Problems of Confession Part 1

Driving home: our confession is to be specific, but not descriptive. Specific as our sin has been specific, but not descriptive, less in going into too great a detail of the confession, gory aspects of our sin. We even retempt ourselv…

Martin uses the metaphor of a hand to categorize aspects of prayer: 'hand coming full' for adoration/praise, and 'hand defiled' for confession and seeking cleansing. This helps organize the various elements of prayer for the listener.

Now, we continue this morning our study in the broad general area of the private disciplines of grace, namely, personal Bible study and prayer. And for some weeks we've been engaged in the study of the subject of prayer, thinking particularly, of course, of private prayer, the kind of prayer which our Lord describes in Matthew 6 when He said, When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and thy Father who seeth in secret. And I've suggested that the various aspects of biblical prayer that we likened initially to the slices of a pie can be collated or gathered together under the figure of a hand. ...

0:06 - 1:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Confess sin whenever and wherever it is brought to remembrance, not necessarily in a formal posture of prayer.

The analogy of confession being 'specific, but not descriptive' is used to explain that while sin should be precisely named, going into gory detail can retempt the confessor. This provides a practical guideline for the substance of confession.

And I trust you came to the conclusion that the substance of confession is essential to essentially agreeing with God, saying to God the same thing about my sin as God says about it. And then that classic statement, I don't know if it was original with Mr. Brown, whether it was or not, it's excellent that our confession is to be specific, but not descriptive. Specific as our sin has been specific, but not descriptive, less in going into too great a detail of the confession, gory aspects of our sin.

2:25 - 3:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Confess sin whenever and wherever it is brought to remembrance, not necessarily in a formal posture of prayer.

Martin clarifies the meaning of 'experimental' in old Christian literature, distinguishing it from the scientific sense and explaining it means 'experiential,' relating to the experience of grace within the soul. This helps listeners understand the historical context of theological terms.

Having seen the duty of confession, the substance of confession, the occasions of confession, the circumstances of confession, the circumstances of confession, the circumstances of confession, the occasions of confession. Now, this morning, this is a very practical and what the old writers would call an experimental lesson. That is, it has to do with the experience of grace within the soul. When you read the word experimental in Christian literature, it's not talking about experimental in the scientific sense that you're testing something or you're trying it out, you're making an experiment.

3:56 - 4:24 Read in full sermon

The point: When confessing sin without brokenness, meditate on gospel motives (e.g., Christ's suffering, God's holiness) to cultivate a sense of the terribleness of sin.

Martin draws an analogy between praise and confession: just as one may begin to praise God without feeling like it, and feelings catch up, so too with confession. This encourages believers to act on duty even when emotions are absent.

to me I've sinned against light I've sinned against privilege Ralph has suggested turning to passages that explicitly treat the subject of sin of the crucifixion Psalm 22 Isaiah 53 those latter chapters in the gospels and meditate upon the sufferings of Christ and view that specific sin in the light of the cross view that sin in the light of the shrouded heavens and the anger of God against his own son on behalf of that sin so that it's not either or it's not laying back waiting until I'm broken before I come to the cross nor is it simply confessing in cold blood and saying my work is done but...

17:05 - 18:34 Read in full sermon

The point: If counseling someone who lacks contrition for sin, direct them to the fact that God only delivers the broken in heart and encourage them to seek God to work this brokenness in them.

Martin quotes D.M. McIntyre's 'The Hidden Life of Prayer,' citing old writers who lamented their deadness but never restrained prayer, and a 'successful wrestler' who confessed until his heart melted. This provides historical and theological support for the practice of confessing without immediate brokenness.

this problem of confession and he says this believers of a former age used to observe with thankfulness the occasion on which they were enabled to show and this is a quote now from one of the old writers a kindly penitential mourning for sin end quote at other times they would lament their deadness yet it never occurred to them that the coldness of their affections should induce them to restrain prayer before God on the contrary they were of one mind with a laborious and successful wrestler at the throne of grace who determined and this is a quote he would never give over enumerating and confe...

18:34 - 20:02 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second problem is introduced: Should one believe themselves forgiven after confession and brokenness, even if there is no conscious sense or enjoyment of divine forgiveness…

The story of the returning prodigal is used to illustrate times when a believer immediately feels the Father's embrace and joy upon confession. This sets up a contrast with the second problem of confession, where such feelings are absent.

in heart and then encourage them to realize that until there's brokenness for their sin there's no forgiveness they can mouth the words of penitence you know it's one thing as I've often said here it's one thing to put the publican's prayer in a sinner's mouth so that he parrots it back to you like a parakeet but only the Holy Ghost can give him a publican's heart that causes him truly to beat upon his breast and cry God be merciful to me the sinner so the same principle applies that it's God's work but it's our responsibility to seek the Lord to do this in us whether it's the sinner making hi...

21:30 - 22:59 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second problem is introduced: Should one believe themselves forgiven after confession and brokenness, even if there is no conscious sense or enjoyment of divine forgiveness…

Martin distinguishes between merely mouthing the words of the publican's prayer and having a 'publican's heart' given by the Holy Ghost. This emphasizes that true repentance and brokenness are God's work, not just human effort.

in heart and then encourage them to realize that until there's brokenness for their sin there's no forgiveness they can mouth the words of penitence you know it's one thing as I've often said here it's one thing to put the publican's prayer in a sinner's mouth so that he parrots it back to you like a parakeet but only the Holy Ghost can give him a publican's heart that causes him truly to beat upon his breast and cry God be merciful to me the sinner so the same principle applies that it's God's work but it's our responsibility to seek the Lord to do this in us whether it's the sinner making hi...

