Confessing sins to God is essential for all who have consecrated their lives to Him. Although the consecrated mind seeks to draw close to God and focus on His ways, the old mind, steeped in the old ways of sin, struggles against change (Romans 7:14-25). As in any struggle, there will be victories and defeats in the battle against sin. God cannot tolerate sin in any form. However, God’s consecrated followers have the assurance that Jesus, the head of Christ’s church, will act as an advocate before God for the sinner (1 John 2:1). This provides the sinner with a path to a continuing relationship with God, but fully walking the path requires effort on the part of the sinner. The path begins with a recognition, or confession, to God of the sin (1 John 1:9-10).  

The confession of sins is meant to be a solemn, heartfelt communication with God that goes beyond rote words and actions (Matthew 6:7). When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray (Matthew 6:9-15), he included the need to seek forgiveness from God for committed sins. Doing so indicates to God an awareness of sins committed, and that the sins weigh heavily on the heart as a cause of disharmony with God. Although the Bible records Jesus’ words as being general (“forgive our debts”), it is also appropriate, even effective, to seek forgiveness for specific sins, and explicitly express the shortcomings to God. Doing so indicates an acknowledgement to God of wrongdoing and demonstrates a recognition of the need for mercy and Jesus’ advocacy.

As Jesus continued his teaching on praying for forgiveness for sins, he also taught that forgiving others for their sins was intrinsically necessary to receive forgiveness for one’s own sins. The Apostle Peter later asked Jesus how many times one should forgive one’s brother for a sin. Jesus responded with “seventy time seven” times. He followed this statement with the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). The parable reinforces the lesson that all people, being sinners, are only capable of a standing before God due to undeserved mercy. Each one should therefore have a merciful heart toward one’s fellow people, especially brethren in Christ, who may sin against us. 

As the consecrated heart and mind grow more in harmony with God, a corresponding love for God’s ways and guidance will also grow and begin to crowd out the desire to sin. However, until the day when one’s consecrated faithfulness has been proven to God’s satisfaction, failures will still be inevitable. Each consecrated heart is reliant on the mercy and advocacy of our Head and Master, Jesus, to provide a means to stand before God. Until the battle against the fallen nature is finally won, the heart and mind will continue to grow through recognition and confession of sins to God, the commitment and action of growing beyond those sins, and cultivating a merciful and compassionate heart toward our fellow brethren in Christ.

Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1359: “Did Jesus Teach Us That We Are All Unprofitable Servants?”
Unraveling the true meaning of what an unworthy servant really is
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