Confession Part 2 and U-Turns

True or False We confess our sins to make ourselves feel bad.
True or False We confess our sins so that we can be crushed under the weight of our sins.
True or False We confess our sins so to let the power and the love of God descend upon us and change us.


Confession the other part…last time we talked about confession of sins to God, or agreeing with God that what we have done is wrong. There is another side to confession that we did not talk about.

Romans 10:9 says “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”. So another part of confession is acknowledging that we are God Servant’s and that Jesus is our Lord.

Confessing our sins may be saying that we have done things wrong in the past and that we are agree with God that these are wrong. Confessing our sins may also paint us in a negative light, but it can lead to something positive. We agree that what we have done is wrong, and also that we belong to Jesus. In our worship life we need both of these.


So now, that we have confessed, what next?

Confession
vs.
Repentance

1 John 1 told us to confess. Luke 13 tells us to repent. What is the relationship, if any, between confessing our sins and repentance?


Do Confession and Repentance mean the same thing?



How are they similar?




How are they different?
Repent
to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct; regret or be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc.
to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better; be penitent.
to remember or regard with self-reproach or contrition: to repent one's injustice to another.
to feel sorry for; regret: to repent an imprudent act.

The Greek work for repentance ismetanoia, and translates as a change of mind.

Confession is admitting you’ve done something wrong. Confession is admitting that we have gone in the wrong direction. Repentance is actually turning around and going the right way. Repentance is turning away from wrong doing (aka U-Turn).


Romans 2:4
From the message - Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

From NLT - Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?

From this what leads you to repent? Or to turn away from sin?



Read 2 Peter 3:9.
The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent.
2 Corinthians 7:10
For God can use sorrow in our lives to help us turn away from sin and seek salvation. We will never regret that kind of sorrow. But sorrow without repentance is the kind that results in death.

What does this show us about God’s and how he feels about sinners?


What “things” are necessary for repentance?

Luke 13:1-5
1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were sacrificing at the Temple in Jerusalem. 2 "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than other people from Galilee?" he asked. "Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will also perish unless you turn from your evil ways and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen men who died when the Tower of Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will also perish."

What U-Turns do you need to make this week?…