To Repent part 4 of 4

Next in repenting of Sin one must confess there sin.

Jas 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, so that you are healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous one accomplishes much.


Confessing our sin is an acknowledgment of that sin. We can not repent of a sin we do not acknowledge!

Lets talk about this idea of confessing our sins for a moment. Does this mean we are to go to a specific person to confess our sin? Or even worse participate in open gossip sessions with our peers, and talk about how horrible we are?

I do not think that either of these are the correct path to take. We are supposed to pray for one another, that goes without question, but is it necessary to know all the dark and sorted details?

I for one do not think so.

So to resolve this issue, lets ask the question. In the Torah where did one go to confess there sins? Well you would go to the presence of God right? So you would go to the tabernacle/Temple. That’s actually where many get the idea of confessing to a certain person or group of people. But just to let all of us know, one did not confess to the priest in the Tabernacle. In fact you laid your hands upon the offering, not the priest. As a mediator the priest was a participant, but you laid your hands on the offering, said “my sins are on this animal”, and offered it to the Lord.

Many misconceptions exist about the sacrifices and the sacrificial system. I would encourage all to really learn about them and what they where for.

For now all we need to understand is that the cleansing of the sacrifice didn’t last. It was only so you could draw near to God. It lasted while you were there, so we weren’t consumed by the all consuming Holy presence of God. It was so we were covered while worshiping God, to keep us from being consumed for our sin.

But the point is, God honored the action, not just the thought.

The word for sacrifice in Hebrew is Korban, and it means to draw near. So our confessions, and our actions are taken to draw near to God.

That is confessing our sins!!!

So how do we confess our sins to one another? Do we say I want to tell another person or group of people exactly what I did so I can be forgiven?

No!!! It says so we can be healed.

If one commits a sin against another specifically, then they need to go to that person, and confess there sin to them. So all can be healed! Recompense can be made, and the spirit can be healed.

To truly repent we must see the need for repentance, understand our sin, admit it, and quit it.

Remember repentance is an action. It is something we do. We need to quit the sin in order to be truly repentant. Asking forgiveness for a sin you plan to commit again, is asking in vain, because it is not repentance.

If we ever have to ask if we are truly repentant all we need to do is look at our actions.

Act 26:20 On the contrary, I announced first in Dammesek, then in Yerushalayim and throughout Y'hudah, and also to the Goyim, that they should turn from their sins to God and then do deeds consistent with that repentance.

There are deeds consistent with repentance?
After the act of turning from our sins to our God, there are in fact actions, or deeds that follow. So if there is no change there was no repentance!

Mat 3:8 If you have really turned from your sins to God, produce fruit that will prove it!

Stop saying you are repenting and actually do it!

We all must understand that 90% of all communication is none verbal. It is based on our actions, not our words. We have to act our words out to show that we mean them. Then when we say the words, others will truly see that we mean them. Our God is not asking us to reveal our intentions, He is demanding to see our deeds!

Repentance is always going to be tied to action!

The result of repentance is fruit, and more fruit!

This is meant to be an encouragement to sinners “which we all are”. We need to see that the more we choose to obey, the more we can do! The level of obedience should always be consistently raised in our lives. One of me personal favorite quotes of all time comes from an author unknown. It goes as follows “ If you have not had a major revelation in your life in the past two years, check your pulse, because you might be dead.”

If you have not raised the level of obedience to your God in recent history check your pulse because you may be in fact dying or dead. Those who have an understanding of an everlasting life may want to really pray about that last quote.

Repentance is going back to where we left the path of God. For many it is in finding the path in the first place. But we need to find that place, or road that we left and get back to it. It is not merely a prayer, it is an action. We are not simply turning away from something, we are turning to something. It isn’t just stopping what we consider to be sin, it is returning to the path God has laid out for us. It is returning to His path in His ways.

What is it we a turning or returning to?

The Ways of God!!! To what he said!!! In the ways He described them!!!

To repent is not a one time thing. It is a lifetime of obedience We should repent every day, because we sin everyday. We must contently make the little turns back to where we know that God wants us to be. Back to where God has declared that we should be in His Word! It is not just a thought, it is not a noun, It is a verb.

It is something we do, and keep on doing. We have to stop asking for repentance in vain, we have to stop saying we repent in vain, and actually do repentance!

As we go forth and test these new ideas in Scripture let us pray that our Father gives us His Spirit of wisdom, understanding, and truth. So we may see and walk as our Messiah walked, and be true disciples in the Name of Yeshua (Jesus).  May we pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to change for the glory of our God