As God’s children, we know we’re called to confess our sins to Him. However, do we actually know what our confession accomplishes? Bible Scholar Ron Rhodes shares some important truths about the purpose of confession concerning our salvation and our on-going relationship with God.
Before we unlock the purpose of confession, Ron clears the air about the nature of true confession.
“Confession is more than just listing all of the bad things you’ve done. The word ‘confess’ literally means, ‘to have the same mind as.’ When you are confessing a sin to God, you have the same mind as He does from what is revealed in Scripture. You’re agreeing that it is sin, you’re agreeing that you shouldn’t do it again, but if you stumble, you confess again.”
Ron says the first and most obvious purpose of confession concerns salvation. In Mark 1:15, John the Baptist clearly calls all would-be followers of Jesus Christ to “repent and believe in the Gospel.” Without confessing our sins and believing in Jesus Christ, we cannot be saved.
However, receiving the free gift of eternal life is not the only purpose of confession. In other words, our confession of sin doesn’t stop when we become believers. Repenting of our sins continually allows us to remain in on-going fellowship with God.
“Once you become a believer, there is this issue of on-going fellowship with the Father. If you choose to sin and remain in sin, God can’t fellowship with that. God is sinless. He is perfect. He is light and there is no darkness in Him whatsoever. That doesn’t mean you’re all of the sudden unforgiven or unsaved, you’re still saved, but don’t you want to fellowship with God on a daily basis?”
In order to remain in fellowship with God, Ron says we would do well to heed the words of the Apostle John from his first epistle.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
God invites us to confess our sins to Him and if we do, He promises to fill us with His love and power.
Dr. Ron Rhodes received his Th.M. and Th.D. degrees in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, graduating with honors. He is currently the president of Reasoning from the Scriptures Ministries, an apologetics organization located in Texas.
Key Scripture: Mark 1:15; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 116:15
Featured Songs: Lavish – Big Daddy Weave and Francesca Battistelli; Give Me Jesus – Danny Gokey; Power to Redeem – Lauren Daigle; This We Know – Passion; For the One – Bethel Music; Unfailing Father – Selah
Bible Answers with Ron Rhodes - Apostasy in the church
