Confession of Sin.

     The Bible tells us that one who conceals his sin will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes his sin will find compassion (Proverbs 28:13). If we confess our sins, God is faithful, and righteous to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).
     These are wonderful promises to the one who is weary of his or her load of sin. Jesus said " Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30NASB).
     So what does it mean to confess one's sin? Who do we confess our sin to?
     To confess our sin is to admit to our sin. It is to aknowledge  our guilt. King David suffered the agonies of a guilty conscience as long as he tried to conceal his sin (Psalm 32:3-4). He acknowledged his sin, that is, he owned up to it, and confessed it to the Lord, and found relief (Psalm 32:5). He did not hide anything. He was open and honest with God.
     True confession of sin takes the side of God. God is the offended party, and we are the offenders. A truly brokenhearted person understands that they have grievously offended God. They realize that He is just and fair in His dealings with us, and that we deserve the just penalty of His broken law. Such an individual will not try to excuse their sin, lessen it, or attempt to justify themselves in the eyes of God.
     A truly broken individual will not seek God's mercy for selfish reasons. They are not confessing their sin because they want to avoid the consequences, whether the consequences are felt in this world or the one to come.
     Many individuals desire forgiveness to escape hell and to enter heaven. While it is true that a born again child of God will spend eternity in the glorious presence of God, escaping the deserved sentence of hell, this is a mere selfish reason for confessing and repenting of our sin. We are only looking out for our own selves, and not considering that we have offended God.
     A true confession of sin is to God, for His sake, and not for what it can get us. Look at David once again. See what he says about his sin in Psalm 51:4. He is taking God's side against himself. He freely admits that his sin was against God, and God was perfectly just in pronouncing judgment against him.
     The prophet Daniel confesses his sin and the sin of the nation in a similar way. He sides with God against the nation, taking the blame and accepting the consequences of sin(Daniel 9:4-20). Read this portion of scripture carefully and notice how he justifies God, and lays the blame where it belongs.
      Paul speaks of the sorrow of the world that leads to death, and godly sorrow that leads to repentance unto life (2 Cor 7:10). Godly sorrow is our response to God when we realize that rebellion is at the heart of our sin. Our sinful acts flow out of a heart that refuses to submit to God and His law (Mark 7:20-23; Romans 8:7).
      It is our stubborn rebellion that grieves God, and separates us from fellowship with Him. This must be confessed and repented of, not for what good might come to us, but for God's sake, because we have treated Him shamefully and with contempt. Anything less is merely us looking out for ourselves in selfishness. We are still in rebellion against God, we are still in charge of our own lives.
     While we agree with David that our sin is against God (Psalm 51:4), there is that aspect of our sin that affects others as well. When we lie it affects others. When we steal we take something that belongs to another. Our gossip hurts he reputations of other individuals. Murder, disobedience to our parents, adultery and other sexual sins, all hurt and offend the people around us, and for this reason we must confess to those we have offended as well.
     The Old Testament law made provision for restitution to those who were affected by the sin's of the offender (Leviticus 6:1-7). They were to bring restitution as well as interest when they came to offer the sacrifice for their transgression, or the priest would not offer the sacrifice on their behalf.
     Likewise we too are to confess our sins to each other (James 5:16). To the extent our sins have affected others, we must seek restoration through confession and restitution.
     Jesus requires this (Matthew 5:23-25). According to this we must do what is in our power to be restored to one we have offended. We are to give this priority, even over our worship to God.
     Jesus met a man named Zaccheus, who was a tax collector. Tax collectors in that day were often corrupt and took advantage of people. They became wealthy through dishonest means. Read the account in Luke 19:1-10. See the reaction of Zaccheus? He promised to restore with interest, whatever he had taken dishonestly (Luke 19:8). He showed a true repentance, because a thief who keeps what he stole is still a thief, no matter what kind of confession of sin, or prayer for mercy they have made. He was a man who was truly repentant of his sin and, his restitution proved it.
     A person who is truly filled with a godly sorrow will seek to confess to those he has offended, desiring to do whatever is in his power to undo the damage done by his sin.
     I understand that there are some things that cannot be fixed, there are some things that are honestly forgotten, and there are some things we are unable to restore, but the principle remains. We are to do whatever we can, whatever lies within our power, wherever possible to be made right with those we have offended.
     To refuse this shows that we are filled with pride. We are not sorry, we do not desire to change, and deep within our deceived heart (Jeremiah 17:9-10) we do not desire to submit to God, through Jesus Christ. Our repentance is false. Our confession is shallow and fake. How can we expect a just God who is righteous in everything He does, to forgive us if we will not do justice? What does God require? He requires justice and mercy (Amos 5:14-15, 21-24; Micah 6:8; James 1:27, 2:12-13). God opposes our pride, but will give grace to the humble (James 4:6-10).
     If we confess our sins with a true heartfelt confession, no excuses, everything open before God, willing to do what we can to be right with those we have offended, we can trust that God in His mercy will forgive us and cleanse us for the sake of Christ Jesus. We must turn from the root of our sin, that rebellion of the heart against God's rightful rule in our lives, and in humble submission give ourselves wholly to Him.