Any person who truly loves the Lord has a strong desire to worship Him. Yet, we frequently fail to realize the various opportunities of worship. The Bible closely connects worship to the word worth, much like the word praise is closely connected to the word appraisal. When we worship the Lord, we declare what we think about His worth to us. Perhaps, you never considered that true confession of sins to a holy God declares God’s worth to you. We see this in our passage when confession and worship are mentioned together (Nehemiah 9:3). When we confess our sins to the Lord, we are telling God that we desire His fellowship more than we desire the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25).
A careful study of our text helps to eliminate the controversy concerning confession. We have already seen that the Bible teaches that confession of sins is to be made only to God. Yet, our passage tells us to confess one to another. Yet, the Bible stipulates that the confession involves one's faults. The difference between sins and faults is quite simple. A fault is not a sin, but rather an area of weakness that could lead to sin. We do not profit from confessing our sins to each other or even to “religious leaders.” However, the Bible reveals the benefits derived from confessing that we covet the prayers of others to help overcome our areas of weakness. Perhaps, these brothers and sisters in Christ will fervently pray and even lend support and advice. This is why it is important to confess our sincere desire for their prayers. Unfortunately, misapplication of this passage to bodily healing has caused confusion. The context involves healing in areas of spiritual weaknesses, not simply a need for the body to be healed.
Because of certain false teachings, there remains a great deal of confusion concerning the matter of confessing sins. However, when we accept the Bible as our sole authority, the confusion dissipates and disappears. Our earlier study showed that actions must follow confession, but to whom should we confess? Some religions falsely teach that we confess our sins to man, but this is simply untrue. The Bible requires that man confess his sins to the Lord. This truth is confirmed repeatedly throughout the word of God. Our First John passage teaches this, but the Bible provides several additional witnesses (Psalm 32:5; Joshua 7:19; 2 Chronicles 30:22; Ezra 10:1; and Daniel 9:4, 20, for instance). Our next study delves into the subject of Christians confessing something to men, but confession of sin or sins must be made solely to God.
Many people claim to confess their sins; yet, confession not followed by action remains fruitless. Several verses in the word of God indicate the truth of the matter. Consider the next four examples: (1) Confession of sin is connected to forsaking sin (Proverbs 28:13); (2) Confession of sin is followed by recompense of the trespass (Numbers 5:7); (3) Solomon connected confessing sin with turning from it (1 Kings 8:35); (4) Confession is followed by doing the Lord’s pleasure (Ezra 10:11). True confession involves much more than simply receiving the Lord’s forgiveness; it involves making wrongs right. True confession is never accomplished by merely opening one's mouth and spouting forth some meaningless words. True confession always produces change in the confessor.
The Bible always serves as the best source for adequately defining a Bible word. According to Joshua 7:19, confession is connected to the act of telling what a person has done—refusing to keep it hidden. Joshua told Achan to give “glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.” Psalm 32:5 identifies confession as acknowledging a matter—refusing to hide it. Additionally, Proverbs 28:13 defines confession as the opposite of covering one's sin. In John 1:20, the word confessed appears twice with a defining phrase in between— “and denied not.” In the same manner, Acts 19:18 demonstrates that those who “confessed” “came . . . and shewed their deeds.” The scriptural evidence points to confession as the willingness to make known that which could otherwise be private, personal, or hidden. Keep in mind that regardless of one's willingness to confess, nothing can be hidden from the Lord.
The word liberal is one of the most overused and misused words in modern language. We often use the word to refer to those who have weaker morals or those who may have a particular “left-leaning” political agenda. Most often the word is used as a negative connotation by those who are traditional or more conservative. The Bible paints a much different picture of the word’s usage and application. Someone who is liberal willingly and graciously helps others. When others are in need, he gives above and beyond to meet that need. According to our passage, “The liberal soul shall be made fat.” This means that the person who helps others will often receive blessings in return. This truth is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 9:6 where the Bible says, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
It has always been the will of God for a man to work in order to support his family. God adamantly and emphatically says, “if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1 Timothy 5:8). Though this truth may seem harsh to some people, God’s expectations and guidelines always serve a greater purpose. Therefore, it is never God’s will to financially assist someone who will not work though completely capable and available. There may be times when people cannot legitimately work and have a need for help; but we disobey the Lord when we help those who have needs resulting from laziness. Our last lesson showed that the Bible defines food as a necessity; but if a man will not work, he does not even deserve the necessities of life provided to him through the generosity of others.
During the first century, hard times had come upon the believers in Jerusalem. Some specific time of trial, persecution, or tribulation had put them in a difficult situation. The Bible offers specific guidance as to when to assist others who have fallen on hard times.Believers in other cities saw the need and determined to make “a certain contribution for the poor saints” at Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). This contribution was either a monetary donation or a material contribution as the Bible says the assistance was “in carnal things” (Romans 15:27). Today, this would be akin to one body of believers assisting another body of believers, or one individual assisting another individual. Whatever the case, we ought to help others when a real need arises and it is in our power to assist them.
As opportunities present themselves, we ought to “do good” unto others. Scripturally speaking, we have a basic duty to help “all men,” but our foremost responsibility should be directed toward those “who are of the household of faith.” Regardless of our heart’s desire, the Lord knows there are times when we cannot help those in need. This fact should never be used as an excuse when we have a genuine opportunity, as the good that we might do to others does not always merely involve financial help. Acts chapter 3 offers an example of Peter and John who were faced with such a situation. Peter responded, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee” (Acts 3:6). Where these men lacked any monetary opportunity to help the lame man, they fulfilled their responsibility by imparting help in the way that God had especially enabled them.
