Aristotle's Knees

We take time in our service every Sunday to confess sin before the Lord. Each of us could do it at home, before the service, all by ourselves, and that would be good. It’s good to confess our individual sins individually to the Lord whenever we sin.

What if each of us actually did that? What if we all showed up, all confessed up? What if this exhortation was coloring blue on black, if it dug up no fresh dirt, if it addressed nothing new for any of us to confess? Should we still do it? Would it still have a purpose?

That possibility hides abstractly in a thick Platonic cloud; Aristotle’s knees know better. Odds are that someone here has some sin that needs confessing, maybe even committed in the car ride on the way here. But why not make it a point to get people confessing pre-service?

One reason is because the pattern pictures the gospel. It reminds us that forgiveness restores fellowship and forgiveness requires confession. We believe that and we enact that every week in our confession. But we also have this time because we are in corporate relationships with other sinners.

Should you think about your sin during this time, or the sin of others? You should definitely take the log out of your own eye. And yet if you never consider the sin of others then you haven’t considered your connection to them. When one member sins, the whole body suffers. Does this not affect each family? A nation? A local church?

When the minister prays after giving persons time to pray, he prays for groups, for our local church, for Christ’s body, and for our neighbors and nation. We’re in this together, and we confess our sins together.