A Web site I visited recently which seeks to explain Catholic doctrine and beliefs to Protestants contained the statement “Protestants do not believe in confession.” The statement is incorrect insofar as Protestants do not practice auricular confession (confessing ones’ sins to a priest in order to receive forgiveness). That statement along with others I have seen shows that there is a misunderstanding about the Protestant view of confession.

That God calls us to confess our sin is clearly supported by Scripture. The Bible teaches us much about confession.

Leviticus 16:21 shows that confession is an integral part of forgiveness. “Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness…” Though confession is implicit in asking for forgiveness (an admission of wrong-doing is necessary before one asks for forgiveness), the Biblical model is one of explicit confession. The priest did not simply send the scapegoat into the wilderness as a sign of forgiveness. Rather, he first laid his hands on the animal and confessed the sins of the nation. The indication is that the priest would have confessed specific sins rather than simply offering a vague admission of guilt.

Psalm 32:3-5 shows the burden of unconfessed sin. “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ” I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” David says that while he refused to confess his sin his bones wasted away, God’s hand was heavy upon him and his strength was sapped. The burden was psychological, spiritual and probably physical as well. Finally, after David confessed his sin before God he experienced God’s forgiveness. At the close of the psalm we see a radical transformation as Davis is glad - singing and rejoicing in song.

Most Christians have, at one time or another learned the acronym A.C.T.S. as a model for prayer. Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication is a good and a logical way of ordering prayer. It seems, though, that little time and teaching is dedicated to how one should confess.

Giving God the adoration due Him will prepare us for confession. Focusing on God’s attributes will help us see where we have fallen short of His standards. A part of our adoration is focusing on the attributes of God that we shared with Him before our fall into sin. For example, we may give God glory for being perfect in holiness. As we do this it opens our eyes to the fact that this perfection is God’s standard for us. He demands and expects no less from us.

Once we have established who God is and what He has done we cannot help but see how our lives and character fall short of the perfection He demands. The reaction of a contrite and broken heart can be nothing other than confessing our sinfulness before Him before we begin to pour out our requests before Him.

So what does confession actually look like? Here are a few pointers:

• Confession is specific. Like most things in life and in the Christian life in particular, speaking in specifics is superior to speaking in generalities. We commit specific sins and need to confess them specifically. Consider, for example, someone who struggles with feelings of jealousy. Praying “I confess that I am a jealous person” is less specific than praying “I confess that I am jealous of the talents You have given to someone else.”
• Confess the consequences. True confession involves looking not just at the sin we commit but also at how this sin has affected us. It is more than an admission of guilt but is a process of soul-searching to see where sin has taken root in our lives. So we need to search our souls and then confess not only the sin but also the effects of the sin. “I confess that I am jealous of the talents you have given to someone else” is a good place to start, but praying “I confess I am jealous of the talents you have given someone else, and this makes me resentful towards You for not blessing me in this way. It also damages my relationship towards this person” shows that I have searched my soul and seen how my sin has affected me.
• Confession precedes forgiveness. Confession leads us to ask for forgiveness. Confessing leads us to fall on our faces before God, literally or figuratively, to ask for forgiveness. A confession is not, in itself, enough. In our court system a criminal may plead guilty for a misdeed, but this does not necessarily indicate that he is sorry for what he has done. Similarly we need to ask God for His forgiveness, not just confess our sins to Him.
• Confession before someone we have harmed. There may be times where our sin requires us to confess and ask forgiveness from someone our sin has affected. One must be careful with this because there are times when our sin should remain only between ourselves and God, especially if revealing it to others would only hurt them and damage relationships.
• Confession before Men. At times it may be wise to confess our sins before a friend or other trusted individual. This person can then pray with us, pray for us, and help us believe in God’s assurance of forgiveness.

Having confessed and asked for forgiveness, we have God’s assurance that He has forgiven us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” We need to believe in this promise, believing that our sins have been paid for by Christ. Naturally, our reaction should now be one of joy as we thank God for allowing Christ to take our sin upon Himself. Finally, having confessed to Him and having thanked Him for forgiveness, we can pour out our requests to Him, asking that He would help us turn from our sin and become more and more like His Son.

We see, then, that confession is an integral part of the Protestant faith and a necessary part of our Christian walk.

In previous articles we have examined reasons to study Christianity, we have defined who God is and how He has revealed Himself, paying special attention to the Bible. Today we turn our attention to the creation of the world.

A question that comes immediately to mind when examining creation is "why?" We can't help but wonder why God created the world. If God is perfect it can't be that he needed the world or people to complete His happiness. The only possible answer is that God did this for His own glory. He created the world so it could bring glory to Him.

Before we begin our study of creation, I suggest you read the first two chapters of the book of Genesis where creation is explained.

