CONFESSION OF SIN – Charles Spurgeon
CONFESSION OF SIN
Illustrated by the Cases of Dr. Pritchard and Constance Kent
“I acknowledged my sin unto You, and my iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” – Psalm 32:5
David’s Grief and Confession
David’s grief for sin was long and terrible; its effects were visible upon his outward frame: “His bones waxed old.” “His moisture was turned into the drought of summer.” No remedy could he find until he made a full confession before the throne of heavenly grace. He tells us that for a time he kept silent, and then his heart became more and more filled with grief. Like some mountain lake whose outlet is blocked up, his soul was swollen with torrents of sorrow. He dreaded to confront his sin. He fashioned excuses; he endeavored to divert his thoughts by giving his mind to the cares of his kingdom or the pleasures of his court, but it was all to no purpose. The rankling arrow made the wound bleed anew, and made the gash more wide and deep every day. Like a festering sore, his anguish gathered and increased, and as he would not use the lancet of confession, his spirits became more and more full of torment, and there was no rest in his bones because of sin.
At last, it came to this: he must return unto his God in humble penitence, or he must die outright. So he hastened to the mercy seat and there unrolled the volume of his iniquities before the eyes of the all-seeing One, acknowledging all the evil of his ways in language such as you read in the 51st and other penitential Psalms. Having done this—a work so simple and yet so difficult to pride—he received at once the token of divine forgiveness. The bones which had been broken were made to rejoice, and he came forth from his closet to sing the blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.
See, dear friends, the value of a truthful, grace-worked confession of sin; it is to be prized above all price. For he who confesses his sin and forsakes it shall find mercy.
Two Types of Confession
At this present moment, two persons are lying under sentence of death for murders of the most atrocious character. Without wishing to say a single word about the state of the soul of either of these persons, for it is no business of mine to pry into that, it seems to me that the published reports of their cases may very properly furnish us with types of two sorts of people. It is remarkable that two such cases as those of Dr. Pritchard and Constance Kent should be before the public eye at the same time and that the points of contrast in their confessions should be so exceedingly clear.
I cannot but hope and pray that we may gather some lessons of warning from crimes which have, no doubt, exercised a great influence for evil upon the masses of our country.
Dr. Pritchard’s Confession: A Warning
The confession made by Dr. Pritchard may be taken as a specimen of those often made by impenitent sinners, and which can never be regarded as acceptable before the throne of the Most High. Here is a man who is accused of the atrocious crime of murdering his wife and his mother-in-law. When he answers the indictment, we are not astonished to hear him plead, “Not Guilty.” I am far from being severe upon him for so pleading, but viewing him as a type, I would remind you that thousands of those who call themselves “miserable sinners” in our public services, if they were called to plead before the bar of God, would have the effrontery to say, “Not Guilty.”
They might not use the exact words, but their heart-plea would be “Not guilty.” If they had the law of God explained to them, and they were questioned upon each commandment—“Have you broken this? Have you broken that?”—though ready enough to confess in the gross that they have sinned, when it came to details, they would deny all. We have heard of a woman who readily allowed that she was a sinner. “O yes, sir, we are all sinners; just so, sir.” But when the visitor sat down and opened the Bible and asked, “Have you ever had any other God save the Lord?” she did not know that she ever had. “Had she ever taken God’s name in vain?” “O dear no, sir, I never did anything so wicked.” Each precept was explained, and she very positively claimed that she had not broken it. She had not violated the Sabbath; she had not killed anybody; she had not committed adultery; she had not borne false witness, or coveted anything. She was altogether, in every detail, innocent—though on the whole, she was quite willing to say, “Oh, yes! I am a sinner! Of course, sir, we are all sinners!” which, being interpreted, means, “I am ready to say anything you may like to put into my mouth, but I do not believe a syllable of it.”
The inward speech of the unconverted man is, “I am not guilty.” Ask the unhumbled transgressor, “Are you worthy of God’s wrath?” and his proud heart replies, “I am not.” “Are you worthy to be cast away forever from God’s presence on account of sin?” and the unbroken, uncontrite soul replies, “I am not; I am no thief, nor adulterer, nor extortioner; I have not sinned as yonder publican has done. I thank God that I am not as other men are.” Man pleads, “Not Guilty,” and yet all the while within his heart, so proud and boastful, there may readily be discerned abundant evidence of abounding sin. The leprosy is white upon his unclean brow, and yet the man claims to be sound and whole.
