Confession: When I refused to confess my sin,

my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long (Psalm 32:3 NLT). David is telling us poetically, that guilt was eating away at him.  We've been looking at blame and excuses, and about being unwilling to take responsibility for our actions (Genesis 3:12, 13).  Still on its own taking responsibility and making amends does not deal with the guilt that we might try and suppress, medicate or otherwise seek to mitigate. Suppressed guilt is one of the reasons we often don't like ourselves very much. We can sin against God, against each other, and in fact we can also sin against ourselves (1 Corinthians 8:12; 6:18). However after committing adultery and then murder to cover it up (1 Samuel 11), David tells the Lord “Against You, You only have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). If then our sin is primarily against God, then ultimately He alone has the authority to forgive (or not).  This is helpful to know when others don't forgive us, or when we have trouble forgiving ourselves.

In the first verse of Psalm 32 we read “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”  Part of what this means, is that the cure for guilt is to be forgiven. In order to be forgiven however, we need to confess our sins. And when we do, He is faithful and just, not only to forgive us, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And He can be just because of the substitutionary death of Jesus for us, on the cross (1 John 2:2).  Of course, it's just one of the many reasons why our “higher Power” in twelve-step-programs needs to be the God of the Bible.

But actually twelve-step-programs lead us further in bringing the Kingdom into our relationships. It's another difficult step however. After making a fearless moral inventory of ourselves the next step (5) is “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”  This in fact is one small step for mankind in bringing in the Kingdom. And if you think step 5 is hard go figure James 5:16 which commands “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”  Many will protest “I don't need to confess to others to be forgiven!” And this is true, we confess to God to be forgiven, but we confess to others to be healed. It's promised right there in James!

Step 5 suggests we start our confessions with one safe person (our sponsor), this because frankly, this side of the fall,  confession is not generally safe. In varying degrees of safeness however, the fellowship in twelve-step programs promotes a non-judgmental atmosphere where there is total acceptance of others. And as, with the gospel, it is in this spiritual atmosphere that we are set free to change.

Father, the picture I have of putting James 5:16 into practice, is for us to come together at the foot of the cross where,  in it's shadow and in Your presence, we know deep within our hearts that although we are flawed, we are fully accepted and loved. And here, in that place, we are able to extend love and acceptance first to ourselves, and then to each other. Here blame, excuses and our unwillingness to take responsibility flee away.  Here, we start to experience the same intimacy Adam and Eve had with each other and with You before the fall. Help us return there Lord,  in Jesus Name Amen