Forgiving Challenge: Confession

Introduction

Welcome back to Forgiving Challenge: A 40-Day Life-Changing Journey Leading to Freedom. At the end of this series, and these 40 days, we believe you’ll be living with more personal freedom than you ever thought possible. Too many Christians, despite God giving us His grace, freely offering us His forgiveness, are still carrying around unforgiveness, and typically, the people we are most unforgiving of us is ourselves.

To catch you up, last week we talked about why we aren’t free. It’s this loaded word called “sin” that comes from an old archery term meaning “to miss the mark.”

It’s what we do after sin that makes all the difference on whether we are free or not.

What do we do after sin?

You can deny it.

You can tell yourself it’s not really a big deal. You can then go find people that will agree with you. You be you. You do you. You are perfect, just the way you are. Sadly, you could probably find a church, under the name of Jesus believe it or not, that will tell you there’s nothing wrong with your sins. What else can we do?

You can blame others.

That’s common. Adam blamed Eve, and then even God. Eve blamed Adam. It’s not my fault. It’s your fault. I wouldn’t have done this if they didn’t…they started it…

We can try to cover it up.

Keep it a secret. Stuff it. Suppress it. Carry it around with you. Manage it.

What happens with any response outside of bringing it to Jesus…you become imprisoned.

Because here’s why. Deep down, you know you are guilty. And so any pursuit of denying it, blaming it, covering it up, will only keep you in bondage. Because all of your guilt will eventually turn into shame.

There’s another option.

You can bring it to Jesus.

You can allow those wounds to heal.

If last week we said that sin is a loaded term, I think many of us come into this room with an idea of what confession is. When many of you hear the word “confession” maybe because of Roman Catholic roots you think of a confessional booth with a priest on the other side. Others of you who might have grown up in a traditional style of worship, even Lutheranism, may think of it as specific words that you say in unison every Sunday. Or, finally, maybe you think of the modern-day courtroom, or in criminal cases, when the criminal finally admits to their crime.

Here’s the formal or dictionary definition of confession:

Confession: a formal statement admitting one is guilty of a crime.

Confession can be scary. But it’s a beautiful invitation from God to us that will ultimately result in our freedom.

Do you know that a Christian study by Lifeway done a few years ago said that the greatest evangelists, in other words, the ones who regularly speak about Jesus and spread His Good News, have a common practice in their lives? Do you know what it is? A regular practice of confession in their lives. It’s not the perfect ones who have it all together who God works through…nobody would qualify…and everybody can see through their brokenness…but rather it’s those who are willing to admit that they are weak, broken, and messy. For when we come to grips with our brokenness it leads us where, right into God’s strength. And God’s power.

Confession, at the end of the day, is not meant for you to feel worse about yourself. It’s meant to lead you right into the arms of Jesus. For when you realize that you are weak, you will see that He is strong.

We are diving deep into the story of how Jesus forgives Peter, so let’s enter back into his story now. Last we left Peter, the so-called “big boulder” had just committed three big blunders…denying Jesus three times. I can’t imagine the guilt that Peter must have experienced. I can’t imagine how many tears he shed after these denials. He truly let down someone that had invited Him into an incredible 3 ½-year experience, believed in Him, and entrusted to Him His greatest possession, His church. Despite all of that, his story was over, right? He messed up. Jesus died. He would have to live with what he did the rest of His life.

The gospel writers tell us that Peter was one of the first to see the empty tomb. He’s one of the first to believe that Jesus is alive. I wonder what is going through his mind at this time. The longer you sit in a sin…the longer you feel guilt, and without giving your guilt to Jesus, shame comes in. The deeper and darker your mind can go, right? I’m sure that he was questioning some things…on one hand he was excited because his good friend, his leader, his teacher Jesus had risen, but I wonder if he also had these thoughts running through his head as well. Would Jesus be mad at me? What would he say about me? To me? Will he disown me? Is he disappointed in me? Will he forgive me? I saw Jesus forgive others, but I was his right-hand man…I was there when he gave the story of the Prodigal Son…amazing, but that was a story, an illustration, I’m a real person and we had a real relationship. What will His response be to me?