If there were no other evidence against us, the very pride which boasts of innocence would be sufficient to convict us of sin, and will be so when we are taught right reason by the Holy Spirit. The guilty man whose case we are now looking at tried, as a means of defense for himself, to involve another in the dreadful guilt and punishment of his atrocious sin. There were very distinct signs that he would have been perfectly satisfied if the woman who had ministered to his sinful pleasures had been accused and condemned of the crime for which he alone was guilty.
Constance Kent’s Confession: A True Repentance
Now let us look at Constance Kent’s case. The second case must now come before us, and here again, I do not desire to speak anything about the state of her heart. I only speak of her outward act, and only of that as a symbol of true confession. Here is one avowedly guilty of a most atrocious murder, a very great and terrible crime, but when she appears in court, she is brought there upon her own confession. Her life was in no danger from the witness of other people. She surrendered herself voluntarily, and when she stood before the judge, she pleaded guilty.
No doubt her anxious friends had suggested to her the desirability of pleading “Not guilty,” hoping to save her life by failure in the evidence, or plea of insanity, or some other legal method of saving criminals from the gallows. Mark, however, how distinctly she says, “Guilty.” And though the question is repeated and time is given her to retract, her reply is still the one self-condemning word, “GUILTY!” Even so before the Lord, whenever we come to confess, we must approach Him with this cry, “Guilty. Guilty! Lord, I cannot say anything else. If hell is my eternal portion for it, I dare say no other.”
Now sinner, you shall never be at peace with God until you are unreservedly willing to plead, “Guilty.” That self-righteous spirit of yours must be cast out as though it were the very devil, for it is next akin to the devil, and is quite as evil. You must be brought down humbly to lie at the foot of Jehovah’s throne and confess that you do richly deserve His wrath. You have defied His righteous law and sinned against Him with a high hand. You must plead, “Guilty,” or remain guilty forever.
Conclusion
Constance Kent was anxious to free all others from the blame of her sin. Her counsel said in open court, “Solemnly, in the presence of Almighty God, as a person who values her own soul, she wishes me to say that the guilt is her own alone; and that her father and others who have so long suffered most unjust and cruel suspicions, are wholly and absolutely innocent.”
This is well spoken. I know nothing of this young woman’s heart, but using her as an illustration rather than an example, we are safe in saying that it is a very blessed sign of true repentance when the sinner cries out with David, “I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight.” There will be, in a gracious penitent, no attempt to lay the blame upon the tempter, or upon providence; no dwelling upon circumstances, the suddenness of the temptation, or the hastiness of one’s temper. “Oh God,” says the sinner, “I myself have sinned; I have nothing in the world that is so my own as my own sin. For this my sin, I alone am accountable, and I feel it, and I cannot, I dare not accuse anyone else with being guilty of my sin.”
Let us remember that it is only through such a full, humble, and genuine confession before the Lord that true forgiveness may come.
No Excuses for Sin
No; if you are truly penitent, you will find no reason whatever why you should have sinned, except the evil of your own heart—and that you will plead as an aggravation, not as an excuse. “Guilty! Guilty! Guilty! I am, O God, before Your face, guilty; I offer no excuse, no extenuation. You must deal with me upon pure mercy if You do save me, for justice can only award me my well-deserved doom.” Notice that when she was asked whether she had anything to say why sentence of death should not be passed upon her, there was still a solemn silence. Was there no reason to be given why the dreadful sentence of being hanged by the neck until dead should not be passed upon a young and weeping girl? She did not so much as hint at one. I remember well the time when I thought there was no reason why the flames of hell should not consume me, and why the crushing weight of God’s wrath should not roll over me forever and forever. I think every sinner who has really come to Christ has been made to feel that however angry God may be with sin, He is not one whit too angry. Until we know the power of divine grace, we read in the Bible concerning eternal punishment, and we think it is too heavy and too hard, and we are apt to kick against it and look for some heretic or other who will teach us another doctrine. But when the soul is really quickened by divine grace and made to feel the weight of sin, it thinks the bottomless pit none too deep, and the punishment of hell none too severe for sin such as it has committed. This is not the emotion of a mind rendered morbid by sickness, but these are the genuine workings of God the Holy Spirit in the soul, bringing the man to stand guilty before the Lord, with his mouth closed, not able to say a word against the sentence of divine justice. May God bring such there who have never been there yet!
