Confess Sins

Confess Sins

by John S. Oliver

INTRODUCTION

An important part of prayer is confessing known sins. When sins are admitted to God privately then He forgives and cleanses. This includes unknown sins. The verse in First John 1:9 gives instruction and confidence. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

What follows is a short list of possible sins that people could commit. This is offered as an aid. You have committed some of these sins but not all of them. If you are born again then you are positionally in Christ Jesus. There is therefore no condemnation. Yet there is responsibility to confess these to God in your private prayer closet or in you mind.

Let the Holy Spirit search you and convict you to the sins you need to confess right now. Do not focus on your sins. Instead focus on the One who bore your sins in His Body while on the Cross. There they were paid for in full.

During the two thousand years of church history the subject of sins has been rarely treated in a balanced way. These days a person hardly ever hears the word sin. Yet a few hundred years ago that is all they heard. Let us aim for a healthy balance.

Did you know that sins can be divided into various kinds? For example a person can sin in thought, word and deed. Also besides the sins that were actually committed, called sins of commission, there are also sins of omission, for what was not done. That teaching will wait for later. But do not consider this or any list as a complete list of all possible sins.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS (used centuries ago but still valid today)

Pride

Anger

Lust

Gluttony

Envy

Sloth

Avarice

COMMON ROOT SINS (that lead to other wrong behaviors)

Selfishness

Coveting

Idolatry

Fear

Self-righteous

Adultery

Lying

Cheating

Stealing

Unforgiveness

Unbelief

Gossip

Slander

Cursing

COMMON FORMS OF IDOLATRY

(All of these are healthy things when in a healthy state of balance.

But they can be taken to unhealthy excess.

Beware when an idol dominates all uses of resources like

time, money, energy, attention, affection, etc.

There is little or no love left for God, family, friends, those in need, etc.)

Recall that Jesus said the greatest commandment is to

love God with all your heart, soul and strength.

The second greatest commandment is like unto it

to love your neighbor as yourself.

Those guidelines are easy to state

but they are hard to keep in right perspective

when all the glamorous idols are so appealing and popular.

Popular idols today include the following and there are many more.

Money

Possessions

Pleasure

Comfort

Convenience

Happiness

Success

Fashion

Work

Shopping

Entertainment

Education

Knowledge

Prestige

Recreation

Accomplishment

Power

Freedom

Fun

Excitement

Fitness

Sex appeal

Beauty

Security

Ministry

Getting high

TV viewing

Web surfing

Video games

Activity

Cleaning

Organizing

Planning

Preparing

COMMON FEARS (lacking total trust in God)

Rejection

Failure

Success

Control

People

Loss

Death

Pain

Illness

ANOTHER VIEW OF SINS

Perfectionism

Procrastination

Workaholism

Compulsive spending

Compulsive debiting

Compulsive gambling

Over eating

Obsessively dieting

Obsessively exercising