{"id":5634,"date":"2019-08-19T18:40:56","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T02:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=5634"},"modified":"2019-08-19T18:48:07","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T02:48:07","slug":"celebration-of-discipline-confession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/08\/19\/celebration-of-discipline-confession","title":{"rendered":"Celebration of Discipline: Confession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"220\" height=\"330\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/celebration_of_discipline_220.jpg?resize=220%2C330&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"book cover - Celebration Of Discipline\" class=\"wp-image-5484\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/celebration_of_discipline_220.jpg?w=220&amp;ssl=1 220w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/celebration_of_discipline_220.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Blog read\u00aders: Chi Alpha @ Stan\u00adford is engag\u00ading in our annu\u00adal sum\u00admer read\u00ading project. As we read through an anno\u00adtat\u00aded trans\u00adla\u00adtion of Pascal\u2019s Pensees called <a href=\"https:\/\/smile.amazon.com\/Christianity-Modern-Pagans-Outlined-Explained\/dp\/0898704529\/\">Chris\u00adtian\u00adi\u00adty For Mod\u00adern Pagans<\/a>, I\u2019ll post the thoughts I\u2019m email\u00ading the stu\u00addents here (which will large\u00adly con\u00adsist of excerpts I found insight\u00adful). They are all tagged <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/tag\/summer-reading-project-2020\">sum\u00admer-read\u00ading-project-2020<\/a>. The read\u00ading sched\u00adule is <a href=\"https:\/\/xastanford.org\/summer-reading\">online<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week we\u2019re talk\u00ading about con\u00adfess\u00ading our sins to oth\u00ader peo\u00adple. Bib\u00adli\u00adcal\u00adly, we always con\u00adfess our sins to the Lord in prayer and then we usu\u00adal\u00adly also con\u00adfess direct\u00adly to those we have wronged. Some\u00adtimes in addi\u00adtion we con\u00adfess our sins to oth\u00ader believ\u00aders for the sake of their or our spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal health. As an exam\u00adple of con\u00adfess\u00ading for the sake of some\u00adone else\u2019s spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal health, I might con\u00adfess a sin while preach\u00ading about how growth comes in a cer\u00adtain area. As an exam\u00adple of con\u00adfess\u00ading for my own spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal health, I might con\u00adfess a sin to a friend while request\u00ading their coun\u00adsel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cCon\u00adfes\u00adsion is a dif\u00adfi\u00adcult Dis\u00adci\u00adpline for us because we all too often view the believ\u00ading com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty as a fel\u00adlow\u00adship of saints before we see it as a fel\u00adlow\u00adship of sin\u00adners. We feel that every\u00adone else has advanced so far into holi\u00adness that we are iso\u00adlat\u00aded and alone in our sin. We can\u00adnot bear to reveal our fail\u00adures and short\u00adcom\u00adings to oth\u00aders. We imag\u00adine that we are the only ones who have not stepped onto the high road to heav\u00aden. There\u00adfore, we hide our\u00adselves from one anoth\u00ader in live in veiled lies and hypocrisy.\u201d<\/p><cite> Richard Fos\u00adter, Cel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline, p 145 9<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few thoughts about con\u00adfes\u00adsion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li> Fos\u00adter\u2019s advice is spot-on when he says, \u201c\u2026we must be pre\u00adpared to deal with def\u00adi\u00adnite sins. A gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adized con\u00adfes\u00adsion may save us from humil\u00adi\u00ada\u00adtion and shame, but it will not ignite inner heal\u00ading\u201d (page 151). This relat\u00aded quote has often run through my mind, \u201cWe con\u00adfess our lit\u00adtle faults to per\u00adsuade peo\u00adple that we have no large ones\u201d (Rochefou\u00adcauld). If we con\u00adfess in a way that makes us look good, there\u2019s some\u00adthing amiss. When you con\u00adfess, don\u2019t mere\u00adly con\u00adfess that you are not per\u00adfect. Draw atten\u00adtion to one or more of your par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar imper\u00adfec\u00adtions. Not sim\u00adply \u201cI can be greedy some\u00adtimes\u201d; rather, \u201cI have been so con\u00adsumed with desir\u00ading that new iPhone that I almost stole mon\u00adey from my mom\u2019s purse. I was shocked at my lev\u00adel of greed.\u201d<\/li><li> I said we usu\u00adal\u00adly con\u00adfess to the per\u00adson we have wronged. That is not  always the case, how\u00adev\u00ader. For exam\u00adple, if you\u2019ve been star\u00ading lust\u00adful\u00adly  at some\u00adone, it\u2019s gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly unwise to tell that to the per\u00adson you\u2019ve been  lust\u00ading after. You are reliev\u00ading your emo\u00adtions by bur\u00adden\u00ading theirs.  