1 of 1

Duncan Campbell wrote, "Do not expect God to cover what you are not willing to uncover." God wants to forgive sinners. But he can only forgive confessed sins. To confess my sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare that what I've done is sinful and that I am wrong to desire to do it. To confess is to affirm my intention of forsaking that sin in order to follow God more faithfully.

Psalm 32:1-5

1. 1. In verses 3 and 4, David describes the misery of a violated conscience and a futile attempt to conceal a sin. Have you had a similar experience? What was it?
   
   
2. 2. What does David call his refusal to confess his sin (v. 5)?
   
   
3. 3. What does David say broke his stubborn resistance to confessing his sin (v. 4)?
   
   
4. 4. What actions by God provided the basis for David's sense of relief (vv. 1-2 & 5)?
   
   
5. 5. What emotion flooded David as soon as he confessed his sin (vv. 1-2)?
   
   
6. 6.  Have you ever felt elated just knowing that you slate has been wiped clean?
   
   

Ask God to help you stop ration-alizing sinful thought patterns and actions, and to accept God's evaluation of them. Ask that you would experience the release the that comes from forsaking sin, the joy of forgiveness, and restored fellowship.

Psalm 32:1-5

1 Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
2 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
3 When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Interlude

5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord."
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Interlude

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

 1 of 1

share this page

Prayer for the Week

My need to confess sin and be cleansed is as great as ever. Don't let me to pretend otherwise.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter (All fields required)    RSS Feed   RSS Help