Integrity Begins with Confession
By Rick Warren
“There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 The Message).
God wants you to agree with him about your sin. He’s not asking you to agree so you’ll feel bad; his purpose is to free you from your sin and guilt so that you can live a life of integrity.
Stepping into a life of godliness starts with confession. Augustine is credited with saying, “The confession of bad works is the beginning of good works."
What is confession? It’s agreeing with God that we’ve failed to live according to his standards, that we’ve ignored his commands, that we’ve broken our promises to him.
When you start thinking about your failures, it’s easy to criticize yourself and think you’ll never be able to get things right. You’re not alone in that feeling. We all fail at times, even when we’re trying to live with integrity.
The Bible says, “There’s not one totally good person on earth, Not one who is truly pure and sinless” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 The Message).
God is not surprised by your sin. He knows all about it, yet there’s nothing you can do that will make him love you less. And so confess. Don’t hide your sin. Don’t excuse it. Confess it.
Instead of condemnation, God gives us grace. It’s why Jesus came to die on the cross for us. When we place our trust in Jesus, he is faithful to give us forgiveness.
First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right” (NCV).
Confession is the first step into a life of integrity. Why not take that step today?
Perhaps you need to take one other step: Trusting Jesus to present you clean before God and giving him control of your life—including the decision you make about integrity.
If that’s what you want to do, then here’s a prayer you can follow: “God, I’ve blown it. I know you’ve created me to live a life of integrity, but I’ve not been doing that. I’ve lied. I’ve cheated. I’ve acted one way to hide what I’ve actually been doing.
“I’m sorry, and I confess my sin. You promise that if I confess my sin and place my trust in Jesus as my Savior, I will be saved. I trust you when you say that forgiveness and salvation come by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. Jesus, today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. Teach me how to live my life, and help me be a person of integrity.”
If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free material to help you as you begin your journey with Jesus.
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This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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