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place. The Lord Jesus taught that “if fusal by the offender to confess, even after
your brother sins against you, go and tell being approached by multiple witnesses
him his fault between you and him alone. and finally the church as a whole, the
If he hears you, you have gained your resulting action is much more severe. The
brother” (Mat 18:15). The quickest path wrong can be righted if we would just be
to resolution is for the individual who willing to obey what Scripture so clearly
committed the offense to hear the offense teaches. Confession towards those we
brought to them. There is a willingness have wronged is necessary. “Bearing with
implied in the hearing, which suggests one another, and forgiving one another, if
that acknowledgement and confession anyone has a complaint against another;
take place. The offender understands they even as Christ forgave you, so you also
have caused harm and is willing to confess must do” (Col 3:13).
that to the one they have offended.
Oftentimes, we can offend a brother Confession to Those Whom We
or a sister unknowingly, and confes- Trust
sion doesn’t take place because we do
not know the distress and hurt we have There is a further benefit of confession
caused. This same passage encourages the to one another, which the book of James
one who has been offended to approach lays out. “Confess your trespasses to one
the offender to let them know what has another, and pray for one another, that
taken place. The worst thing we can do you may be healed. The effective, fervent
after being offended by a fellow believer prayer of a righteous man avails much”
is to allow a deep root of bitterness to take (Jas 5:16). While the context of the passage
hold in our hearts. The book of Hebrews seems to refer more to physical healing
speaks of the danger of allowing this to due to a sickness that was brought on by
occur, encouraging us to watch out “lest sin, there is a very evident application as
any root of bitterness springing up cause well that our spiritual wellbeing is affected
trouble, and by this many become defiled” by sin in our lives. First and foremost,
(Heb 12:15). How many friendships have sin must be confessed to God, but there
ended, how many marriages have broken is further benefit shown in confiding in
down, and how many churches have be-
come divided over a lack of confession? a trusted believer or a small group of
If we are not willing to acknowledge believers to let them know of a sin that is
(confess) the wrongdoing, then the tempting us, something with which we are
teaching of the Lord Jesus advances the struggling. The reason to confess this to
severity and seriousness of the situation another believer is not so that they become
in the next steps. “But if he will not hear, privy to all the details of your struggles in
take with you one or two more, that ‘by order to share them with others, but rather
the mouth of two or three witnesses ev- that they may pray. If a believer confesses
ery word may be established.’ And if he a sin to us, our primary response should
refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. be to lift up that believer in prayer to the
But if he refuses even to hear the church, Lord. May our prayers be fervent for one
let him be to you like a heathen and a tax another, that we may each experience
collector” (Mat 18:16-17). If there is a re- spiritual recovery after having sinned.

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