One of the most famous spiritual revivals in history, the Welsh revival, began when a small group of believers began praying earnestly for revival and, after there were no results, decided they needed to confess all their known sins. It was after this that God’s glory fell in power. This became the main maxim throughout the entire revival, “confess all known sins.” When there have been revivals at Christian college campuses, it has not been uncommon to see students lining up to publicly confess their sins.
Scriptures says
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (James 5.16 KJV) Sometimes there is a tendency to consider that inner sins are not so bad but Jesus showed that they are just as bad as actually acting out physical sins. Job in the Bible was considered an upright man and called perfect by God. But he had a revelation that he needed to confess his sins and repent of them. It seems as though his besetting sings were self-righteousness and a wandering eye, though it does not directly say so in the conclusion.
Recently, God has been dealing with me regarding these same sins plus certain times when I’ve had angry outbursts. I confessed these things in our church fellowship and also taught about repentance and sanctification. I wasn't proud that my life was an object lesson, but I was relieved to speak publicly about shameful sins I held privately. It's not about being graphic or any kind of sensationalism, it's just about being open and honest. There is a fine line between being a transparent person and wearing one's heart on one's sleeve. But scripture gives us a guide.
