V. The Contents of Confession
must confess. It does not ask whether good works ought to be and must be done, but before the question can arise it has already done them. Confession with mouth and heart, with word and deed, in life and walk is inseparable from the faith of the heart. It is the fruit of the tree, the scent of the flower, the light of the sun, the sweetness of the honey. It is impossible, that anyone implanted into Christ by a true faith should not bring forth fruits of gratitude.
He who believes, confesses, not only on Sunday but also during the week, not only in the church but also in the home and school, in shop and factory, in office and store, in civil and social life, in learning and science, amongst friends and enemies, before angels and men.
He confesses in upholding and supporting the public service of the church, in acts of Christian assistance, in the supporting of Christian instruction, in the caring for the poor, in the visiting of the bound and imprisoned, in the clothing of the naked, in the feeding of the hungry, in the comforting of the weeping, in admonishing the unruly, in exhorting the disputers and unbelievers, in giving account of the hope which is in him, in keeping himself unspotted from the world.
He who believes, confesses. His life itself becomes a confession, a living, holy, God-pleasing sacrifice in Christ Jesus.
CHAPTER V
The Contents of Confession
And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest, and he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. - Acts 8:37.
According to Holy Writ two things especially constitute the contents of confession.
In the first place every true confession contains an acknowledgment of our guilt and sin. In the days of the Old Testament, upon the great day of propitiation the High Priest was obliged to lay both of his hands upon the head of the living goat, confessing thereover all the unrighteousness of the children of Israel and all their transgressions, of whatever nature their sins might be, and therewith laying them upon the head of the goat send him away into the wilderness.
That was a common, a general confession made by the High Priest, in the name of the whole nation. But this common, general confession did not exclude the persona], individual confession of sins. For, this personal, individual confession is heard again and again in the books of the old covenant, especially in the so-called penitential psalms. It also forms an important part of the prayers of the saints, of David and Solomon, of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel.
There is not a people or nation in the world that has felt so deeply, and has confessed so humbly the guilt of sin as the children of Israel.
Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head. There is no rest in my bones because of my sin, for mine iniquities are gone over mine head; as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. Enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand.
And this confession of sins passes over into the church of the New Testament. When John the Baptist appeared with the preaching of repentance, many were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their
sins. Jesus granted unto the multitude of sufferers who came unto Him, very often not only the healing of the diseases of the body but also a still greater gift, namely, the forgiveness of their sins and deliverance of their soul. Upon the lips of His disciples He laid the prayer: Father, forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. In the parable of the Publican He shows us the spirit, in which it behooves us to be when we come before God, the Righteousness and the Holy.
The publican standing afar off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto Heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. Certainly, if we confess our sins, God is true and faithful and righteous and will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But however significant and important, however necessary this confession of sins is, nevertheless in itself, it is not sufficient. The truth or doctrine of our misery does not stand by itself but it prepares the way for the truths or doctrines of deliverance and gratitude. Yea, he who truly realizes and confesses his sins and misery, is already a believer. In the Lord's days of the Heidelberg
Catechism which treat on the misery of man, it is not the unbeliever but the Christian who speaks; one who in the first division has already gloried in his only comfort and confessed, that he, with body and soul, both in life and death, is no longer his own but his faithful
Savior Jesus Christ's.
The true, upright confession of guilt is already a fruit of saving faith.
For he, who in truth and humility confesses his sins, has certainly already sought the Lord, has placed himself before God's countenance and finds himself in the presence of the Almighty, and this he cannot do but in the belief that the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
To be sure, there is a certain acknowledgement of sins, which is without faith. Also children of the world often come to consciousness of the great miserableness of their existence. Cain said, "My punishment is greater than I can bear," and Judas cried out, "I have
sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood." There is a cry of despair which is not born of a contrite heart, but which is brought forth by the fearful consequences of sin. There is a remorse and hopelessness, which does not drive one toward God but which causes a fleeing away from and a rebelling against Him, There is a sorrow of the world which worketh not a repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but which worketh death.
But the true confession of sins is entirely different than this cry of despair and bears an entirely different character. It comes up out of a contrite spirit, which is not despised by God but pleasing unto Him.
