Chapter 4: Does Unconfessed Sin Clog Our Joy?

Overview

Part of the cause of spiritual darkness may be cherished sin that we are unwilling to let go. The pursuit of joy implies hatred of sin, because sin destroys joy—it offers deceptive delights but kills in the end. We can make two mistakes with our sin: to make light of it, or to be overwhelmed by it. In the fight for joy we must take it seriously, hate it, renounce it, and trust Christ as our only Savior from its guilt and power.

Jesus, Peter and David all taught that unconfessed sin hinders joy in God. Jesus said to leave your gift at the altar and first be reconciled to your brother (Matthew 5:23–24); we quench fellowship with God when we refuse to confess our offenses to man. Peter warned that a husband who sins against his wife will find his prayers hindered (1 Peter 3:7). And David described the misery of unconfessed sin: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3). These words are full of hope: we can hold our sin in secret and groan in darkness, or confess it and become “the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity.”

The almost incredible hope of confession is that the Lord does not rub our sin in our faces but cancels it. From this side of Calvary we know how he can do that justly: Christ bore God’s wrath for that sin (Galatians 3:13); the accounts are settled; and he clothes us with his own righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). So we need not fear to confess and release any cherished sin. The shame will not haunt us.

Confessing to God and to Man Is Sweet Freedom

We should pray Psalm 19:12–13 over both the deep, unconscious depravity of our souls and the presumptuous sins of our wills: “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.” We have hidden faults we cannot even confess because we do not know them, and sins we know very well. It is good news that one biblical prayer covers both—“declare me innocent” of the unknown (by Christ’s blood), and “keep back your servant” from the known (by Christ’s power). If we cling to sin rather than renouncing and fighting it, the darkness will remain as a severe but merciful witness to the outcome of cherishing idols.

Do not be content with whispering your sin to God. That is good—very good—but he offers more: “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). There is release and healing in confessing not only in the secret place but to a trusted friend, or to the person you have offended. The tender words “I’m sorry; will you forgive me?” are among the surest paths to joy.

Give the Devil His Due, but No More

What about the devil’s role in our darkness? Give him his due, but no more. He and his demons are always at work, not just sometimes; his harassment is a normal part of Christian warfare—hence the shield of faith to extinguish his flaming darts (Ephesians 6:16), and Peter’s call to be sober-minded and watchful against the prowling lion (1 Peter 5:8–9). Yet the quality of his harassment ranges from mild temptation to murder; Jesus calls him “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44), and he can inspire persecution and even kill Christians (Revelation 2:10).

There are three great comforts in the face of Satan’s attacks. One: he can do nothing apart from God’s sovereign permission (Job 1:12; 2:6), governed by infinite wisdom and covenant love, so that Satan’s servants become God’s sanctifying envoys (2 Corinthians 12:7–10). Even if Satan has a hand in your darkness, he is not free to do more than your loving Father permits, and God will turn it for your good (Luke 22:31–32). Two: the decisive blow against Satan’s destructive power was struck by the death of Jesus for our sins (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14). He can harass and even kill us, but he cannot destroy us. Only unforgiven sin can damn a soul; if Christ has covered all our sin and God imputes to us Christ’s perfect righteousness, Satan has no grounds for any damning accusation. “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies” (Romans 8:33–34).

The Devil Cannot Abide with the Light of Cherished Truth

Three: deliverance from Satan’s oppressing, darkening and deceiving work in a Christian’s life comes most often by the power of truth, and only rarely by exorcism. Piper has witnessed demon possession and taken part in one dramatic deliverance, but does not believe that person was a Christian until afterward; the complete takeover of a personality is not something the Holy Spirit would allow in a Christ-indwelt heart. Yet that distinction may matter little to the believer harassed from without on every side—the battle can be fierce.

What is usually called for is the ministry of 2 Timothy 2:24–26: the Lord’s servant, kind and able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting opponents with gentleness, so that God may grant repentance and a knowledge of the truth, and they may escape the snare of the devil. Gentle, loving teaching of the truth—especially the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection for our deliverance from sin, wrath, death and Satan—is the process in which God grants escape from the devil’s captivity. The devil is by nature a liar; he thrives in darkness and cannot abide truth and light. If by God’s grace the full force of truth shines into a believer’s darkness, the devil will not survive the light. Good, solid Bible teaching is a crucial part of deliverance.