Overview of Confession

 “Confession” literally means “to speak with.” Confession is a kind of prayer where we affirm with God what He already knows. Confession is simply refusing to hide truth from ourselves or (in some cases) from others. 

First, though, we must face the truth.  That requires a thorough examination of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.  Then we agree with God through confessions.  We are going to be looking at three kinds of confessions—negative confessions, creedal confessions, and positive confessions. 

Negative confessions

(Numbers 5:5-7, Ps 38: 18 , James 5:16, 1 John 1:8-9)  Confession of sins is when we agree with God about things that need to be changed in our lives.  Positive confessions (Romans 10: 9-10, Phil 2:10-11, Hebrews 13:15) are agreeing with God about what He can do in and through us.  One leads to repentance while the other leads to power. 

Creedal Confessions

The creeds are the public positive confessions of the church.  Saying them reminds us regularly of God’s power and majesty.

Bible verses such as Psalm 23, Philippians 1:6, 4:13, 4:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 6:13-18, or 2 Timothy 1:7 can have the same effect on us. So can your own personal creed—a listing of the things you believe. It does not have to be poetic or clever—just real. We all need a reminder of what God has done for us.

Positive confessions

 (Romans 10: 9-10, Phil 2:10-11, Hebrews 13:15-16)

Positive confessions are affirmations of God’s promises.  We choose verses and statements which remind us regularly of what God has done for use personally.