“In confession there takes place a breakthrough to community. Sin wants to be alone with people. It takes them away from the community. The more lonely people become, the more destructive the power of sin over them. The more deeply they become entangled in it, the more unholy is the loneliness. Sin wants to remain unknown. It shuns the light. In the darkness of what is left unsaid sin poisons the whole being of a person.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, Fortress Press, Readers Edition, page 89.
“It is a hard struggle until the sin crosses one’s lips in confession...Since confession of sin is made in the presence of another Christian, the last stronghold of self-justification is abandoned (page 89).”
As I read this I cannot help but think of the many dangers inherent in what Bonhoeffer writes, but of course there are dangers in much of what we practice and just because there are dangers does not mean that we should not be engaged in them - whether people will admit it or not, many Christians will not touch 1 Corinthians Chapters 12 or 14 because they have seen these things practiced without edification or they see danger in imbalance or excess. Many other Christians will not touch the “perseverance of the saints” because they see the danger of people living lives of sin because their salvation is secure. Other Christians will not touch what they term “pietism” because they see danger in subjective experience or emotionalism.
I suppose anything practiced in isolation leads to imbalance, misunderstanding, and danger. Confessing sin is different than seeking therapy, confessing sin has to do with seeking forgiveness from God and restoration to fellowship with Him and with the church. Our therapeutic society often applauds those who parade their “mistakes” and “errors” in front of others - Bonhoeffer is not writing about the equivalent of a “tell all” voyeuristic television show transposed into a congregation; nor is he writing about one-to-one relationships in which one person dominates another, or one in which a group of “leaders” dominate followers. What he is writing about is sacred confession within the priesthood of all believers.
As I have previously written, telling another brother about temptation can open the door to overcoming the temptation; often once temptation is exposed to the light it dissipates. While temptation is not sin, if it is hidden it often leads to sin - whether in thought or action. Hidden temptation takes root and the plant grows into sin; sometimes we need another brother's help weeding the garden of our own soul.
James writes (James 5:16), “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…” Unless we are going to cherry pick what Biblical commands we will obey we are faced with the question, “What does this look like in my life and the life of my local fellowship?” I want to hasten to remind us that on page 81 Bonhoeffer cautions, “Other persons have their own secrets that may not be violated without the infliction of great harm. Nor can they divulge without destroying themselves.” There is to be no coercion, no pressure, no manipulation. Yes, there is danger when we trust one another - but then, if we cannot trust one another what do we really have?
Where is Bonhoeffer going with all this? I think the heart of the matter, or at least near to the heart of the matter, is found in, “...the last stronghold of self-justification is abandoned (page 89).” Leading up to this chapter Bonhoeffer has written about the danger of self-justification within the Christian community - when we seek to justify ourselves we introduce elements into our relationships that are destructive; manipulation, judgmentalism, hypocrisy - we become a people who pretend and judge according to our standards rather than God’s. We may preach and teach justification by faith but we find it hard to escape the gravitational pull of self-justification; having begun in the Spirit (Galatians 3:3) we seek perfection according to the flesh, our self-will, our traditions, our personal standards, our social standards, our religious standards, our legalism.
Even though I may say that I sin, even though the fellowship of saints that I am with acknowledges that we all sin; as long as I have never confessed specific sin to another brother there may always be that facade that I am the exception, that somehow I make it through life without sinning, without transgressing the Life and Spirit and Word of God, that I do not have a self-centered prideful ego pulling at me and imploring, “Put yourself first, put yourself at the center of the universe.” If I am given an opportunity to justify myself I will be greatly tempted to take it - what harm could it do?
Bonhoeffer wants to put to death our self-justification, just as I imagine he wanted to destroy his own self-justification. This is in line with Romans Chapters 1 - 8; we cannot justify ourselves but we can believe in Him who justifies the ungodly who trust in Him, we can reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God, we can determine to owe the flesh nothing and to, by God’s grace, live by and in the Holy Spirit.
I think what Bonhoeffer writes about confessing our sins one to another, brother to brother, sister to sister; the power of hidden sin (or temptation); the destruction of self-justification; is important for life together, necessary - not sufficient (as our therapeutic society might tell us), but necessary. My own sense is that for most of us this is something we must tentatively and carefully work out with trusted brothers (or if women with trusted sisters). This, I don’t think, can be a program, it can’t be superimposed on congregations or fellowships, it cannot be mandated - to do any of these things would lead to violations of who we are and would trespass on our hearts and minds and souls. The practice of what Bonhoeffer is writing about was no doubt a rarity in his day and it is a rarity in ours - the dangers are many but the rewards are great.
I think we must do the best we can do and pray that our Father and Lord Jesus will lead us by the Holy Spirit according to the Word of God to be faithful to our brothers and sisters and not pretend to be something we are not.
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