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Pastors, Sin, and Confession

We must stand in grace.  

I don’t mean to presume upon grace, to flippantly claim it as our own—but we may cast ourselves upon the mercy of God knowing that he invites us to boldly approach him, confident in his grace (Hebrews 4:16).  Take up the sword of the Spirit in the middle of confession’s battle and realize that it is Jesus himself that is our defender to stand before the accusations of the devil.  We can enter confession believing God when he says, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)  Connecting to our defender equips us to overcome the inevitable fears that arise in the process of confession.

We must confess to the appropriate circle. 

Never does the Bible say that we must confess all sins to all people.  True, our struggles and failures may become broadly known.  But we’re not commanded to broadcast them.  In the pastorate, handling our own sin calls for a balance between authenticity and prudence.  To give the impression that we are somehow above sin is to create a false understanding among those we lead.  But to specifically reveal to our whole congregation the details of every sin we commit is also impractical and unwise.  Who is the appropriate circle?  Here is the irreducible minimum:  confess to ourselves, to God, and to another believer you trust.  Beyond that, the circle is to be widened under the leadership of the Spirit and might necessarily include those we have sinned against.  There is no formula here but only a commitment to obey God as he leads us in the process of confession.

It’s important that we not skirt past the first:  confessing to ourselves.  If a besetting sin has a grip on us, the faster we can escape denial and admit we’ve got a problem the better.

As obvious as it may sound, it’s important that we not forget the second:  we need to explicitly and consciously name our sins to God as he guides us by his Spirit and brings to mind those things he wishes us to be free of.  It’s indeed a sweet thing to have these transactions with the Lord.  That said, in confession, we can’t stop there.

Finally, we must speak out our sins to another person, a human, preferably a believer who understands God’s requirements and provisions.  God is specific about this:

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other…”  (James 5:16)— it’s in sharing with another human being that we complete the circle of confession and escape the trap of denial.  Frankly, Protestants can take a cue from their Roman Catholic compatriots.  Catholics often demonstrate a greater understanding of the value of regularly confessing to another person.  And while some might not agree with the institutional confessional form, they can certainly learn from the example of valuing confession.  (I think some are jealous of the Catholics because they have such a ready outlet for confession!)