I have been thinking much about how much we need other people. And its not to make up for our lonliness. In fact, we need each other to expose our lonliness. The true lonliness is a lonliness of heart, not of company and it is caused not by a lack of friends but by sin. And to expose our sin is the only way to come to Jesus and to really know one another. Read the following excerpts from and comments about Deitrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together
"The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous."
So what do we do? We cover up our sin, and live in hypocrisy. In contrast to this kind of fellowship, the gospel is only for the sinner. We do not have to lie but we can own up to God.
Moreover, we are to confess and be confessed to.
The importance of confession centers around the nature of sin. "Sin demands to have a man by himself."It isolates him, by desiring to remain unknown. Where there is confession, the way is open for returning to the community. In confession one gives up his evil, gives his heart to God, and finds forgiveness and fellowship. Confession should be on a personal basis between two people, not necessarily to the entire church, for in confession to one member confession is made to all. If there is confession, the sinner is never alone again.
meditations on what matters most: seeing, treasuring and enjoying Jesus Christ
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- Chris DeRoco
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4 comments:
Good to see you blogging. Keep it up!
A comment on transparency:
The dictionary defines the word transparent as being open, frank, and candid. I think it’s vital to understand how to examine ourselves by the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the word of God. Each person must follow their own conscience in order to make sure that we are walking BY FAITH ALONE. There is always a danger of making the act of confession another rule to follow instead of having an authentic, interactive, personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the Father through the word of God. Fellowship is not dependant on our ability to force ourselves to air our dirty laundry to each other. Fellowship depends upon a personal revelation of our depravity before a Holy God, and a personal understanding of the exceeding value of Christ in light of our sins. The love of God is efficacious and it is God’s goodness that empowers one to repent and enter the fellowship of believers. This is the heart-purifying faith that He has given to His elect—the kind that Peter speaks of in Acts 15:9—and this faith is the foundation of our fellowship with God and each other.
Besides confession of sins, being transparent means that we should be a people free of deceit or flattery. Often, we sin by being deceitful to one another in everyday conversation. We may not even be aware of what we’re doing, but I think there is a real problem today among Christians who avoid conflict instead of resolving it according to the command in Matthew 5:23-24. How many times do we keep silent when we know we should speak up? How many times do we go along with the group decision when we haven’t really made up our own minds? We tend to tell half truths about why we feel uncomfortable with some member of the body or a corporate decision, but we hold back our concerns because we don’t want to risk embarrassment and/or hurting someone else’s feelings—or, God forbid, we may be motivated to keep silent because we secretly condemn one another.
Either way, we are often afraid to allow people, including ourselves, to contribute to social tension when it’s appropriate—as a means of godly conviction and edification. Too often, we flatter ourselves and others so that no one has to exercise enough courage to go through the discomfort of learning godly confrontation. Therefore, no one ever makes the mistake of confronting someone in a destructive way; however, no one ever learns how to confront other believers in a Christ-like way, either. In fact, the leaders of the church since the time of Acts have always been the ones who are excellent at constructive confrontation. Without equipping each believer with an understanding of this aspect of Christ-like character, we will never experience our full potential for interpersonal edification as a church.
Moreover, I found an awesome blog post by Walter L. Walker about living the Christian life together called "Offense; The Seemingly Upside-Down Ethics of the Kingdom." Walter L. Walker was a campus minister for 15 years and he is now the Dir of Com and Donor Relations for the Youth Life Foundation of Tennessee. His blog post, which is about how Christians handle personal offenses, has some great application for cultivating our life together. He brings to light a biblical perspective that can help transform conflict into a tool that edifies the body. Practicing the principles in this blog—which are 100% bible-based—will make true biblical confession less of an intimidating exercise. These guidelines for living our life together, which are set forth repeatedly by Jesus and the Apostles, are vital for establishing an environment that safeguards relationships among the body of believers. Check out the blog here: http://walterwalker.multiply.com/journal/item/11.
I once knew a fine little boy with two cock-eyed foreceps marks on the front of his head; he was a great friend of mine whom I shall always truly love in the depths of my heart, but now that I have confessed, I shall be able to go on to the end of my life without the dismay of having been a terrible coward full of self-resentment and shall let him be the wonderful adult that he now is with all my blessing and many prayers. May God be with you, in you, for you, and stay before you in all paths of truth to the very end of time as you know it. That is the best blessing I know how to bestow upon you and yours.
Update: AMEN! Let it be so! [Hope you did get that comment, Chris, as contact nowadays can be very limited.] But be at peace. The Father of all shall father you in all your doings, and lead you ever into the truths of life and ultimately free you to teach to others. God bless/keep you again, be "good" as you know how to be. A Dios, mi amigo.
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