CONFESS YOUR TRESPASSES TO ONE ANOTHER
– What Does it Mean?
This Bible verse is not for unbelievers, sinners or people who do not know the Lord, but to the children of God who are saved and born again in Jesus Christ.
After you give your life to Jesus, after you become born again, after you realize the wrong you have done and after you have confessed to God, the Bible says, “Confess your trespasses to one another” From this Bible passage, we can see that there are two sets of people we must confess to after we have confessed to God, Bible says, “Confess your trespasses to one another” One first, then the other. So who are the one the other?
The One – People you Directly offended.
Before you gave your life to Jesus or before you rededicated your life to Jesus, you have sinned against God and men. So now, after you have confessed to God and asked for His forgiveness, you need to confess to people you offended directly, the people you cheated, the people lied to, the people you fought without cause, the people you stole from and others – you must make your way right with them. Some of these people may be your senior, your boss, your parents, your pastors and some may be your junior, your staff, your worker, your church members, even your children; some of them may not even know you offended them but since you have given your life to Jesus, you need to go and confess to them and ask for forgiveness. This is a practical evidence of your genuine salvation or rededication to Jesus.
If you have worked anywhere and you cheated, stole or dealt unfaithfully, you need to communicate with them and confess the wrong things you did, because if you don’t confess them and apologize, apart from the problem of making heaven it poses, it will also hinder you from making progress in life. That is the reason the Bible says we should confess to one another. So many Christians are ignorant of this Bible truth, they think their past is gone and gone forever and no need to confess to one another, and the devil is using this against their destinies, their blessings, their progress in life and he will also use it against their making heaven.
When the Bible says we should confess to one another, but you say you have confessed to God so no need to confess to one another, you are in direct disobedience to the word of God, no matter your sacrifices to God, your labor, your offerings, your tithes, your commitments to the work of God, you are working against the word of God. The Bible says obedience is better than sacrifice. Obedience to the simple word of God which says, “Confess your trespasses to one another” determines he rest of your relationship with God and the certainty of your making heaven.
The Another – People You indirectly offended
When the Bible says, “Confess your trespasses to one another” the “one” there are the people you directly offended, and the “another” are the people you offended indirectly. Who are the people you offend indirectly? They are people you betray their trust in you. Let me give you an example. A pastor who went into sin of adultery, after realizing his sin and confessing to God for forgiveness, he must confess to his wife, because he has offended his wife directly and he must confess to his church, because he has offended his church indirectly. Failure to confess to one and another will bring attack of the enemies and judgment of God.
Some people say there is no need to confess to one another, since it is God they sin against, they will just confess to God and that settles it. Some say when David committed sins, he just confessed to God alone and not to men. And my question is that, if David only confessed to God and he did not let any man know, how did you know? You know what? You are in serious danger if you refuse to confess your trespasses to one another after you are saved.
When you obey this Bible verse and you take the step of obedience to confess to one another, you will experience healing of God in every area of your life beyond your imagination.
Amen!
Gideon Akande, the Evangelist