Say it Out Loud

There is great power in the words we speak. James tells us this in chapter three of his book, but this isn’t a post on gossip or taming your tongue. This is about confession. Out loud to another person, with real words, kind of confession. 

“So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.” - James 3:5

When I was a kid, I remember learning about the ABCs of salvation: 
Admit that you’re a sinner
Believe in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection
Confess that Jesus is Lord

The thing is, we are all for admitting and believing, but we don’t seem to like the confession part as much. We want to just keep all of this between us and God, confessing in our hearts, but never speaking it out loud. 

Now there are two sides to this coin: confessing that Jesus is Lord and confessing our sins. Scripture speaks to both, and both are necessary. 

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” - Romans 10:9-10

Romans tells us that we are justified by belief in our heart, but saved by confession with our mouth. This is the part of proclaiming the belief we have in our hearts. Telling others about Jesus and His astounding love for us so that they might be saved. 

According to this scripture, belief in your heart is just the first step. That’s what justifies you, but the confession is what saves you. We can’t just sit back and quietly believe Jesus, never speaking about Him or standing up for His word. Confession is the natural response to belief. 

The other side of the coin is confession of our sins. Out loud. To another person. 

I know. We really don’t like this one. In our hyper-grace culture, this is not a popular idea. We think we can keep our sins between us and God, asking for forgiveness in our heart, and moving on without ever having to own up to it out loud. But that’s not scripture. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” - 1 John 1:9

1 John reminds us of the faithfulness of our God to forgive us and cleanse us, but we have a role in this relationship too: confession. When we confess our sins, we bring to light what was in darkness so that we can be set free from it and receive God’s forgiveness and purification.

By nature, confession has to be out loud to someone else. Yes, we need to confess to the Lord in prayer as well, and also, there is great power in speaking it out loud to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Still not convinced? Let’s see what James says. 

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” - James 5:16

Scripture makes it clear that we must confess to one another. There is great power in this, because confessing it brings the darkness into the light and invites others to pray with us and for us. If we are a people that believe in the power of prayer, we have to tell people what’s really going on that we need prayer for! We were never designed to do this alone - that’s why God gave us the church, but that’s a topic for another day. 

The dictionary definition for confessing is “to tell or make known something.” That means you have to say it out loud. Introverts, take a deep breath. You can do this. It doesn’t have to be on stage in front of a room full of people. In fact, in most cases, it probably shouldn’t be. Just start with one trusted person.

I understand from experience that this is an incredibly humbling practice, and not easy to do. But isn’t that what we want - to be humbled? After all, Jesus was a man of humility and if He’s our Lord and Savior, don’t we want to be like him? If you have any measure of pride in your heart, it will be revealed by this practice of confession.

It’s also something you should practice with someone that you can trust, as it requires a large measure of vulnerability. If you’re married, I recommend starting with your spouse. If not, a trusted friend, mentor, parent or sibling. You’ll be amazed at the barriers broken down and the closeness you experience in relationships when you start confessing to one another. 

Lastly, if we truly believe the good news of the gospel, we can confess with great joy that every sin we confess and bring into the light is covered by the blood of Jesus. Just look at the woman at the well in John chapter four.

“Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did!... So the people came streaming out of the village to see him.” - John 4:29-30

Her sin was brought into the light, yet she recognized the saving power of Jesus and instead of hiding away in shame (like she had been doing when she met Jesus), she rejoiced and led an entire village to her Savior! 

There is freedom in confession, and when we recognize that, we can begin to confess with joy to one another, because we know our God is faithful and just to forgive. So, take some time today to pray and ask the Lord to search your heart for any unconfessed sin, and confess it to someone with repentance. I guarantee you’ll feel lighter. Here’s a great scripture to pray to get you started:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
- Psalm 139:23-24