The admission of guilt or sin or a statement of religious belief. “To confess” can mean to agree, to promise, or to admit something.
Types of Confession in the Bible
The Bible talks about two different kinds of confession. The first kind happens when people admit their sins to God. They tell God about specific wrong things they have done (Leviticus 5:5; 1 John 1:9). When people confess this way, they accept that they have disobeyed God's law (Psalm 119:126). They understand that their wrongdoing deserves punishment (Romans 6:23). They also recognize that they have not lived up to God's requirements for holy living (Leviticus 19:2; Matthew 5:48).
In Old Testament times, the chief religious leader (called the high priest) would confess sins on behalf of all the people (Leviticus 16:21). God expected the entire nation of Israel to confess when they disobeyed his laws (Leviticus 26:40; 2 Chronicles 7:14).
Many faithful Jewish leaders took confession seriously. Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah prayed to God and admitted their nation's wrongdoing. They agreed that God's punishment of their people was fair. At the same time, they asked God to show mercy and help their people (Daniel 9:20; Ezra 10:1; Nehemiah 1:6).
The second type of confession happens when people declare truths about God. They confess that God is in charge of everything (1 Chronicles 29:10–13). They also confess that God always shows love and kindness to his people (Psalm 118:2–4). People confess the ways God has helped them (Psalm 105:1–6). When people share these confessions during worship or in songs, the Old Testament calls this "blessing the Lord" (Psalm 100:4).
Confession in the Psalms
In the Bible, these two types of confession often appear together in special songs called psalms. Many of these psalms thank God and follow a similar pattern:
The writer admits their sin.
They describe becoming very sick or facing death.
They tell how they prayed to God and God saved them.
They share their song to thank God, as they had promised.
Many psalms follow this pattern (Psalms 22; 30; 32; 34; 40; 51; 116).
In the Hebrew language (the original language of most of the Old Testament), the same word means both “praise” and “confession of sin.” For the writers of these psalms, these ideas belonged together. They would first admit their sins and accept God's fair judgment. Then, they would end by thanking God for his forgiveness and his power to save them.
Confession in the Christian Life
Both those meanings also occur in the New Testament. Christians confess that Jesus is the Christ and that they belong to him. “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Not confessing Christ is the same as denying him (Matthew 10:33; Luke 12:8; compare 2 Timothy 2:11–13; Revelation 3:5).
The Christian life begins with a public confession of faith (Romans 10:9–10; 1 Timothy 6:12). Details of this confession are provided in 1 John 4:2. The Bible teaches that Christians must also confess that “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.” This means two things:
Jesus is God's Son who existed before coming to earth (1 John 4:15).
Jesus became fully human and lived among people.
The Greek word for “confession” also means “saying the same thing.” The Christian’s "good confession" follows the example of Christ’s confession (1 Timothy 6:12–13).
The New Testament mentions confession of sin in a few important places. When John the Baptist was baptizing people, they openly told others about their sins and turned away from their wrong actions (Mark 1:4–5).
All Christians need to agree with God that they are sinners (1 John 1:8–10). James, one of Jesus's followers, wrote more about this. He taught that when Christians are sick, they should ask their church leaders to visit them. During these visits, the sick person has a chance to confess any sins.
Just as we saw in the Psalms, James shows how confession can lead to both spiritual healing and physical healing. Because this is so important, James encouraged Christians to confess their sins to each other.