Why Confession Really Is Good for the Soul

Here’s a tricky question: When was the last time you confessed a specific sin to God? Now, an even trickier question: When was the last time you confessed a specific sin to God while in the presence of another person?

So far, in this series on spiritual disciplines based on Richard Foster’s The Celebration of Discipline, we’ve looked at the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting, and study. We’ve looked at outward disciplines, which include simplicity, solitude, submission, and service. Now, we turn to corporate disciplines, the first of which is confession.

John Mark Comer writes, “Confession is our part in dealing with sin. God is the physician; we’re the patient. All we can do is set our sin in his light. His job is to deal with our sin; our job is to confess our secrets.”^[1] There are different forms of confession identified in the New Testament. There is:

• Corporate confession during worship (1 John 1:9).
• Accountability confession among believers (James 5:16).
• Public confession for restoration (Matthew 18:15-17).
• Faith confession as a public testimony of allegiance to Christ (Romans 10:9-10)

These passages show us that confession wasn’t the private affair we sometimes think it should be today. There is a reason for this. By confessing within the context of a community, believers repaired not only their relationships with God but also their relationships with others.

This raises the question: what is the true personal value in confession?

Confession Is an Invitation to Be Molded  

In addition to glorifying God and being an example for others, confessing in the presence of others is an act of humility that frees us from the chains of ego. It’s an active step that says I want to be molded by God within the context of those creatures he has created in his image.

Have you ever been around someone who is always posturing, always saying the right things, and never has the wrong answer? It’s exhausting because you know you’re not getting the full version of them. You’re getting an Instagram filter with a few of the highlights and none of the lowlights.

But when you’re around someone who practices the discipline of confession, you notice they have a genuineness about them. They are quick to reverse if they make a mistake and are nice to be around.

As Richard Foster writes, “The Discipline of confession brings an end to pretense. God is calling into being a Church that can openly confess its frail humanity and know the forgiving and empowering graces of Christ. Honesty leads to confession, and confession leads to change.”^[2]

Think of any great teams in sports, business, or military, and you’ll see that confession is a constant discipline they practice. They’re not waiting for major blowups. Instead, they’re making constant adjustments on the fly, calling each other out when necessary, and admitting when they messed something up.

So, How Do I Practically Put The Discipline of Confession Into Practice?

Take confession seriously, but yourself less seriously.

Confession is serious business, and there are different levels of sin. Confessing to murder is much different than confessing to gossip. However, regardless of the sin, we must not take this lightly and always give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.

As St. Alphonsus Liguori writes, “For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow, and a determination to avoid sin.”^[3] When we know we have done something wrong, we need to act decisively and with conviction.

But in this process of serious confession, we must be careful not to take ourselves too seriously. Here is what I mean. Laying aside the confession of sins that have major consequences (e.g., murder, rape, abuse), when we act like confessing a common sin to someone is beyond embarrassing, we often betray an inherent belief in our own goodness.  

The reason we get so worked up and tears come to our eyes is not that we believe in our own badness, but because we think we are good! We're more ashamed of what this sin has done to our ego than how it has wounded God and others.

When we have an appropriate view of ourselves, we don’t take pride in confession, but we don’t see it as abnormal. We recognize that for the rest of our days, there will be times we must admit we were wrong and change directions. Accept this. Let it sober you and cause you to reflect on God's goodness more than you do your own.

Sunday Christians see confession for common sins as a last resort and embarrassing effort to deal with built-up sin. Monday Christians see confession as a means to restore their relationship with God, encourage their community, and live in harmony with others.

Be a Monday Christian.

[1] John Mark Comer, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus. Become Like Him. Do as He Did (New York: Random House Publishing Group, 2024), 112.

[2] Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Special Anniversary Edition: The Path to Spiritual Growth (New York: HarperCollins), 157.

[3] St. Alphonsus Liguori, “A Good Confession,” in To Any Christian, (London: Burns & Oates, 1964), 192.