Confession of Corporate Sin

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16

There are some who say we should not ask for forgiveness of sin as Christians. They reason this to be so on a theological deduction and not an exegetical deduction. Their tradition has blinded them. Since all our sins were dealt with at the cross and we now have peace with God there at the cross it is actually an affront to God to ask him to forgive what he already has forgiven at Calvary, so they say. This seems reasonable enough and they are correct to direct our focus upon Calvary as the once for all sacrifice for sins. But as it is you and I sin today and experientially we are in need of forgiveness from God. If what is suggested from the theological deduction is true then Paul is a fool. We have no more need of asking for mercy, peace, and grace than for forgiveness but the Apostle commends his hearers to this practice. James directly counsels that we confess our sins “one to another” and “if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14–16). If we have all that we need in Christ Jesus, and we do, and all our peace with God is settled at Calvary and by our faith in him, and it is, it is true that we have and always will have mercy and grace from the same source. It is only the timing of such mercy and grace that confuses some. Otherwise, we would have no need to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace” for how can we obtain and find what we already have? We also would have no warrant to practice the saying of the Lord’s Prayer in word and in principle. But let us follow our Lord’s teaching above such doctrines.

            When we congregate together we meet as a body. Although we truly have individual bodies we do not meet together unconnected from the family in the pew next to us. From the pulpit looking into the congregation are not rows and rows of stacked fingers like little sausages standing upright. No, what is seen are fingers, toes, hands, eyes and all the rest. We are a body. This means we are to do things as a body. This also means we can sin as a body. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Rev. 2:5). Christ himself addressed the congregation of Ephesus and warned them to repent. Their sin was a corporate sin. You see this in all the churches our Lord addressed. You find individuals in the congregation that were holding fast to the Lord’s teachings but the body was not pure in this regard. In other words, there were some hands and belly buttons doing just fine but the rest of the body was not doing as the head commanded. This is why when we come together we confess our sins as individuals and as a body of believers. We are not only in covenant with God individually but one to another as his body. Being in covenant as we are we must take heed that we follow our Lord in all joy that the same warning be not true of us that was true of Ephesus. The removal of the candlestick in the heavenly places where Christ is seated is the removal of a light set before the Lord. Such removal is a sentence to destruction. “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Pr. 16:18). Let us confess our sins that we may be healed. We, where I am a member, have allowed adultery to go undisciplined before the church. The Lord will not overlook such sins. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes” (Pr. 13:24). He that spares his rod hates his son. He that does not discipline his son does not love him. A church that does not discipline its members does not love them. O that we would repent of our sin and be healed! This forces us to admit our fault and guilt. This we must do together in corporate confession before the throne of grace to obtain mercy for we have committed this sin as a body.

We are to come before our Lord in humility and boldness. But as our humility is not to carry the attitude of defeat so too our boldness is not to carry the attitude of perfection. Remember, you are not an Apostle and even they were not exempt from error and correction. So our boldness must be a bold reliance upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our confession should be with sincerity of heart as a people who recognize that “without our aid he did us make, we are his folk he doth us feed, and for his sheep he doth us take” (Ps. 100, Book of Psalms for Singing). Perhaps you, the reader, are not in this situation but a similar one. Let not gangrene spread through the whole body, let not the leaven of lasciviousness spread through her. A church that will not discipline impenitent persons as our Lord has prescribed (Matt. 18) will receive his firm displeasure. He is not mocked. Have mercy on us Lord.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9–13