Message #3 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series "Confession"

by Kaye Johns

One of the Scriptures some of us might like to avoid is James 2:10: "The person who keeps every law of God, but makes one little slip, is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is." [James 2:10, TLB] But avoiding the truth doesn’t change it. Every little sin is sin and separates us from God until it is confessed. It doesn’t matter whether or not we think it’s insignificant; no sin is insignificant to God.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 6 that confession is to be part of our daily prayers -- "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Here "debt" means sin, in the sense that sin is a debt that demands payment or punishment. For God to forgive the debt of our sins is for Him to set aside the punishment they deserve.

Sometimes, the word "trespass" is used, another polite word for sin which means a "deviation from uprightness and truth." But as we consider the sin in our lives, disobedience comes to mind. We do the things we know we shouldn’t, and we fail to do the things we know we should.

When Jesus teaches we must daily confess our sins, He uses the plural, sins -- debts or trespasses. We must name them individually, for "If we confess our sins to him," the apostle John tells us, "he can be depended on to forgive and to cleanse us from every wrong." [1 John 1:8-9, TLB]

If we confess, He can be depended on to forgive and to cleanse. Confession is necessary, if we want to maintain our relationship with Him, if we want Him to hear and answer our prayers. And it’s our initiative, our responsibility.

Pray with me now -- Lord, forgive us for sometimes taking our sins too lightly. Help us to equate our assessment of sins with Yours. Teach us Your truth. Amen.

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