“And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.” –Matthew
3:6
It is a very difficult thing for people to admit that they are
wrong. We see this manifested in people
at an early age. It seems like the
universal kid response, when you ask them what they are doing, is “I don't
know.” The reality is, the “I don’t
know” means, “I don't want you to know.”
The wrongdoing that is in us is not something that we wish to be dragged
into the light, and certainly not something that we are willing to admit
to. However, this is the first step that
has to be taken on our part when we come to God. If we want to obtain salvation, we have to
confess. They say, “Confession is good
for the soul.” Confession is critical to
save your soul, but only true confession, that leads to repentance, which leads
to life.
The 6th first of the 3rd chapter of Matthew was plucked out of a
series of verses describing the scene of John the Baptist preaching and baptizing
on the Jordan bank. Stop and imagine
this picture if you please. Here is a
man of no religious training, preaching the Gospel, and baptizing sinners who
are then experiencing forgiveness and pardon for their sins. These people who are coming to John to
receive baptism are confessing their sins.
They are confessing what they have done; exposing themselves, admitting
fault, and accepting the consequence of their actions. Which should be externally damnation, but in
the love and future merits of Christ they find instead forgiveness and pardon. Meanwhile, standing just a ways off, the
Pharisees (religious leaders) are looking on at the entire scene. Up until John’s preaching, the only way to
obtain pardon was to bring an offering to the Pharisees and let them perform a
certain ceremony which would rid the offeror of the sins they committed in the
sight of God. Now John is telling them
that you can go direct to the source.
The beginnings of the friction between Jesus and the Pharisees is taking
shape. It is because the Pharisees were too
blind to see what always was, and that is: God wants your heart. John and Jesus’s preaching focused on the
heart of man, the source of the matter; while the Pharisees were still hung up
on the ritual of it all. I fear that too
many come to God for forgiveness with the same Pharisaical attitude. It is a ritual more than a true
confession. They kneel regularly at
night, perhaps at the Sunday service when the preacher gives an altar call, or
with the priest before Mass; this is the route they take to find forgiveness. The ritual route, if you please. Perhaps because they have been instructed to
or maybe because it is all they ever known, no matter the reason, the reality
is you can never find true forgiveness unless you have truly repented, and you
can never truly repent unless you have given a true confession. True confession is not between you and a
priest or you and a pastor, but you and God.
It’s not meant to be something that you repeat over and over, but it’s
meant to prepare your heart for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. You have to go to God in prayer and confess
all; admit that you were wrong and beg for forgiveness. This is not a matter of the head, but a
matter of the heart.
When you do get to the place where you finally have given a true
confession, it will lead you to a true repentance. Repentance is “I am sorry and I am never
going to do it again.” Once you get here
you will receive forgiveness. The sins you
have committed will be washed clean and you will then be fit to receive the
indwelling of the Holy Ghost (more on this next week.)
