TREASURES FROM GOD'S WORD: Week April 22 to 28, 2024, Why should serious sins be confessed?, Prepared Discourse.

TREASURES FROM GOD'S WORD: April 22-28, 2024, Why should serious sins be confessed?, Prepared Discourse. 

Why must serious sins be confessed? (10 mins.).

On this occasion we meet again to reflect on a topic of great importance to us Christians, and that is the confession of serious sins. This is a topic that we often approach with fear and resistance, since facing our mistakes can be overwhelming and painful. However, it is crucial to understand why confession is fundamental to our relationship with God, and to our own spiritual and emotional well-being. So I would like to begin by analyzing this information, first by turning to the Bible and considering chapter 32 of Psalms and verses 3 and 4 which says:

LET'S READ PSALMS 32:3,4.

When I remained silent, my bones were consumed from lamenting all day. 4 For day and night your hand weighed on me. My strength evaporated like water in the dry heat of summer.

So in these texts we can see how King David as a man who experienced the depths of repentance and confession that expresses the torment he felt when trying to hide his sins, he says that when he remained silent his bones were consumed by being silent. lamenting the entire day, and says that later in the night the hand of Jehovah weighed on him, he even says that his strength evaporated as water evaporates in the dry heat of summer. 

So these words convey to us the anguish and weakness that David experienced, in trying to repress his guilt and his guilty conscience. It is understandable that facing our sins, especially the most serious ones, is an arduous task, since we can feel naked in front of God, exposed in all our fragility and in all our sins, but we must remember that we are not alone in this process, like David we can turn to God for forgiveness and healing as he mentions in Psalms 30:8 which says: 

LET'S READ PSALMS 30:8.

Oh, Jehovah, I kept calling you, time after time I begged Jehovah for his favor.

So even if we feel unworthy, we can approach God with humility and sincerity, trusting in his love and infinite mercy. Then verse 5 of Psalm 32 reveals to us the transforming power of confession and there it mentions:

LET'S READ PSALMS 32:5.

Finally I confessed my sin to you; I did not hide my mistake. He said, “I will confess my trespasses to Jehovah.” And you forgave my mistake and my sins.

So in this text, we can reflect, here we see how David experienced the relief and liberation that comes with sincere confession. The word forgave in Hebrew which implies that God lifts or takes away our sins, is as if a heavy burden is lifted from our points, allowing us to change in freedom and peace. But why is it so important then to confess our serious sins? Psalms 32:1 offers us an answer and says: 

LET'S READ PSALMS 32:1.

Happy is he whose offense is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

The happiness and peace we seek can only be found in Jehovah's confession and forgiveness when we humbly acknowledge our mistakes and sincerely repent, experience restoration of our relationship with God and ourselves, no matter the severity of our sin, There is always hope in God's forgiveness if we approach him with a full heart.

Now I want to conclude this information or this speech by remembering David's words in Psalms 32:55: Part of this text says that David had finally confessed his sins, and did not cover up his error, but confessed it sincerely. So the Sincere confession frees us from the weight of guilt and allows us to live in the fullness of God's goodness.

As a reflection, may we all find that courage, that humility to face our sins and experience the deep joy that comes with the power or forgiveness of Jehovah. May we follow the example of David, who despite his failings found goodness before God through confession and repentance.

And let us always remember that in our lives it is inevitable that we will face moments in which we will make mistakes, perhaps serious mistakes, sins that weigh on our conscience and distance us from the presence of God. However, in the midst of our weaknesses, in the midst of our sins, we find a way of hope and restoration in humility and confession, 

When we fall into transgression or sin, the first action we must take is humility. Recognizing our lack of righteousness and accepting our need for Forgiveness is the first step toward reconciliation with God. We cannot allow pride and shame to keep us from reaching out to him, seeking forgiveness and healing. 

So confession should always be a crucial step on our path to spiritual restoration. We must have the courage to admit our sins before Jehovah, without hiding anything, by opening our hearts and being sincere, asking for forgiveness, we demonstrate our willingness to change and seek God's will above our own. Furthermore, we should not underestimate the power of seeking help and guidance from those who have experience and wisdom in the faith. Let us remember that James 5:14 to 16 urges us to turn to the elders of the congregation for support in times of spiritual need. 

In the image in our activity guide for this week, we can see a young brother, who perhaps committed a sin and is very sad, and then we see him saying a prayer and then seeking help from the elders. Later we can see him with a different face, he looks calm and happy. So if we sin, we must confess our sins in order to have a clear conscience that allows us to continue speaking to our God. Therefore we must strive to stop feeling guilty for the serious sins we have committed.

For, our dear elders, as we very well know, are spiritually qualified and can offer us guidance, can pray for us and give us encouragement on our path to restoration. And if we follow these steps out of sincerity and humility we can trust God's promise in Acts 3:19, repent therefore and turn to God so that your sins may be blotted out so that a time of refreshing may come from Jehovah. By repenting and turning To God He forgives us and restores our relationship with Him and we experience the deep relief and spiritual renewal that can only come from the goodness of God. 

So brothers, always keep in mind if we commit a serious sin, we should not despair or hide it, rather we should humble ourselves, confess it before God and seek help and guidance from those around us. In this process of repentance and restoration we will find the forgiveness and peace that we long for in our lives and let us always remember that in humility and confession we will find the path to Jehovah's goodness and restoration.