A friend who has for years been a professor of religion, and a leader in the church, writes that for a long time he was secretly indulging in sin, which now by the grace of God he has overcome. But he feels as though he had been a hypocrite, and wishes to know if he ought, in order to get the favor of God, to confess publicly what a sinner he has been in secret. To his enquiry the following reply, in substance, has been sent, which is here reproduced for the benefit of others similarly situated.
If I understand your question correctly, you wish to know what is your duty as regards confession, and whether or not you have forfeited the favor of God. Now as to the last, I can speak without hesitation. "His mercy endures for ever." (Psalm 136:1) "Him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37) "He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25) "For the Lord will not cast off for ever." (Lamentations 3:31)
Read the book of Hosea through and note the sins that are there recorded against Israel. It is a terrible picture is it not? After noting carefully the fallen condition of the people, pay particular attention to the close of the book. Read the last chapter, keeping in mind all that precedes. The Lord says to them that have fallen by their iniquity, "Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto Him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously;" (Hosea 14:2) and then He says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for my anger is turned away from him." (Hosea 14:4)
And then note how tenderly and beautifully the chapter closes. How can you have any doubt as to the Lord's acceptance of you, in view of these words?
But you say you have often failed after repenting and promising to reform, and that you therefore doubt if God can have patience with you. Remember then that God is "the God of patience and consolation." (Romans 15:5) "[He] is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)
Now recall what He says about our forgiving one another: "How often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said unto him, I say not unto you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." (Matthew 18:21-22)
And still further: "If he trespass against you seven times in the day, and seven times in a day turning unto you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him." (Luke 17:4)
That is what the Lord expects of us; and can you think that He expects us to be better than He is? or to do more for one another than He does for us? We cannot have any virtue that does not come from Him; therefore we know that as He expects us to be "strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience," (Colossians 1:11) we cannot tire out His patience; and that knowledge is what inspires us with hope and courage, so that we can resist evil. I might quote much more; but you are certainly acquainted with the Scriptures, which teach that "the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." (James 5:11)
Now as to confession. A little consideration of what confession is will help you to see your duty in the matter. The word means literally, "saying the same thing; agreeing with." When we confess our sins to God, we simply agree with Him that what He says of us is true. He says that we are sinners; but we say the same thing. He says that a certain thing that we have done is wrong, and we agree with Him that it is so. We do not tell Him anything that He does not already know.
The case is not exactly the same when it comes to confession to men; because they do not always know, as God does. Yet in general the same principle holds good. The object of confession is not humiliation, but the clearing away of the wrong. Sometimes the wrong against a person is of such a nature that it cannot be put away without telling him about it, even if he knew nothing about it before. But in general we are to acknowledge to others only the things of which they are cognizant in our lives, or which affect them.
For example: If we have robbed another, confession means restoration, and that of course means the acknowledging of the sin. A life of open sin, or even a single act of sin, which is well known to others, and which may have been very apparent to others even before we ourselves were convicted of it, naturally calls for open and public confession. Such confession cannot fail to have a beneficial effect on all who hear, and of course it is, if sincere, a blessing to us.
But if we have only thought evil of another in our hearts, or even if we have spoken evil of him, we have no confession to make to him, but only to God and to the one to whom we said the sinful things. It could not do the man himself any good to learn that someone had been thinking or speaking uncharitably of him, and it might cause him much pain to learn it. We have not injured him by our evil thoughts, but only ourselves; and our confession is to be made to God alone.
Now take the case of one who through sin has injured his own body. It does not concern anyone except himself and the Lord. Since nobody knows it, nobody has been led astray by it. To tell the public of it would not help anybody, and might be productive of harm. The very telling of it might put evil thoughts into the minds of some who were previously ignorant of such things.
Now it is not God's plan that sin shall be published; but rather that it shall be hidden and destroyed. It is not to be concealed and practiced in secret, but to be covered up and buried--blotted out. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing." (Proverbs 25:2) "He retains not His anger for ever, because it He delights in mercy. He will turn again, He will have compassion on us; and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:18-19)
God does not wish evil to be spread abroad and made known. His work is to hide it out of sight, and to get rid of it as soon as possible. So He sets before us a way by which our sins may be covered up and blotted out so effectually that though they be sought for they cannot be found. He tells us that if we will but acknowledge our sins to Him, so that He can remove them from us, He will undertake that nobody shall ever learn of them. He will not betray the confidence that we repose in Him. Our secret sins are set before Him, in the light of His countenance, (Psalm 90:8) but He does not reveal the secret to anybody else; and by the light of His countenance they are destroyed. "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of the your countenance. In your name shall they rejoice all the day: and in your righteousness shall they be exalted." (Psalm 89:15-16)
If we walk in the light of His countenance, "If we walk in the light as if He is in the light, ... the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)
Then to all eternity nobody but the Lord and we ourselves will ever know our sins; and He himself will forgive them, and we also shall have no more consciousness of them. Is it not gloriously simple and comforting?
So, my brother, as you have already confessed your sin to the Lord, and know that He abundantly pardons, you have only to rejoice in His mercy. Remember that it is not in our own goodness, but in the multitude of His mercies, that we approach to Him (Psalm 5:7); and it is according to the multitude of His mercies that He blots out our transgressions. (Psalm 51:1)
Another thing that I must remind you of is that it is not your promises that save you, but the Lord's. We do not have to make promises to Him, but only to plead His promises to us. He makes the promises, and our part is to believe them; and by His "exceeding great and precious promises," (2 Peter 1:4) which we receive in full and unwavering faith, "we are made partakers of the Divine nature." (2 Peter 1:4)
I cannot close without seeking to impress very sharply on the mind the practical working out of this lesson. Confession, the saying of the same thing, means that sin is not to be mentioned except to those who already know of it, and for the purpose that they, as well as the one confessing, may be benefited. That effectually shuts off all scandal and all gossiping about the sins and errors of others. We are to avoid either speaking or thinking of what is evil, and diligently to cultivate the good. The less one thinks about evil, even his own, the less he will do wrong; therefore: "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)--Present Truth, November 13, 1902.