Reluctance to confess my faults

Confessing one’s sins is a religious ritual that dates back to commandments under Mosaic law (Leviticus 5:1-5; Numbers 5:6-7).  It was also part of John the Baptist’s ministry (Mark 1:5).  James 5:16 tells us “[c]onfess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  So confession is supposed to take place in the New Testament church as well.

The Bible talks about two types of confessions of sin–confessing to God (Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13) and confessing to men.  Confession that takes place in the church has two parts to it, according to James.  The first part deals with us as Christians confessing our faults to each other.  The second part deals with us praying for each other after our brother or sister confides in us so all parties can be healed bodily, emotionally, and spiritually.  

Confessing our faults should not be confused with the practice promoted by Roman Catholicism of going to a priest to confess our every thought and deed so the priest can absolve our sins for salvation.  God is the only one who can pardon our sins for salvation purposes.  The confessional is one-sided and has been used for nothing more than to take advantage of people for evil instead of showing God’s grace.  If the confessionals were eliminated, I would venture to guess that incidents of sexual abuse in the Catholic church would have a significant reduction.  The confession of faults mentioned in James is mutual.  We confess them to each other and only when it’s necessary to resolve serious problems. I personally don’t see the value of confessing a secret dark thought or temptation to another believer when I haven’t even come close to giving in to it.

I can think of three instances where confessing can be profitable to believers.  One instance is when there is a sin going on in the church that several people in the church know about and the individuals guilty of committing it could ruin the church’s good name if they are not confronted–giving them the opportunity to confess.  Another instance is when someone in the church has been offended or has a beef with someone else in the church and the situation needs to be resolved before the parties offer a gift to God (Matthew 5:23-24).  The final instance would be if I have done something wrong that is weighing on my conscience and I need to get it off my chest to move forward.  It may be a secret that hasn’t been discovered yet, but I may need to talk to a godly friend about it to have them hold me accountable and give me godly counsel.

When these faults have been confessed, those to whom we have confessed should be sympathetic and love us enough to bear our burdens before the Lord in prayer.  It is also important for us to remain meek when someone comes to us, knowing that we could easily fall into sin ourselves.  Praying for others who have faults helps us to be selfless and leads to the growth of God’s love and compassion in our hearts which in turn edifies the church.

However, I must confess that all of this sounds nice, but when I think about confessing to someone, even if its someone I trust, it scares me.  Anyone who is around me for any length of time will recognize that I have several shortcomings and I am far from perfect.  But given the atmosphere of today’s churches where jealousy abounds and people have a tendency to put on false faces, I am reluctant to confess my faults for fear that my weaknesses will be used against me instead of genuine prayer being made over me so I can be stronger spiritually.  I know of a couple who were getting counseling from a pastor to strengthen their marriage.  The husband had confessed he committed adultery, that he was sorry, and that he wanted their marriage to be healed.  The pastor also had a trusted elder help with the counseling.  Both the husband and the wife were preachers/ministers and word got out in the church about their problems.  But by this time their marriage had been healed and the pastor put them in charge of a ministry at the church.  As a result of the gossips in the church branding him as an adulterer (which he no longer was), they had open opposition whenever they tried to move forward in their ministry at the church.  So I learned from their experience and the experiences of others that just because you confess a fault and repent of it, doesn’t mean that people will love you, help you, or accept you.

“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Galatians 6:1

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

Beware of predators disguised as preachers

Earlier tonight I watched ABC’s 20/20 news story on “Preacher Predators.”  It was truly sad to see how many men placed in positions of power in protestant churches are abusing children, but it didn’t surprise me.  This is what happens when we put men on pedestals and why the scriptures teach us that no one except Christ is the head of the church.  No one is lord over the flock, except Christ.  Just because someone has a title or graduated from a certain seminary or has recommendations from a denomination’s headquarters doesn’t mean they are called by God.  It is unfortunate that Christians have neglected to follow warnings that are given to us in scripture.  If church discipline were exercised faithfully as Christ commanded in Matthew 18 and as was stated in 1 Corinthians 5, these types of situations could be avoided.

The lack of making people accountable only provides an opportunity for Satan to use men who proclaim to know God that actually don’t know God to come in and promote their abominations in secret.  We are living in times where we must be like the Bereans that questioned teachers who came before them and searched the scriptures diligently to see if they were being told the truth.  Here are some warnings we have from the scriptures:

“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.  Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.  Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:28-31)

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” (Matthew 7:15-18)

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8)

It is time for us to wake up and use the discernment we are all given by the Holy Spirit. We need to fear God, not men and put our trust in God, not men.

