Devotion/Discussion of the Day;

 ³  When I did not confess my sins, I was worn out from crying all day long. ⁴  Day and night you punished me, LORD; my strength was completely drained, as moisture is dried up by the summer heat. ⁵  Then I confessed my sins to you; I did not conceal my wrongdoings. I decided to confess them to you, and you forgave all my sins. ⁶  So all your loyal people should pray to you in times of need; when a great flood of trouble comes rushing in, it will not reach them. ⁷  You are my hiding place; you will save me from trouble. I sing aloud of your salvation, because you protect me.    Psalm 32:3-7 (TEV)

⁸  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. ⁹  But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing. ¹⁰  If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of God, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8-10 (TEV) 

If you are a preacher of grace, then preach a true and not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious  sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here [in this world]  we have to sin. This life is not the dwelling place of righteousness, but, as Peter says, we look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness  dwells. It is enough that by the riches of God’s glory we have come to know the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. No sin will separate us from the Lamb, even though we commit fornication and murder a thousand times a day. Do you think that the purchase price that was paid for the redemption of our sins by so great a Lamb is too small? Pray boldly—you too are a mighty sinner. (1)

It’s one of the best known partial  quotes of Luther, the line “Sin Boldly”.  Misquoted, used to justify all sorts of sins and perversions, but it is not about sinning.

It’s about God’s Faithfulness.  It’s about God’s desire… it’s about the joy of knowing that we are cleansed, forgiven, absolved, made new.

But in order to know the peace and joy that comes from being saved from sin… we have to realize we have sinned, we need to confess it, so that we realize we can be cleansed of it, that it can be purged.  Otherwise it will overwhelm us, it will drown our lives… the anxiety will overcome us…

But if we confess it – if we allow that sin to be revealed, it we know Christ will take it away… we can rejoice and be at peace.

So why hide it?  Why shrink in shame from God?  Why act like He is not involved in every part of our lives?

Why not let Jesus break the hold it has on our lives?

Portrait of Martin Luther as an Augustinian Monk (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Luther, M. (1999). Vol. 48: Luther’s works, vol. 48: Letters I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.) (281–282). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.