21:30 - 22:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the delayed enjoyment of God's presence after sin can be a deterrent to future sin, making one consider the high price of indulging in sin.

The analogy of a parent forgiving a child but still grounding them for a week is used to explain how God may forgive sin but withhold an immediate sense of joy as a form of loving chastening, allowing the child to feel the bitterness of their disobedience. This helps explain why a sense of forgiveness might be delayed.

believing soul and therefore taking the posture of faith we may then wait now why do we have to wait now here's where some of you brought in some of the elements God may be chastening us for the very sin he's forgiven by withholding an immediate sense of joy as reconciliation he's going to let us feel the bitterness of our departure from him the same way a parent may say to a child who comes and says daddy I was wrong I sinned when I disobeyed you did thus and thus and the parent says you're forgiven but to enforce the lesson you're grounded for a week no use of the car every time he wants to ...

39:11 - 40:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the delayed enjoyment of God's presence after sin can be a deterrent to future sin, making one consider the high price of indulging in sin.

Using David's language in Psalm 51, Martin employs the metaphor of 'broken bones' to describe the crippling and wounding effects of sin on the spirit. This illustrates that while God forgives instantly, the healing and restoration of the spirit takes time, much like physical bones mending.

that it's a hard and a bitter thing to depart from the Lord so it can be the matter of the Lord's chastening hand upon us to let us feel that bitterness sometimes and I don't know how else to explain it but in these terms it takes time for the crippling wounding effects of sin upon the spirit to be healed sin cripples and wounds the spirit that's why David turned to Psalm 51 and then we'll look at another Psalm as well in Psalm 51 he uses the figure of broken bones of personal defilement look at verse 7 purify me with hyssop and I shall be clean wash me and I shall be whiter than snow it's one...

40:40 - 42:09 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the delayed enjoyment of God's presence after sin can be a deterrent to future sin, making one consider the high price of indulging in sin.

Sin is likened to ravaging the 'inner storehouse' of the saint. While God forgives the sin in a moment, he rarely 'refurnishes the storehouse' in a moment, explaining the lingering pain and bitterness during the period of spiritual restoration. This reinforces the idea that healing takes time.

there's a lengthy period while those bones are mending create in me a clean heart renew a right spirit within me cast me not away from thy presence restore unto me the joy of thy salvation you see sin as it were ravaged the whole inner storehouse of the saint and though God forgives the sin in a moment rarely does he refurnish the storehouse in a moment and during that period when the storehouse is being refurnished we may feel some of the pain and the bitterness of our departure from the Lord now like it or not those are the facts of life and this ought to be a great deterrent for us in sinni...

42:09 - 43:38 Read in full sermon

The point: When sin affects another human being directly, confess not only to God but also to the person wronged, asking for their forgiveness.

Martin recounts a story from his wife's summer camp experience about a girl delivered from lying by having to confess her lies to both God and the people she lied to. This illustrates the deterrent effect of thorough confession to others.

the other dimension of confession that of course we haven't dealt with in any detail but just simply to say bud that when my sin affects some other human being directly then my confession must be to them that's why Jesus said if thy brother sinned against thee and seven times or seventy times seven times comes and says I repent he assumes that if one man sins against another he's not only going to confess it to God but he's going to go to the person against whom he sinned and ask him to forgive him and if you have to do that enough it's a wonderful deterrent to sin like the girl I use this as ...

48:02 - 49:31 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have a naturally outgoing and confident temperament, be especially careful not to mistake natural confidence for the work of the Spirit or engage in 'self-absolution.'

Martin uses the analogy of different temperaments reacting to the same weather conditions (sunny day vs. pouring rain) to illustrate how temperament affects spiritual experience. This helps explain why some believers are naturally more prone to doubt or confidence in their spiritual walk.

the kind of person and you must know yourself here who tends to you know look out on the day like today and you haven't been able to get up this morning and rejoice with the sun up and say thank you Lord for a beautiful sunny day you know what you did the moment you saw the sun this morning they predicted bad way I bet it'll be raining before noontime right that's the way you're built others of you had you gotten up this morning and it was pouring down buckets you'd say praise the Lord the rain's gonna all be over so by the time we go to church we'll have a lovely sunny day you see and that's ...

53:57 - 55:27 Read in full sermon

The point: If you have a naturally outgoing and confident temperament, be especially careful not to mistake natural confidence for the work of the Spirit or engage in 'self-absolution.'

Martin contrasts the Catholic practice of confessing to a priest with a Christian who 'mumbles a little prayer and then pats himself on the back and says thou art forgiven.' He suggests he has more respect for the Catholic practice because it involves telling someone else, highlighting the danger of self-absolution in Protestant circles. This serves as a warning against superficial confession.

and tells him his sin and waits for the Padre to say thy sins be forgiven thee then for the Christian who bows his knee mumbles a little prayer and then pats himself on the back and says thou art forgiven at least the Catholic has gone and told someone else about his bad things and not just mumbled some words and pronounced himself forgiven so this element of temperament is a vital thing well our time is gone let's commit our thoughts to the Lord

55:27 - 55:52 Read in full sermon