Getting Right ~ Proverbs 28
- Dan Potter
- 1 hour ago
- 6 min read
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13 NKJV
The First Great Awakening, spurred by John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards, 1727-1750. The 1904 Revival, epicenter in Wales and then extended to Korea, Northern China, and Azusa Street in Los Angeles. The World War II Revival, spearheaded by Billy Graham, 1935-1950. The Jesus Movement, also known as the Baby Boomer Revival, started in California, 1965-1971. The Protestant Reformation and Revival, led by Martin Luther and John Calvin, 1517. And of course, the original great awakening and the beginning of all revivals, the day of Pentecost, detailed in the Biblical book of Acts, A.D. 30. So what do all of these amazing revivals and awakenings have in common? Well, they all started with the same spiritual act. Each and every one rested upon the same spiritual bedrock. They all had one catalyst in common that God’s Holy Spirit fanned into a great fire and then spread across the globe. And just what act was it that caused hearts by the hundreds of thousands to be spiritually awakened and redeemed?
Heartfelt confession of personal sin directly to God.
If you research the beginnings of the greatest Christian revivals and awakenings of the last 250 years, you will find that same catalyst at the start of each…sinners getting right with God. And open confession of sin was, and is, always the beginning of a sinner getting right with God. During these great moments in the history of God calling His people back to Himself, His law, and His ways of living, it all started with God’s people hearing that call. And to hear and respond to the call of God means one basic thing…knowing who God is and knowing who you are. You see, every single person that has ever been born on this planet has inherited a sin nature. An innate natural knowledge of how to do wrong that benefits self and then selfishly chooses that wrong over God’s right. And this behavior is imprinted in our DNA, it is inescapable and impossible to deny. For proof of this, simply look around our world today. From toddlers, to teens, to adults, to seniors, it runs the gamut of race, sex, religion, and background. Everyone sins, continues to sin, and they do not possess the power to break the cycle of sin. Yes, the beginning of Godly revival begins with a human heart arriving at, and accepting the truth that, sin rules the roost. And that addiction to sin must be confessed to Almighty God.
But what if confession of personal sin is not on the table for a heart? What if a certain human heart is not ready to admit and confess the fact of what it truly is, a heart steeped in pride, selfishness, lust, and debauchery? Well, then the dances begin. The dance of denial. The Cha Cha of concealment. The Hula of hiding. The Samba smokescreen. And these dances, whatever or however you choose to label them, all begin with the same dance step, shame of personal sin that causes guilt enough to attempt to hide it. And if you desire a Biblical example of this dance, I offer you to visit Genesis 3:7-11 where you will find Adam and Eve’s perfect innocence shattered by their sin against God which caused them to first cover their nakedness in shame, and then hide from God in guilt. Yes, the dance we choose to cover our sin may seem like an original dance, but it always follows the same melody.
Yet if God already knows we are sinners, why the great need to confess our sin to God? Allow an example if you will. Say teenage Dan asks his dad to borrow the family car. Dad says no but Dan snags the keys and takes it anyway (sin). During his rebellious ride, Dan backs into a pole and leaves a nasty little calling card on the back right fender. Dan returns the car, formulates a complex story (lie) in his mind to explain away the dent, and then waits (in shameful guilt). Dad finds the dent, knows exactly what happened because he came home early and saw the car gone, and waits for Dan to be honest with him (to confess his wrong). So here our story must pause and address the facts. Dan knows he did wrong (sinned). Dan knows he must work frantically to cover up his wrong (sin) or it will be discovered and punishment will ensue (sin causing shame, guilt, and concealment). But dad already knows all about Dan’s wrong, so why the need for Dan to confess? Well, consider Dan’s two options and their results. First, what would happen if Dan simply refused to ever acknowledge or own his wrong towards his dad? And secondly, what would happen if Dan relented to his guilt and shame and went to his dad and openly and honestly confessed it all? Do you see the grand difference in how dad would react and see the honesty in his son’s confession versus his blatant concealment? Folks, it is no different in the way we choose to either admit or conceal our daily sin against our heavenly Father.
To explore the Biblical pattern of the ‘real’ first great awakening mentioned earlier in our study, the day of Pentecost, let’s visit chapter 19 of the book of Acts, verses 17-20.
“This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and exalted. Many of those who had become believers were coming, confessing and disclosing their former sinful practices. And many of those who had practiced magical arts collected their books and began burning them in front of everyone. They calculated their value and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver. So the Word of the Lord concerning eternal salvation through faith in Christ was growing greatly and prevailing.” Acts 19:17-20 AMP
The beginning of honesty begins with being honest. And the beginning of honesty with Almighty God begins with simply being honest with Him. Sure, just as our dad example above, God already knows what you have done because He knows your heart because He created your heart, but instead of you denying, lying about, or concealing your sin against Him, simply stop the dance and openly confess to Him what you have done. It will not surprise Him…but it will please Him.
Most think that the great revivals started at their peak, seeing thousands confess and come to faith in Christ at one single event, but that is not the truth. Each and every one of the great revivals started with one single heart. One heart moved to openly confess their sin directly to God and then repent of that sin. (note on repent…notice in Acts they burned the sinful books, not put them away to only be tempted by them later.) And in the beauty of revival, the Holy Spirit fanned one tender heart into igniting the next tender heart to be open and honest about their sin unto God.
Today, the recipe for great revival still stands the same, but it cannot happen without the main ingredient. For individual hearts to cease in concealing their sin and instead openly and honestly confess it to the Lord, begging for His rich mercy and amazing grace. And this is not an act of confession that is performed only once at the moment of salvation in Christ, but daily as a disciple of Christ. Yes, daily confession of sin directly to the Lord is necessary to see the servant of Christ become what Christ desires them to be…spiritually unburdened and free.
Constantly confess and be perpetually forgiven…and then go forth as a clean vessel in God's hands, glorifying and professing the name of the Lord in all you do.
Blessings ~ Dan
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 ESV
“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalms 32:5 NIV
“When anyone becomes aware that they are guilty in any of these matters, they must confess in what way they have sinned.” Leviticus 5:5