The Tenderness of True Confession
In the confession, as we read the story, there was much tenderness. I do not wonder that the judge exhibited deep emotion—who could help it? Remember, I am not pretending to know her heart, I am only judging the externals; as far as externals went, there seemed to be a great brokenness of spirit. She appeared really to know what guilt meant, and to stand there with this resolve upon her soul, that though she could not make any atonement for her crime, she would acknowledge it honestly, and accordingly, she confessed it as one who felt within her own soul the terrible weight of her guilt. This is the manner in which we must stand before God if we would find mercy. It is all very well for us to use fine language, but words alone are worthless. Those words which come fresh from your lips, dictated by your own heart, because the Holy Spirit is there, will suffice if the heart is in them. It is to the contrite that the promise is given. Look to Jesus for contrition, for without it, there is no pardon.
The Exercise of the Prerogative of Mercy
Thus we have tried, as far as we could, to bring out the distinctions which pertain to confessions, and now let us have a word or two upon The Exercise of the Prerogative of Mercy on God’s Part. “You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” In every case where there is a genuine, gracious confession, mercy is freely given. There is a notion abroad that confession deserves mercy. We read in the papers such remarks as these, “expiating sin by confession,” or, “made such atonement as he could by confessing his sin.” Confession makes no atonement in any shape whatever. There is not one single word in that law which I read to you this morning, in the 20th of Exodus, about the possibility of taking away sin by mere confession. Justice has but one rule, and that is, sin must be punished. If the sinner violates the law, the law, in the case of man, may excuse the penalty, but in the case of God, never.
The attributes of God are not like the qualities of man; they never come into collision with one another, nor do they abridge the sphere of each other. The justice of God is as awful and all-reaching as if He had not a grain of mercy, while the mercy of God is as unrestrained and almighty as if He were utterly unjust. The reason why sin can be forgiven in the case of a penitent sinner is because for that sinner, Jesus Christ has borne the full weight of all the wrath which his sin deserves. The fire cloud of Jehovah’s wrath was waiting for the sinner—the sinner must receive the whole of its dread discharge; but for every sinner who repents and believes in Him, Christ stood beneath that terrible cloud, and all the lightning was discharged on Him. Christ suffered as incarnate God, all the chastisement which was due to His people. The grief of our Savior we can never tell—the woes of Gethsemane and Gabbatha and Golgotha are not to be expressed, but they were accepted by God in the place of all the suffering and grief which the law most righteously claimed on every law-breaker.
And now, through what Christ Jesus has done, the eternal mercy of God comes streaming forth in perfect consistency with justice. Mercy provided the great substitute, and now mercy, with loving heart, calls upon repenting and believing sinners, and assures them that all sin is put away through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! Let every sinner know, then, that although his repentance does not deserve mercy, the God of love has been pleased to promise free pardon to all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, because Christ deserves it! Pardon is given to penitent sinners as a matter of justice, as well as mercy, because of the throes and grief, and agonies of the divine Redeemer. How consistent it is with the nature of things that penitent sinners and penitent sinners only should obtain mercy through Jesus Christ!
The Reality of Genuine Confession
When you read the story of the man who made no confession till it was forced out of him, although you can respond to his wish, “Fellow creatures, pray for me,” you cannot feel much sympathy, if any, with him. His conduct seems to harden one’s heart against him, not merely because of his guilt, but because of the lie of his confession. But, when you read the other story—although it contains no request to pray, you find you do not need one, for your heart cries at once— “Father, forgive her!” And you think within yourself, “If the prerogative of mercy can be exercised in this case, let it be.”
If it were put to a show of hands of all our country whether the law should be executed on Constance Kent, I think we would all say, “Let the penitent sinner live.” Great was her offense, and no excuse is to be offered for her, as she offers none for herself. It was a great and dreadful crime which must be a blight upon her all her days, yet, let her be spared, for she has confessed most fully—not on the ground of justice, but on the ground that this seems to be a case in which, if the prerogative of mercy is to be sovereignly exercised at all, it should now have free scope.
God’s Justice and Mercy
I think when the eternal God sees a poor sinner standing before Himself, and hears him cry, “I am guilty, Lord! I am guilty through and through! I alone am guilty! I have broken Your law! If You destroy me, You are just! My heart is broken because I have sinned. I cannot be more wretched than I am now, for sin is my plague and my misery; and while I confess it, I do not think that my confession has any merit in it. Save me for Jesus’ sake!” “Why, I think,” the mighty God says, “I have brought that soul, through My grace, into a state in which it is ready to receive the precious gift of justification and pardon through the blood of My dear Son.” See how one grace gives a fitness for another. The sinner is brought to Jesus, his heart is broken, and then, it is ready to be bound up.