This week’s featured blog is The Irvins. This site is run by Tim Irvin (aka Jabbok), is dedicated to Reformed Christianity and is updated on a near-daily basis. It also contains a wealth of information about Reformed creeds and beliefs (scroll down a bit and look for the menu on the left side of the screen). I found the article about “The Errors of the Invitation System” particularly interesting, though there seems to be a problem with disappearing paragraphs near the end.

All-in-all it’s a great site and worthy of a daily stop.

This is the fortieth and final chapter of The Purpose Driven Life. As I expected, it wraps up with a review of the five sections and encouragement to develop a personal purpose statement. Rick Warren begins the chapter with a discussion about the importance of a personal "Life Purpose Statement." Such a statement will keep me focused on achieving all of my purposes and help me remember what is most important in my life. He provides five questions that I should consider as I prepare this statement.

• What will be the center of my life? This is the question of worship. Who am I going to live for and what am I going to build my life around?
• What will be the character of my life? This is the question of discipleship. What kind of person will I be? God is more interested in what I am than what I do, so I need to concentrate on improving my character.
• What will be the contribution of my life? This is a question of service. I need to decide what my ministry will be and how I will use my SHAPE to serve the body of Christ.
• What will be the communication of my life? This is the question of my mission to unbelievers. It will include my commitment to share my testimony and to share the gospel.
• What will be the community of my life? This is a question of fellowship. How am I going to demonstrate my commitment to other believers and my connection to the family of God?

Warren suggests that I spend weeks or even months thinking and praying about my mission statement and fine-tuning it to be just the way I want it. I should then form a smaller version of it that summarizes the main points.

The book closes with a short section encouraging me to believe and accept that God truly wants to use me. By living a life of purpose I can serve God to the best of my ability and look forward to an eternity of continuing to live for His purposes.

Bible Passages

Warren quotes the Bible twenty nine times using eight translations and paraphrases. I found that he used The Message far too much in this chapter, often taking wonderful passages of Scripture and assigning them a whole new meaning. Phillipians 4:7 reads, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." The Message paraphrases it "Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." I don't see what is wrong with the more accurate translation that made Warren think The Message could improve it. Another case in point is Revelation 4:11 which Warren uses to close the book. The NASB translates it "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." That is one of the most beautiful, awe-inspiring passages in the entire Bible. The Message reads "Worthy, O Master! Yes, our God! Take the glory! the honor! the power! You created it all; It was created because you wanted it." The Message paraphrase sounds ridiculous and loses the grandeur and power of the original. Again, I fail to see why he thought this paraphrase was better than a more accurate one.

Point to Ponder

Today's point to ponder is "living with purpose is the only way to really live." At this point I am not ready to agree or disagree with that statement. I am going to take a few days to let what I have learned settle and to think about what this book has taught. At that point I am going to write a final article in this series which will summarize what I have learned and what I believe about the Purpose Driven approach. So stay tuned!

Blessed are the balanced; they shall outlast everyone. In chapter thirty nine of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren describes a life of balance - a life that is equally devoted to each of our five purposes. He provides five pointers for keeping on track with a balanced life.

• Talk it through with a spiritual partner or group. We learn best through community, so we should be sure to share our journey with other people.
• Give myself a regular spiritual check-up. I need to evaluate myself periodically to be sure I am devoting sufficient attention to each of my five purposes.
• Write down your progress in a journal. The best way to reinforce my progress is by keeping a spiritual journal. I need to write to help clarify what God is doing in my life. I need to write down both pleasant and unpleasant experiences and realizations.
• Pass on what I know to others. The best way to grow is to pass on what I have already learned.

The reason I need to pass on what I have learned is that it glorifies God. God calls us to do the work of fulfilling our five purposes and help others to do the same.

Bible Passages

Warren quotes the Bible seventeen times using seven translations and paraphrases. Generally he quotes good translations within the proper context. I did find that perhaps he stretched the meaning of John 17:4 to suit his model of our five purposes. It seems that when one looks at the Bible looking for a specific theme, one can find it anywhere.

Point to Ponder

Today's point to ponder is "blessed are the balanced." A life of balance is important. I have seen many churches and individuals that so attune themselves to purpose that they lose site of the others. Some churches devote themselves only to building up the members while others devote themselves only to evangelism. Obviously if God has called us to five purposes it is important to devote attention to all of them. I would not say that we need to devote equal attention to each, as some of us are gifted in a particular area more than another, but I do think all of us need to maintain some degree of balance.

I found this chapter to be very repetitive as everything Warren said had been said before at least two or three times. At this point it seems that perhaps he was struggling to find forty days' worth of material. Though what he says is good, it has all been said better in the past.

