Confession

 

A great question arose during Sunday’s lesson.  Are David’s prayers in the Psalms, specifically Psalm 32, 51 and the like, a transition point where confession changed from a ritualistic formula to a private personal practice?

Here are some of my investigatory findings.  

One article at this location noted as we did in today’s lesson that “through the first sin, Adam and Eve rejected the gift of divine life. … But, did they die? The moment they ate, did they drop dead? The answer is yes and no. They did not die naturally, but they did die supernaturally. They no longer were partakers of the divine nature. They had chosen their own way and they, and their descendants have known no other way but physical nature until such time as they might rediscover the path to their divine nature.”  

“We too are free to commit such heinous acts. In order to restore the gift of divine life to humanity, which Adam forfeited, God the Father sent the Son, to give us the Holy Spirit in baptism. To guide us and steer us to reconciliation with God the Father.  

“To give a proper perspective on the New Covenant sacrament of reconciliation instituted by Christ, we will explore the Old Testament prefiguration of this sacrament. … What did God desire Adam and Eve to do after the fall? He wanted them to show repentance and contrition (sorrow) by confessing their sins. Notice that God tries to draw out a confession from them after the fall. God asks them, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). This is not a question of physical location, but of spiritual condition. Adam, instead of exposing his spiritual condition to God, tries to hide himself physically. …(Genesis 3:11). Adam’s reply, instead of being repentant and contrite, is, “The woman who you put here with me – she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it” (Genesis 3:12). He does confess, but without repentance or contrition. Instead, he plays the blame game. We must notice that he does not primarily blame the woman; he primarily blames God: “the woman YOU put here with me.” The consequence for this unrepented sin is exclusion from being able to eat the fruit of the tree of life. Access to divine life is cut off by man’s choice.”

 

“Another Old Testament event that prefigures the sacrament of reconciliation is in Genesis 4. Adam’s oldest son, Cain, kills his younger brother, Abel. God, like he did with Adam, tries to elicit a confession. God asks Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” Not only does he not confess with repentance and contrition, he lies by saying, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). God administers a punishment and Cain accuses God of being unjust and [accuses] the rest of humanity of murderous intent. Cain remains unrepentant and unconfessed. The consequence for this sin is exclusion from the Lord’s presence.”

 

“Throughout the rest of the Old Testament, God continues to call persons to repent, confess and do penance. It also becomes more ritualized. Through the law of Moses, he gave specific ritual ways for individuals to confess their sins. In Leviticus 5:5-6 we read after a litany of sins, “…whoever is guilty in any of these cases shall confess the sin he has incurred, and as his sin offering for the sin he has committed he shall bring to the Lord a female animal from the flock…The priest shall then make atonement for his sin.” [The ritual form is] there must be a confession of sin, penance of sacrifice, and the involvement of a priest.”

 

“We also read in Numbers 5:5-7, “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites: If a man [or woman] commits a fault against his fellow man and wrongs him, thus breaking faith with the Lord, he shall confess the wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged.” There must be a confession and restitution shall be made as a form of penance.”

This article also points out an interesting thing about out Old Testament “Thanksgiving Offering”.  

 

“Leviticus also tells us of the consequences of sin. When a thanksgiving sacrifice was (made), unleavened and leavened bread were offered and, “The flesh of the thanksgiving sacrifice shall be eaten…” (Leviticus 7:15). The word for thanksgiving in Hebrew is todah. The word for thanksgiving in Greek is eucharistein. So this eucharistic sacrifice included flesh and bread, and the consequences for being unclean and eating the flesh was “that person shall be cut off from his people” [evicted] (Leviticus 7:20). So you must first be made clean through repentant confession, and thus be able to partake of the flesh, so that you may not be cut off from the assembly.”  

 

King David in his Psalm 51 prayers include: 

• Calling upon God
• Invoking Gods attribute(s) [acknowledging the attributes of God that apply to the prayer] 
• Confession
• Restoration
• Salvation
• Sacrifice

They are highlighted below:

“Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. For I know my offense; against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight that you are just in your sentence, blameless when you condemn…A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit….Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power…My sacrifice, God, is a broken spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart” (Psalm 51:3-6, 12, 16, 19). 

Another more academic article found here notes that: 

“The abundance of Old Testament confessional material offers a [pattern for] defining confession of sins. In contrast with the New Testament, the Old Testament contains many short confessions. Short confessions include simple statements like: ‘I have sinned against the Lord’.”

Further it notes that 

“Appealing to an attribute of God in confession is natural and logical. [In the Old Testament] God takes sin personally. … Sinning expresses hatred toward God. Obedience expresses love to Him.”  “The New Testament also acknowledges that God takes sin personally, so sinning affects our relationship with [God].” 

 “True confession is not merely an acknowledgement of sin, but of [our] sin against God.”  “Merely confessing our sins without true repentance does not avail. That is, confession alone brings God’s experiential forgiveness, but confession without repentance does not allow the believer’s fellowship with the Lord to continue.”

So there is record from the time of Moses that confession and repentance were called for in our relationship with God.  

“Israel’s holy days provided a time for confession. The Day of Atonement called for national repentance (Leviticus 16:21).” And in the New Testament Paul makes an appeal for repentant purity when he appeals to the Passover and encourages us to “clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.”

“In the New Testament Paul remindsus that Scripture is given for reproof, which should lead those reproved to confession. Self-examination under direction of the Holy Spirit can reveal the need for confession. David asked, Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts (Psalm 139:23). While Paul challenged the Corinthians,‘test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test” (2 Corinthians 13:5). 

But is confession a private act or a public ritual?

“Certainly private confession to God is imperative. David writes, ‘I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; and ‘Thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin (Psalm 32:5).’” 

 

“Moses (Exodus 33), Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33), Daniel (Daniel 9) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1) all made private confession to God. The Lord’s Prayer also promotes private confession to God, for it is to be practiced in private prayer. Jesus taught,  ‘but you, when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. . . . Pray, then, in this way: . . . “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. . . .” (Matthew 6:6, 9, 12).”

So then the pattern from the Old Testament is

“The Old Testament teaches that confession’s essentials are: 

• The confession must be made to God, appealing to one or more of His attributes and 
• sins must be acknowledged.

Things that are natural, though not absolute requisites, to confession are 

• contrition, 
• an intention to avoid sinning, 
• a request for forgiveness and/or relief, and 
• a willingness to tell others (about God, about His forgiveness or His ways). 

Finally, some biblical contexts associate restitution and limited public acknowledgement of sin with confession.” 

So the Mosaic law called for confession.  The Mosaic ritual provided for ritualistic confession, both public and private.  David promoted private, AND public confession through his Psalms. Jesus called for confession and a daily, honest time of confession with God.  The New Testament authors promoted introspection and confession for a closer walk with God.

While it is safe to say that, perhaps the practice of confession evolved from the time of the Old Testament to the New Testament, and afterwards into the modern era, the pattern for confession is well established: 

• Focus upon God and his attributes,
• Acknowledgement of our shortcomings in relation to God.

I would hold equally important

• Contrition,
• An intention to make a change,
• A request for forgiveness and/or relief, and
• A willingness to confirm to others at least that we have confessed to God that we miss the mark of his perfection and that we strive to draw closer to him.

So David may, or may not, behave been the impetus for the “popularization” of confession, but he certainly left us the record of the template and the pattern that his GREATEST grand son, Jesus would offer to us as our daily pattern.