Unfortunately as Baptists, we have allowed other denominations and traditions to make us shy away from confession and public confession by the body of Christ. And yet we find that it is an important part of the believers' life and worship.
In Lev. 26:40: "But if they will confess their sins . . .; Num. 5:7: ". . . must confess the sin he has committed"; Ps. 38:18: "I confess my iniquity"; Ezra 10:11: "Now make confession to the Lord . . ."; Rom. 10:9: " . . . That if you confess with your mouth"; 2 Cor. 9:13: " . . . obedience that accompanies your confession . . . "; James 5:16: "Therefore confess your sins to each other . . ."; I John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful . . . " And on we could go with passages that deal with the act of confession.
When Isaiah saw the Lord in Isaiah 6, his first response is "Woe is me, for I am undone. I am a man with unclean lips . . ." We should approach our worship in humility, knowing that without Him, we are undone. We should always be ready to confess how we have fallen short of His glory in our lives day by day and moment by moment and seek and know His forgiveness.
When we see Him in all His glory and holiness, our response is praise of Who He is, immediately confessing who we are. And confession leads to thanksgiving for His redemption and forgiveness. It is only then that we can continue to be ready to obey His call on our lives to carry out His purpose in and through our lives.
Yes, confession needs to be a part of our private worship life and our corporate worship life when we gather as the forgiven. May it be so. mjm