It has respect not unto the consequences but unto the essence, unto the guilt of sin, because it displeases God and is in contradiction with His law. It consists in a hearty repentance, that we have provoked
God to anger with our sins, that we have sinned against His righteousness, yea more, that we have so grossly sinned against His love. For thus hath Jesus once said: "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin."
This confession is accompanied with a sorrow unto God and worketh a repentance to salvation not to be repented of. It is made before God's countenance and holds nothing back or secret from Him. It is accompanied with and is born of a faith that recognizes God not only to be righteous but also gracious and merciful. It is also, already a confession of faith; it is of and by or through and unto faith. Faith does not first take a beginning after the knowledge of misery but precedes this and gives it its right form. Above the law shines the word of grace: "I am the Lord, your God." The true conversion is a part of thankfulness and gratitude.
Therefore Holy Writ teaches us that confession, in the second place, contains a confession of the name of the Lord. Conversion and confession of the Lord's name belong together. For confession of that name signifies the hearty, believing acknowledgment that the Lord,
Jehovah, is the God of the covenant, who has revealed Himself as the
faithful and merciful and who fulfills all of His promises of grace in Christ. He who repents with a true and upright heart, turns to God, the living God, who in Christ is a reconciled Father.
Therefore, John the Baptist, appearing in the days of the New Testament, calls not only to repentance and confession of sins, but also points to the Lamb of God that beareth away the sin of the world. He was not a preacher of the law and of penitence only, but also a herald of the gospel and a preacher of faith. The Kingdom of Heaven had come nigh, had it not? And after him came He, who was preferred before him, whose shoe latchet he was not worthy to unloose. John administered the baptism unto a sign and seal of the forgiveness of sins, which is granted and obtained in the way of repentance.
In the New Testament the whole contents of the confession of faith is constantly taken together or expressed in the few words, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He, who confesses Him as such before man, will one day be confessed by Him before His Father which is in Heaven. In an earnest, solemn moment when many of Jesus' disciples went back and no longer desired to walk with Him,
He asked the twelve: "Will ye also go away?" But Simon Peter answered for them all: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." As soon as the Eunuch made this good confession he was immediately baptized by Philip. By this confession, that Jesus Christ appeared in the flesh, are the spirits known. Therefore, whosoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,
God abideth in him and he in God.
Jesus the promised Messiah, the divinely anointed Prophet and Priest and King—that is the short, the brief contents of the whole
Christian faith. It is the pith of revelation, the heart of Holy Writ, the bone and marrow of all confession, the central dogma of all the truths of salvation, the center of light from which all the streams and
rays of the knowledge of God proceed to the circumference. The Person of Christ determines the essence of Christianity.
With this confession the Church of Christ accepted its own, independent place in the midst of Jews and Gentiles. By it, she was distinguished and separated from both. From out of it, she constantly came to a richer development of her faith and life. At first everyone was baptized who made confession of the Lord Jesus. After a while this confession was increased to that of the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. In the twelve articles of our Catholic, undoubted, Christian faith, this confession receives a still greater development. Finally in the different confessions of the Christian Church all of these articles have been more closely studied and better explained. The confessions are, as it were, branches and leaves proceeding from the one tree which, in the belief that Jesus is the Christ, at the beginning was planted in the ground of the church.
To be sure, we find supposed in this short, brief confession, creation and fall, sin and misery. As it were in a germ, the whole Person of Christ, with His names and natures, with His offices and states, lies comprehended in it. The whole order of salvation, for the individual, for humanity, for the world is intricately contained or included in it.
In the Cross of Christ which is an offense unto the Jews and foolishness unto the Greeks; sin and grace, law and gospel, justice and mercy, guilt and forgiveness are united and reconciled. At that Cross, God and the world, Heaven and earth, angels and men, peoples and nations extend to one another the hand of peace. For by the Cross of Christ, God has reconciled the world unto Himself—not imputing her trespasses unto her, and, triumphed over all authority and powers.
In the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we participate in the love of the Father and enjoy the communion of the Holy Spirit.