Confess Your Sins, Walk in the Light 

At this point, someone’s hair may be standing up on the back of his neck because he thinks I’m saying he can “be condemned with the world” and lose his salvation.  Can you lose your salvation?  I don’t think so, but I don’t know.  Does it really matter?  Are you really interested in finding out how close to the cliff you can walk without it becoming dangerous?  If you want, we can try this experimentally.  You can confess Christ and walk in sin.  I’ll confess Christ and seek God’s grace daily to avoid and, when necessary, cover sin.  We’ll meet at the judgment seat and see if we both get in.  Do you really want to try it?  I hope not. 

Let’s not try to carry on with sin in our churches, either. 

So, how do we address sin in the church so as to welcome God’s presence in our midst?  This is a tricky business that really needs (and probably has) a book of its own, but here are a few practical steps. 

First, you need to walk in righteousness yourself, not hiding any works of darkness.  Confess to God and, where applicable, confess your sins to some other Christians who really love you.  Everyone has had self-inflicted hell in his life—you’re not the first or the only. 

A key breakthrough in God’s indwelling of His people in the Hebrides islands (circa 1950) was a prayer meeting in which the elders of the church realized that they didn’t have “clean hands and a pure heart” (Psalm 24:3-6) and began confessing their sins.  Later that year, God’s presence came down to such a degree that even the unbelievers in town immediately knew that God was there, even in the pubs and on the dance floor.  If you get a chance to read about that incident, or listen to a tape of the late Duncan Campbell talking about it, don’t pass it up for any reality TV show. 

Coming soon...Chapter 2.18:  Natural and Supernatural Confession of Sin