WHY WE CONFESS

The Prayer of Confession in our Sunday services if often misunderstood in two quite different ways. For those who have come out of the Roman Catholic Church it reminds them of the confessional… and for those who come out of charismatic or other non-traditional churches it is a novelty which raises questions about the need for ongoing forgiveness - as such prayers are non-existent in those contexts.

Confessing our sins is both biblical and a part of our Anglican heritage - along with other mainline protestant churches. But, why confess our sins when we gather? Prayers of confession are important because they remind us of the gospel of grace: that grace is not cheap, that our ongoing sins are deserving of punishment, but if we acknowledge and confess them, we are forgiven on the basis of Jesus once for all sacrifice for sin… The Apostle John encourages us, "But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins…” (1 John 2:1-2). So confession is the God appointed means by which we cleanse our otherwise guilty consciences, and "clear the air” so to speak in our relationship with God.

Also, praying public prayers also highlights the need for ongoing private confession as a discipline of the Christian life. As the Holy Spirit brings our sins to light and we come under conviction, we should confess them. One of the ways he does this is through the set prayers themselves which highlight the categories of sin that we are not aware of. For example our lack of prayer, "Pardon our sins, merciful Lord. We have been hasty and short in prayer, and this first sin of the day leads to so many others…"

In preparing for confirmation, one of our teenagers asked me what she was to do with her sins. “Good question” I said, “Confess your sins…”

Yours in Christ

Gavin