confession & repentance

Confession is sharing and acknowledging your sin to God and others, and repentance is fully turning away from your sin and pursuing holiness instead. When we confess our sins to God and ask Him for forgiveness, God promises to be faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every unrighteousness. Because God is good to us and kind to us, we refuse to misuse His grace as an opportunity to continue sinning. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
— 1 John 1:9

Make this a Rhythm in your life: Confession to God and to other believers is a foundational discipline in the Christian life. This means confessing your sins to God and confessing your sins to other believers. This is the beauty of living life with other believers in community. There is a freedom that comes from confessing your sins to one another. And when we do, it creates the opportunity for others to pray for you. Repentance is your act of turning away from the sins you’ve confessed and pursuing a life that looks like Jesus.

Challenge: Spend time daily asking God to reveal sins in your life that you need to confess and repent from. Find a believer or a group of believers with whom you can “confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” Encourage each other to repent and turn away from that sinful way of life.

Input/Output Confession Exercise:

  • Input: how am I feeding my soul?

  • Output: how am I feeding others?

  • Confession: how am I feeding my flesh?

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