of these musical prayers of confession is Psalm 51. The Word of God gives proper diagnosis; the Spirit digs deep into our motivations to uncover the fountain of our ungodly thoughts, words, and deeds. Our sin may seem to have come from outside of us, but the truth is that all of our temptations arise from our own hearts.
James 1:13–15, Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Mark 7:14–23, And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
When we sin, we can’t say that it was an anomaly, a unique situation that won’t repeat itself. We know this is a lie. Nor can we say, “I’ll make up for it,” for all of our righteousness is filthy rags! And we can’t try to live as though it never happened. Our sin grieves God ─grieves His Holy Spirit, harms others, and troubles our conscience. So what should we do when we sin?
The place of repentance is the place of forgiveness and restoration. Confession speaks honestly with God and others about our rebellion and idolatry. Confession seeks mercy from the wounds and suffering of the Lamb of God. Confession seeks grace to help our weakness.
God’s message for a sinning Christian is not, “Shape up,” or, “Try harder.” The repentant cry out, “Wash me Savior or I die!” and “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Repentance asks the Lord for cleansing and sanctification. Repentance is faith believing the promise of the gospel to forgive us and change us.
When we trust God’s gospel promises, we reject the false promises of sin. Believing God’s promises sanctifies us because we worship the Lord alone as God. This is the power of the first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Believing clings to God alone and tears down the idols erected by our sinful desires.
When we believe, we confess Jesus Christ as Lord, and own Him supreme over all things. Then we are equipped to “renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age,” Titus 2:11-12.
And God's mercy makes all things new.