“We refuse to bear the Cross when we are ashamed to take upon ourselves
the shameful death of the sinner in confession.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We’ve made it to the last installment of the Christianity and Culture blog
post series! This has been such an interesting and insightful journey into
the minds and worldview of both Machen and Bonhoeffer. I have learned
a lot and I hope you have as well. Without further ado, let’s begin.
The final chapter of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book Life Together centers
around a topic that is not often discussed in the American Christianity:
confession. Confession is a staple discipline in the catholic church but has
been lost in reformed congregations. In the book of James we are called to
confess our sins to one another and pray for one another that we may be
healed.
As we have already discussed, Christian fellowship can be a difficult and
tumultuous place. As inherently sinful humans our faults influence our
community and cause problems. This is why we need confession within
the community. If confession is not a part of the life of the church, sin
issues will fester and grow, causing more issues. A lack of accountability
and confession also creates a false sense that the other Christians do not
sin in serious ways. This creates issues and scandals in the church by a
allowing sin’s hold on us to grow. As Bonhoeffer says, “the final break-
through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship
with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have
fellowship as the undevout, as sinners” (110).
Confession allows us to freely expose our sinful hearts to a fellow brother
or sister before our God. This is where the misery of the sinner meets the
mercy of the Savior. Sin desires us to stay alone and struggle with a guilty
conscience instead of seeking help and healing. Confession requires humility,
which directly fights against the pride that is the root of our sin struggles.
The point that struck me hardest is best said in a direct quote. If we find it
easier to confess our sin to God than to our brothers “we must ask ourselves
whether we have not often been deceiving ourselves with our confession of
sin to God, whether we have not rather been confessing our sins to ourselves
and also granting ourselves absolution” (116). This has been on my mind
since reading this chapter.
False confession is a trap I often fall into and one we must actively battle
against as the body of Christ. Let us seek to be people of confession and
forgiveness. Community is imperative in our Christian lives and we must
work hard to create healthy environment to allow those around us to
flourish in the love of God.