Up Next

Tomorrow's topic is Living With Purpose

Day thirty eight of The Purpose Driven Life discusses the difference between a worldly Christian and a world-class Christian. Whereas worldly Christians are most concerned about themselves and their own happiness and blessing, world-class Christians are far more concerned with their mission of reaching the lost. As the world shrinks through increased transportation and communication it becomes easier and easier for Christians to fulfill their mission of reaching out to the world. Rick Warren provides several pointers on how to think like a world-class Christian.

• Shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking. Mature Christians, like mature people, think more of others and less of themselves. I need to ask the Holy Spirit to help me think of the spiritual needs of unbelievers whenever I talk to them. I need to figure out what is keeping them from coming to Christ and do what I can to help remove that barrier.
• Shift from local thinking to global thinking. The business world thinks in global terms and we need to learn from that. I need to begin to think and pray globally, focusing on particular nations and groups. I need to pray for opportunities to witness, for courage to speak up, for those who will believe, for the rapid spread of the message and for more workers. Warren says that the best way to switch to global thinking is to go on a short-term missions trip and actually experience global missions.
• Shift from "here and now" thinking to eternal thinking. To make the most of my life I need to maintain an eternal perspective. This is an area the book has focused on in each chapter, and as we have learned, it is far more important to build up treasures in heaven than on earth.
• Shift from thinking of excuses to thinking of creative ways to fulfill your commission. If I am willing I will always be able to find a way to serve. I do not need a special call as all Christians have already been given to call!

The chapter closes with more discussion of the importance of every Christian going on a short-term missions trip.

Bible Passages

Warren quotes the Bible twenty five times using eight translations and paraphrases. One verse was used outside of its proper context. In speaking about the importance of praying for specific countries he quotes Psalm 2:8 which reads, "If you ask me, I will give you the nations; all the people on earth will be yours." He does not quote the next verse which reads, "You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery." When read in context we see that the verse refers to something other than praying for the conversion of the nations. The Psalmist is talking about vanquishing nations.

Point to Ponder

Today's point to ponder is "the Great Commission is my commission." I agree with this statement wholeheartedly. The Commission was given to the apostles and extends to us today. Each and every Christian bears the responsibility to carry out this commission. However, I am not sure that it means that each of us is to go on a missions trip. I struggle a bit with Warren's teaching on this matter.

I often wonder if the thousands of dollars spent sending a person on a mission trip would not be better spent on those already engaged in missions. I have little doubt that missions trips have a great affect on those who go on them, but I am a little more skeptical that they have the same type of affect on the people they are intended to reach. It is common knowledge that the best missionaries are those who are indigenous to the nation they work in. The two or three thousand dollars I might spend on a two or three week trip to a third world nation might support one or two indigenous missionaries for an entire year! Would it not be better to use the money to support someone who can build deep and lasting relationships with the people in the other nation? Having spoken to some missionaries about this matter, they will often say that mission trips, especially involving groups of teenagers, can damage their work as it consumes resources, both time and money, that would be better used elsewhere.

I am uncertain on this matter and would love to get some comments on what other people think.

Up Next

Tomorrow's topic is Balancing Your Life

What Is The Bible?

The Bible is, at the most obvious level, a book. Admittedly that does not sound like anything remarkable. The word Bible is simply the Greek word for "book," and is the same root from which we derive the words "bibliography" or "bibliophile." Yet the Bible is exceptional among books as it came into existence in a unique way.

The Bible is a book that contains within in sixty six other books. These books were written by more than forty authors over the course of 1600 years, the first being written in approximately 1500 B.C. and the last shortly before the end of the first century A.D. Some books are named after their author, while others are named after an event or are named based on the content of the book. There are books of vastly different styles - some are poetic while others are prose; some relate history while others relate prophecy; some were written as letters to a person or group while others were written after many years of being conveyed orally through the generations.

God has given me a life message to share. From the moment I became a Christian I became a messenger of God. I have a life message that I am to share with unbelievers and this message contains four parts.

• My testimony. My testimony is the story of how God has made a difference in my life. My job is not to try to convict others, but simply to be a witness to them of what God has done in my life. A personal story is valuable to people - often more valuable than sermons or doctrine.
• Life lessons. My life lessons are the truths God has taught me through my walk with Him. Though it is wise to learn from experiences, it is even wiser to learn from other people’s experiences, so God calls us to share these.
• Godly passions. God is passionate - there are some things he loves passionately and others He hates passionately. He will give me passions for serving Him and I need to speak up about this and do what I can to make a difference.
• The Good News. The Good News is that when we trust God’s grace to save us through Jesus’ sacrifice, we receive forgiveness of sins. Every Christian is called to spread this message to unbelievers. I am responsible to maximize the opportunities He provides me to share this news with others.

Of the five purposes Rick Warren has outlined in this book, this last purpose, being a messenger of His Good News, is the only one that I can do only while I am on earth. The other four purposes will continue for all eternity, but sharing the Good News can happen only now. That is why it is so critically important.

