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Repenting from sin is good for both our spiritual and physical health!

Psalm 32:1-4 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah.”

The Old Testament Hebrew word used here for bones actually means bones but is always used as a reference to the entire body. To say ones body, or bones, are wasting away may be better translated the body is in huge crushing pain. In the Old Testament, if a person had sins that were not confessed, it could cause physical bodies to be wracked with pain. This theme of sin equals pain is mentioned quite often in the Psalms (31:10; 32:3; 42:10; 102:3,5). But confession equating to good health is also taught:

Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

We live in the Church Age, which is a different period or dispensation, and dealing with sin is a bit different. James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

And most importantly, in the Church Age, repentance is key in your spiritual growth: Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…”

And if you say you are without sin, God has a few words to say on that topic:

I John 1:9 “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

But if that verse means continued confession of sin equals forgiveness, then forgiveness would depend on what we do, not what Jesus did on the cross. The most likely translation of 1 John 1:9 is in the context of salvation—an initial, one-time confession that we are sinners in need of a savior:

Romans 10:6-9 “But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) 7 or, “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

So you see, salvation was paid for COMPLETELY and fully by Jesus Christ when He went to the cross in your place! And there is nothing more we can do to earn eternal life by works.

Philippians 2:11 “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

God doesn’t need us to list our sins to Him, but rather, repent being thankful that the sin or sins have already been paid for on the cross!

John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

So confess your sins to others, and to the Lord, but only if you are sorry for sinning against God. If you’re only sorry that you got caught, it would be like sounding a trumpet when you give to the church, you already have your reward!

Matthew 6:1-4 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. 3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

Angelos