Sharing Confidences
319
No Special Virtue in Confessing to Man—I hope that none will
obtain the idea that they are earning the favor of God by confession of
sins or that there is special virtue in confessing to human beings. There
must be in the experience that faith that works by love and purifies
the soul. The love of Christ will subdue the carnal propensities. The
truth not only bears within itself the evidence of its heavenly origin but
proves that by the grace of God’s Spirit it is effectual in the purification
of the soul. The Lord would have us come to Him daily with all our
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troubles and confessions of sin, and He can give us rest in wearing
His yoke and bearing His burden. His Holy Spirit, with its gracious
influences, will fill the soul, and every thought will be brought into
subjection to the obedience of Christ.—
Testimonies for the Church
5:648
(1889).
Man Not to Confess to Fallen Man—It is no degradation for
man to bow down before his Maker and confess his sins and plead
for forgiveness through the merits of a crucified and risen Saviour.
It is noble to acknowledge your wrong before Him whom you have
wounded by transgression and rebellion. It lifts you up before men
and angels; for “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
But he who kneels before fallen man and opens in confession the
secret thoughts and imaginations of his heart is dishonoring himself by
debasing his manhood and degrading every noble instinct of his soul....
It is this degrading confession of man to fallen man that accounts for
much of the increasing evil which is defiling the world and fitting it
for final destruction.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:638, 639
(1889).
Open Confession of Secret Sins Sows Seeds of Evil—I have
been shown that many, many confessions should never be spoken in
the hearing of mortals; for the result is that which the limited judgment
of finite beings does not anticipate. Seeds of evil are scattered in
the minds and hearts of those who hear, and when they are under
temptation, these seeds will spring up and bear fruit, and the same
sad experience will be repeated. For, think the tempted ones, these
sins cannot be so very grievous; for did not those who have made
confession, Christians of long standing, do these very things? Thus the
open confession in the church of these secret sins will prove a savor of
death rather than of life.—
Testimonies for the Church 5:645
(1889).
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Revealing of Secrets Separates a Soul from God—I saw that
when sisters who are given to talk get together, Satan is generally