The penitent sinner has paid honor to the prerogative of the law-giver; he has, as far as he could do so, dethroned the law-giver by his sin—but now, by his confession, he restores Him to His throne. Such a sinner knows the bitterness of sin, and knowing its bitterness, he will hate it for the future. If he is pardoned, he will not go back as the dog to his vomit, or the sow that is washed, to her wallowing in the mire. This pardoned sinner will not take to himself the credit of having been pardoned by his confessions. He will not go abroad and talk lightly of his sin, he will be sure to speak much of the leniency of the law-giver and the power of Jesus’ precious blood; he will admire forevermore, even in eternity, the mighty grace which pardoned such as he is.
The Dangers of Unrepentant Sin
On the other hand, if man were forgiven, and no true penitence worked in him, what would be the result? Why, it would be turning wolves loose upon society! I think if God gave forgiveness to men without working a work of divine grace in them by which they are brought to repentance, it would be offering a premium for sin, it would be breaking down the floodgates which restrain vice, it would be destroying all the excellent fruits which free grace is intended to produce. What? Is the man to be pardoned for all the past, and to remain without repentance for his evil ways? Then will he make the future just as the past has been—no, he will sin with a higher hand, and with a stronger arm—because he sees with what impunity he may rebel! What? Shall a proud, unhumbled sinner rejoice in the forgiving love of the Father? Then will he arrogantly boast that there was not much evil in his sin after all; he will be no singer to the praise of sovereign grace, but rather, with the boastful lips of the legalist, he will render unto himself praise for the dexterous manner in which he has escaped from the condemnation due to sin.
True Repentance and God’s Mercy
God will give pardon to those only to whom He gives repentance—for it were unsafe to give it elsewhere. God brings us down and lays us in the dust, for then, and only then are we prepared to hear Him say, “Your sins, which are many, are forgiven you.”
I take it for granted, that there are some here who will say, “I wish I could repent. I know that it would not merit eternal life. I understand that faith—faith in Jesus Christ is the way by which I must be saved, but I desire to be humbled on account of sin.” My dear friend, your desire to be humbled may perhaps be an indication that you are already in that condition; but, if you are lamenting your hardness of heart, I will suggest two or three things.
The Process of Repentance
Remember your past sins. I do not want you to write out a list of them; there is not paper enough in this world for that, but let some of them stand out before your memory, and if they do not make you blush, they ought to do so. Next, think over all the aggravations of those sins. Recollect the training you had as a child. You were blessed with godly parents. Remember the providential warnings you received. Think of the light and knowledge against which you have offended; that tenderness of conscience against which you kicked. Then I beg you to consider against what a God you have offended—so great, so good, so kind, who has never done you a displeasure, but has been all generosity and kindness to you till this day. Your offenses have been insults against the King of heaven. Your transgressions have been undermining, as far as they could, the throne of the Eternal Majesty. Look at sin in the light of God, to be humbled.
And if this will not do it, let me pray that God the Holy Spirit may take you to the foot of the cross. Remember, that in order that sin might be put away, it was necessary that God should be veiled in human flesh. No one else could bear the load of sin but God, and He only could bear it by becoming Man. See the suffering of the Savior when “despised and rejected.” Mark the spitting, the shame, the smiting. Look at His wounds—“Count the purple drops, and say, ‘Thus must sin be washed away.’” And surely, if God the Holy Spirit blesses it, such a meditation will make you see the blackness and vileness of sin.
John Bradford said that when he was in prayer, he never liked to rise from his knees till he began to feel something of brokenness of heart. Get up to your chamber, then, poor sinner, if you desire to have a broken and contrite spirit, and come not out until you have it! Remember that you will never feel so broken in heart as when you can see Jesus bearing all your sins. Faith and repentance are born together, and aid the health of each other—“Law and terrors do but harden, All the while they work alone; But a sense of blood-bought pardon, Will dissolve a heart of stone.”
Go as you are to Christ, and ask Him to give that tenderness of heart which shall be to you the indication that pardon has come; for pardon cannot and will not come unattended by a melting of soul and a hatred of sin. Wrestle with the Lord! Say, “I will not let You go except You bless me.” Get a fast hold upon the Savior by a vigorous faith in His great atonement. Oh, may His Spirit enable you to do this! Say in your soul, “Here I will abide, at the horns of the altar; if I perish I will perish at the foot of the cross. From my hope in Jesus, I will not depart, but I will look up and say, ‘Savior, Your heart was broken for me, break my heart! You were wounded, wound me! Your blood was freely poured forth for me, Lord, let me pour forth my tears that I should have nailed You to the tree. O Lord, dissolve my soul; melt it in tenderness, and You shall be forever praised for making Your enemy Your friend.”
May God bless you, and make you truly repent if you have not repented; and if you have, may He enable you to continue in it all your days, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
— Charles Spurgeon