I am currently involved in a class at my church called Discipleship and Relationships, and it deals with the topics of…you guessed it, Discipleship and Relationships.
As a part of this class, every week we are given homework that deals with some of the classic disciplines (fasting, confession, meditation, chastity). For the last couple of lessons, our homework has centered around confession, and in particular, the role that confession plays in the life and personal discipleship of the believer.
This has been really challenging to me. It is one thing to practice confessing specific things to God, but it is quite another to find someone that you trust enough to confess your sin to. It has got to be one of the most humbling things that I have ever done.
While spending a good deal of time reflecting on this discipline, there are a couple of things that have come to mind. I would like to share them, and ask for your input (if you feel so inclined).
First, this last week as I was meditating on the concept of confession, this thought came to mind: Confession is like the hammer driving the nails for my personal crucifixion. We are commanded to die to ourselves, and so often, practical instruction in this area is lacking. I would like to offer something practical. Confess your sins to one another. (Okay, so maybe I just plagiarized from James, but I don’t claim to be inspired.) Confession is perhaps one of the most difficult and the most liberating things that I have ever done.
I don’t believe it to be very wise to confess to just anyone, but I do advise that anyone serious follower of the Master begin this practice. I also recommend that you confess to someone that you trust will be honest with you and tell you the truth about yourself (in love of course). So often, confession can be done to another individual as a means of simply placating one’s conscience, but that doesn’t do any good. God wants us to be loving with one another, and love means being real with one another before God.
Secondly, as we discussed this principle last night in our class, the thought struck me that when someone is confessing to me, I am, in effect, acting in the role of priest to that person.
Now before I am tied to the stake, and the fire is lit, (whether by a fellow Messianic, or a protestant believer) let me explain. The priesthood given in the Torah was to be an intermediary between God and man. Messiah has always functioned in this role in the heavens, but on earth, God gave the Aaronic priesthood as a visible representation of what was and is continually taking place in eternity.
According to the Apostolic Scriptures, we are all priests. (In fact, according to Exodus 19, God’s desire was always that all of His people would be priests.) As a priest, one of our duties is to be an intermediary, an intercessor between God and man. Obviously, this doesn’t negate or diminish what Yeshua does second by second, but it allows us the opportunity to intercede on behalf of our brothers and sisters.
Confession is a powerful weapon against judgementalism. When I make my faults known to others, it is impossible for me to look judgemental-ly upon others. It helps us all to realize that we are ALL sinners, regardless of our background and/or spiritual maturity.