–posted by Harry A. Gaylord–

I’ll see you in court, my fellow Christian!

I just read the controversial Christianity Today article entitled “Day of Reckoning” about Calvary Chapel today.  When I read the part about the lawsuit and countersuit over assets for the Calvary Satellite Network, it brought two scriptures to mind:

“And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.  And he [Jesus] said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?  And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”  (Luke 12:13-15)

“Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?  If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church.  I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?  But brother goeth to law with brother, and that before the unbelievers.  Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?  Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.”  (1 Corinthians 6:1-8)

Once again, Christians are making themselves look bad to the unbelievers with their covetous attitudes.  Haven’t these guys read their Bibles recently?  After all, they are running ministries.  Instead of suing each other they should have handled the situation according to what the scripture says regarding church discipline.  But I guess they thought a lawsuit in front of secular authorities would work better than God’s word.  Yes, brothers and sisters, corruption and covetousness are thriving very well in today’s congregations.  Satan must be so happy!

–Harry A. Gaylord–

A little leaven leavens the whole lump

“It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. … Your glorying is not good.  Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?

“I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.  But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. … Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 6, 9-11, 13b)

As the church of the living God, Christians are called to be holy because God is holy.  God loves us so much and wants what is best for us as individuals and as a body.  However, if we allow sin to go unchecked in our assemblies we are hindering some of the blessings God has for us.  This is why church discipline is so important.

The Corinthian church was very proud and gloried in the fact that God blessed them with all the spiritual gifts being manifested in their church.  Nevertheless, there was a big blemish in their midst.  There was a man who called himself a Christian and was openly in an incestuous sexual relationship with his stepmother.  Paul admonished them to take immediate action by excommunicating him from their midst so his fleshly nature could be destroyed by Satan in order for his spirit man to be saved. 

Why was such harsh action necessary?  Paul, like God, loved the church so much that he did not want anyone to perish (including the man committing such a sin) for eternity as a result of this ungodliness.  You see, Paul knew that if this man were to get away with his sin, others in the church who were spiritually weak would say to themselves, “Well, if he’s allowed to sleep with his stepmother, then I might as well go and give in to this temptation I’ve been fighting for so long.”  And before you know it, there would be a thief in the church over here doing his dirt, an idolater over there worshipping Buddha or Allah, or a drunkard in that corner of the congregation getting high from his Southern Comfort.  In other words, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.”

Although many churchgoers are in denial about this simple spiritual fact, one person’s sin can have a negative affect on the whole congregation.  There are several examples of this in the Bible (see Joshua 7, for example).  This is why church discipline is of the utmost importance.  Our Lord gave us clear steps on handling church offenders in Matthew 18.  The one who sees an offense should go to the person one-on-one first to confront the sin.  Then if the offender refuses to listen, the witness should take one or two more church members to confront the person.  If they still refuse to listen, the whole congregation should confront them, and if they still harden their heart, they should be excommunicated.  We see in Corinthians that Paul explained in more detail what Christ had already spoken about.

But, unfortunately, this rarely happens in today’s congregations.  Why?  There are several reasons.  For starters, it could be we have become very comfortable with sin and don’t see it as being wrong.  Maybe it’s that we fear men more than we fear God.  Perhaps we are afraid to turn anyone off since the church has bills to pay and we need as many people as possible contributing to the church’s bank account.  Then again, it could be that the offender is related to, or has close ties with influential people in the community and they can exact their revenge at a moment’s notice.

Whatever the excuses are, they should be null and void in comparison to God’s commands.  It’s no wonder the church is in such sad spiritual shape in spite of the fact we, like the church at Corinth, boast about all the wonderful things God is doing in our churches.  Like Paul said, our glorying is not good if sin goes unchecked in our midst.  It’s time to wake up and listen to the Holy Spirit.  If God is blessing us corporately in spite of sin in our churches, then how much more are we missing out on because we refuse to confront the adulterer, or the fornicator, or the liar?  And how long are we going to get by with it before God himself takes action because we refuse to?  Christ is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle, so it would be better for us to cooperate now than to later have to face the terror of falling into the hands of the living God.

–Harry A. Gaylord–