I continue to thank God for the privilege of serving Him here at Faith Baptist Church, and for the spiritual leaders I get to serve alongside. This week we're blogging about Chapter 6, "Confession Brings Freedom". I think confessing sin on a person to person level, is a very frightening prospect to most of us. Though it's hard, it's not hard to see the benefits of that kind of honesty. There are benefits both for the person confessing sin and the one being asked to forgive. It is also so consistent with the definition of godly sorrow (and the repentance it brings) in II Corinthians 7:11.
"For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter." NKJV
I find the author's Seven 'A's of Confession to be so helpful, and I'm thankful that he does not promote them as a magic formula. I like his acknowledgement on pg 133 "Any time we use a process like the Seven A's, we can turn it into a meaningless ritual and completely miss what God wants us to do (see Mark 7:5-13; Luke 11:42)."* By God's grace I've attempted to employ the Seven A's many times in my life, but as I read them again - I was surprised how much further I have to go in my implementation of these Biblical principles.
Depending on God,
Pastor Craig
*Reprinted or adapted from The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict, Ken Sande (Baker Books, 3d ed., 2003). Peacemaker® Ministries. www.Peacemaker.net.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"
Matthew 28:19 KJV
Matthew 28:19 KJV
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1) Repent - Go (either physically or in my thoughts or both) 180 degrees from where I currently am.
2) Examine Ourself - Really search out where things (I) went wrong.
3) Confession - Avoid words that shift the blame to others - take responsibility for what I said or did.
4) Change - Allow God to change me, my thoughts and my actions.
I'm going to try to memorize the seven A's and address each of them in my conflicts, especially number 7, asking forgivness. Not just with the person with whom I have a conflict, but with God since my sin is usually a contributing factor to many conflicts.