Our story today takes place on the shoreline. Jesus and his disciples are having breakfast. And here’s what John tell us:

John 21:15 “When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said to him, “you know that I love you.” “Feed my lambs,” he told him.”

This might be one of the strangest conversations we have in all of the Bible. The whole thing seems a bit stilted and awkward. And it’s that way because it was awkward. The elephant in the room. Jesus appeared to his best friends in that upper room. Twice. Once without Thomas. And once with Thomas. He has shown his disciples and followers his scars. They know he is risen. They are glad. Their world has become more than surreal. And what do you think is going on with Peter during those two or three weeks? Nothing is said by any of the gospel writers in our Bibles. Except John. And that’s our story here.

Peter blew it on a massive scale. Peter is happy that Jesus is alive. But Peter and Jesus are human. I can imagine Peter in the upper room where Jesus is showing his scars kind of off to the side. There are no grand pronouncements from Peter. There’s no grand confession. There’s no chest-thumping Peter. You’ve been in those situations in which people have been offended and nobody is about to say anything. Everyone wants to act like everything is OK, but everyone knows and wonders how is this going to play out.

And Jesus breaks the ice. Jesus isn’t going to let this go. And so we have what seems like one of the weirdest conversations ever. Three times.

Simon, do you love me more than these? Yes Lord, you know I love you. Feed my lambs.

You know why it’s three times, right? Peter stands outside of that court room a couple of weeks prior. Jesus is on trial for his life. And Peter stands there at the fire and is confronted as being a friend of Jesus and he denies it to the point of swearing. 3 times. 3 denials.

And here, Jesus is asking him 3 times… do you love me? And Peter says, 3 times… you know I love you.

Strange, yet unbelievably grace-filled. Nowhere here is Peter’s confession of sin. Nowhere is Peter saying, I’m sorry, please forgive me. You fully expect Peter to own up. And he doesn’t. At least verbally.

Peter has no words. There is nothing to say. There’s nothing magical in the words of our confession. We verbalize. We speak our confession. But the reality is that confession flows out of a heart that is already broken. The gospel writers tells us that Peter wept bitterly that same night at the trial. When that rooster crowed, Peter was broken. He knows. He’s contrite. He’s sorry. There are no words that are going to make it right.

There are no words that will ever make you right with Jesus. Because it’s all Jesus’ work. Jesus already knows. Yes, he wants to hear your confession. But that confession is simply a verbal acknowledgement of what everyone knows including Jesus. Jesus forgives before we even confess. And what makes things right with Jesus isn’t our confession of sin, but what Jesus has already done for us. Jesus makes us right with him based on what he does not only what we do or say.

And that’s Peter that day on that shoreline. Jesus’ words are full of love and forgiveness. Jesus restores Peter. Peter has nothing to say. It’s not up to him. This is Jesus with his grace on full display.

God knows your heart. And He’s ready to hear your confession. But God can see deep enough that even when you don’t have the words to express your sorrow, your regret, He can look down even deeper into your heart. He knows your sorrow, He sees your tears…and rather than trying to come to God all buttoned up, like everything is perfect, with just the right words, what if you just came to God with your heart?

We confess our sin together. Our confession of sin is based on the ways the Bible portrays confession of sin.

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

We spend time every week here in our service leaning in to this verse. One of the most beautiful things about our service is the Confession and Forgiveness time. I find myself looking forward every week to hearing words of forgiveness as sins are confessed. Jesus promises to forgive, and so we confess. We have words. We use words. But Jesus forgives the confessing heart even as much as the confessing mouth. You hear me say… having heard your confession. God is always listening. Whether it is here or at home or at work or at school. Before you’ve even voiced the words, Jesus is forgiving you.

We come to Jesus in full assurance that he hears and he forgives. The same grace Jesus had for Peter is the same grace he has for you and me.

Let’s Pray.

This Table has forgiveness for us. This forgiveness is received. We do not work for it. We do not do anything for it. We receive it in faith. The only thing we ever bring to this Table is our sin. We confess our sin and Jesus forgives. He promised.