It\u2019s self\u00adish. <\/li><li>To whom do you con\u00adfess when you are not con\u00adfess\u00ading direct\u00adly to some\u00adone you have wronged? Fos\u00adter\u2019s coun\u00adsel is wise: \u201cThe key qual\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions are spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal matu\u00adri\u00adty, wis\u00addom, com\u00adpas\u00adsion, good com\u00admon sense, the abil\u00adi\u00adty to keep a con\u00adfi\u00addence, and a whole\u00adsome sense of humor\u201d (page 153). <\/li><li>  In uni\u00adver\u00adsi\u00adty min\u00adistry I some\u00adtimes observe two extremes: a com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty where no one con\u00adfess\u00ades any\u00adthing to any\u00adone else (usu\u00adal\u00adly because of fear) or a com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty whose wor\u00adship ser\u00advices some\u00adtimes become pub\u00adlic con\u00adfes\u00adsion cer\u00ade\u00admonies. I have thoughts about both:<ul><li> A com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty where no one con\u00adfess\u00ades any\u00adthing to any\u00adone else is held in bondage to sin. Peo\u00adple con\u00advince them\u00adselves they strug\u00adgle alone, and as result half of Satan\u2019s work is done for him. He desires to iso\u00adlate Chris\u00adtians as a pre\u00adlude to destroy\u00ading us, and yet we fool\u00adish\u00adly iso\u00adlate our\u00adselves.<\/li><li>A com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty where peo\u00adple reg\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly con\u00adfess their sins in a pub\u00adlic forum runs the risk of indi\u00adrect\u00adly ele\u00advat\u00ading sin. If you\u2019ve nev\u00ader seen this done it is hard to describe, but I have seen it sev\u00ader\u00adal times. Some\u00adone heads to the micro\u00adphone and asks if they can share some\u00adthing that they feel like they have to get off their chest. And then they con\u00adfess a sin. And then some\u00adone else wrestling with that same sin or a relat\u00aded sin makes a bee\u00adline for the micro\u00adphone after this. And then the dam breaks and it takes over the entire ser\u00advice. This is some\u00adtimes a gen\u00aduine response to the guid\u00ading of the Holy Spir\u00adit  (we see an exam\u00adple of this in Acts 19:18\u201319), but some\u00adtimes it is an indi\u00adca\u00adtor that healthy inter\u00adper\u00adson\u00adal con\u00adfes\u00adsion is not hap\u00adpen\u00ading and so this sub\u00adsti\u00adtute is emerg\u00ading as a replace\u00adment.  The dan\u00adgers are (a) it can make sin seem more per\u00adva\u00adsive than it is (5% of the peo\u00adple spend\u00ading 95% of the time talk\u00ading about their biggest mis\u00adtakes cre\u00adates a dis\u00adtort\u00aded impres\u00adsion of the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty), and (b) with\u00adout wise pas\u00adtoral lead\u00ader\u00adship the nor\u00admal emo\u00adtions that accom\u00adpa\u00adny pub\u00adlic con\u00adfes\u00adsion can be mis\u00adtak\u00aden for the work\u00ading of the Holy Spir\u00adit. <\/li><li>That\u2019s in a wor\u00adship ser\u00advice. It\u2019s usu\u00adal\u00adly a healthy thing when this hap\u00adpens in a small group (although here, too, it can some\u00adtimes nor\u00admal\u00adize sin and min\u00adi\u00admize the trans\u00adform\u00ading pow\u00ader of grace).  <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is my sug\u00adges\u00adtion to you: today or tomor\u00adrow exam\u00adine your con\u00adscience and iden\u00adti\u00adfy a spe\u00adcif\u00adic sin to con\u00adfess. Med\u00adi\u00adtate upon the sin until you clear\u00adly see its wrong\u00adness. Then this week find a fel\u00adlow believ\u00ader (per\u00adhaps in Chi Alpha, per\u00adhaps in your church) and con\u00adfess the sin to them. Then ask them to pray for you that God will lib\u00ader\u00adate you from the pow\u00ader of that sin. See what hap\u00adpens and iter\u00adate mov\u00ading for\u00adward. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week we\u2019re talk\u00ading about con\u00adfess\u00ading our sins to oth\u00ader peo\u00adple. Bib\u00adli\u00adcal\u00adly, we always con\u00adfess our sins to the Lord in prayer and then we usu\u00adal\u00adly also con\u00adfess direct\u00adly to those we have wronged. Some\u00adtimes in addi\u00adtion we con\u00adfess our sins to oth\u00ader believ\u00aders for the sake of their or our spir\u00adi\u00adtu\u00adal health. As an \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2019\/08\/19\/celebration-of-discipline-confession\" class=\"more-link\">Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cCel\u00ade\u00adbra\u00adtion of Dis\u00adci\u00adpline: Con\u00adfes\u00adsion\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Some thoughts about confessing our sins to one another.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[264,263],"class_list":["post-5634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-resources-reviews","tag-celebration-of-discipline","tag-summer-reading-project-2019"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1sS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5634"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5640,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5634\/revisions\/5640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}