Bible Passages

Warren quotes the Bible twenty times using eight translations and paraphrases. The only verse that stood out to me was Psalm 119:33 which in the NASB reads “Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end.” Warren uses The Message paraphrase which says “God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course.” The proper meaning of the verse is that we are to learn God’s laws and to honor Him that way. The paraphrase speaks of learning life lessons which is quite different from following God’s laws.

Point to Ponder

Today’s point to ponder is “God wants to say something to the world through me.” There are two things that came to my mind as I studied this chapter. The first was when the author taught about witnessing and that our job is just to be witnesses and not to be the judge and jury. I was reminded of an excerpt from Keith Green’s diary which simply read, “Tried to be the Holy Spirit to [someone] today.” I read that several years ago and it has stayed fresh in my mind. Too often I can become the accuser and I can try to convince people of what I know to be true. But the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is the accuser and I just need to be the witness.

The other thing that came to mind was that I have always felt like I have a pretty poor testimony. Warren says it is important to point out in my testimony what my life was like before I became a Christian, but in reality it was not much different. I was raised in a Christian home and read the Bible and prayed every day from the time I was a child. I attended church and all-in-all was a pretty good kid. Now there came a time when suddenly it all “became real” to me and I made the faith my parents taught me my own, but it did not result in any huge changes. Now in a sense that is an exciting testimony as it shows the power of the witness of parents to their children, but when compared to people who have incredible stories of hurt and restoration, it seems trite in comparison. Of course I am thankful that I did not need to hit rock bottom before coming to faith.

Up Next

Tomorrow’s topic is Becoming A World-Class Christian

Day thirty six of The Purpose Driven Life begins the discussion of my fifth and final purpose, "made for a mission." God is at work in the world and He wants me to join Him in doing this work. I am to have a ministry within the body of believers and a mission to the rest of the world as my service to unbelievers. Warren provides several reasons why my mission is important.

• My mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission on earth. Jesus commissioned us to carry on the work He began - the work of taking the Good News to the rest of the world. To ignore this call is to be disobedient to Him.
• My mission is a wonderful privilege. It is a great privilege and responsibility to be used by God.
• Telling others how they can have eternal life is the greatest thing I can do for them. Telling people how they can find forgiveness, purpose, peace and eternal life is the best thing I can do for anyone. I need to tell them how they are hopelessly lost without Christ and share with them how He can find them.
• My mission has eternal significance. My mission has an eternal impact. The greatest thing I can do with my life is to share the Good News - nothing else will ever matter as much as this.
• My mission gives my life meaning. By living out my mission I can live my life for something that outlives it. The results of these activities will last forever.
• God's timetable for history's conclusion is connection to the completion of our commission. Jesus said that the end of the world will not come until the gospel has been preached in every nation. If I want Jesus to return sooner I need to focus on getting the Gospel out to every nation.

  To fulfill my mission I need to abandon my own agenda for my life and accept God's agenda. I need to make fulfilling my mission a top priority. Nothing matters more to God than lost people so I need to do all I can do fulfill this purpose for my life.

  Bible Passages

  Warren quotes the Bible twenty two times using seven translations and paraphrases. Generally he quotes accurate translations within the proper context.

  Point to Ponder

  Today's point to ponder is "I was made for a mission." It seems to me that the biggest result of Rick Warren's writing, both in The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church is an intense focus on The Great Commission. Though it has always been regarded as important, I believe recently it has been seen as being of utmost importance. I guess it only makes sense to pay attention to the last words Jesus spoke before He left the earth. His last command to His disciples, and thus to the church, was that they were to spread the Gospel to the entire world. This command has been the driving force behind many evangelists and many missionaries.

  It is my prayer that this commission will be a driving force in my life, that I will truly come to understand the importance of taking God's Word to all the world. I pray that my life will be used to spread the Good News to those God puts in my path.

  Up Next

  Tomorrow's topic is Sharing Your Life Message

In this article we turn our attention to what Christians believe about the ways God has revealed Himself to humans. We have already looked at this briefly, so today we will review the two ways God has revealed Himself to us and provide some details about each.

In a previous article we answered the question of how God has revealed Himself to us. We saw that he has used Natural Revelation and Special Revelation. We saw that Natural Revelation is how God reveals Himself through nature and through what He has created. This means of revelation is seen and experienced by every human being. The second means of revelation is Special Revelation, which is seen and experienced by only some humans.

Natural Revelation

First we will recap what we learned about Natural Revelation. The word "natural" speaks about nature, so the first way God has revealed himself is through nature - through what He has created. Since we cannot see God, to learn about Him we must see Him indirectly in what He has made. For example, if I am a being that God created, I can learn something about God by looking at myself.