We come this week to one of the most unusual aspects of our worship: the confession of sin. There was a time when most churches in America had a corporate confession of sin, but since the Second Great Awakening in the 19th century, it has fallen out of favor. There is much that could be said about how and why this happened. It’s enough here to point out that it has, and it makes us a bit odd!

What exactly are we doing, and why do we do it? God has called us into his presence to worship him, and having acknowledged that call by singing praise to him, we then admit that we are not called or present in worship because we are worthy but despite the fact that we are sinners. We confess our sins together, and in so doing, we proclaim, “It is true! We are sinners! We do not deserve your grace or mercy!” Even though we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and forgiven of our sins, we continue to wrestle with the flesh, and too often, we fail. We were not saved by our great goodness, nor can we maintain our salvation by it! Yes, we strive for holiness by the power of the Spirit and the mercy and grace of God. However, until Christ returns, we will fail often. And so we cry out to God and admit our weakness and sin. First, we do this publicly. Then we do so privately.

Praise be to God—we do not then go back out into the world as condemned sinners, but instead, we are reminded from God’s Word that he does not now judge us but that we are forgiven in Jesus Christ. The assurance of pardon is always from Scripture because there can be no comfort in words of pardon from me or Nathan. You need to hear your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, say to you that your sins are indeed forgiven. And so each week, we end this portion of the service by reminding you of this assurance from God’s Word. 

In one sense, our confession is a very real thing. We mean what we say. In another sense, it is a liturgical action. What I mean is this: a true Christian lives in an attitude of repentance, always acknowledging that he is a sinner and grieving and hating his sin. A true Christian also lives in continual faith, always rejoicing that she is saved from the judgment of God against her sin. Confession isn’t something that you store up until Sunday morning. Our corporate worship isn’t the only place you may confess and be assured of forgiveness. So when we confess on Sunday, we are doing it for real, but it is also an action meant to train us and remind us of our duty to confess our sin all week long.

After the assurance of pardon, we always sing a Psalm or hymn. Sometimes, it is a hymn of praise of Christ in which we celebrate our forgiveness. Less often, it is a hymn of repentance in which we reiterate our confession in song. It is always appropriate to sing to God in light of our sin and his great mercy to forgive.

Next week, we’ll think through the preaching of the Word of God and how it fits into the service.

I hope to see you Sunday!
Pastor Matt