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Testimonies for the Church Volume 5
of death. When the Lord inquired concerning their sin, Adam replied,
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laying the guilt partly upon God and partly upon his companion: “The
woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat.” The woman put the blame upon the serpent, saying:
“The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.’ Why did You make the
serpent? Why did You suffer him to come into Eden?” These were the
questions implied in her excuse for her sin, thus charging God with the
responsibility of their fall. The spirit of self-justification originated in
the father of lies and has been exhibited by all the sons and daughters
of Adam. Confessions of this order are not inspired by the divine Spirit
and will not be acceptable before God. True repentance will lead a
man to bear his guilt himself and acknowledge it without deception or
hypocrisy. Like the poor publican, not lifting up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, he will smite upon his breast, and cry, “God be merciful
to me a sinner;” and those who do acknowledge their guilt will be
justified; for Jesus will plead His blood in behalf of the repentant soul.
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. In unfolding the sins of his life to a priest
corrupted with wine and licentiousness his standard of character is
lowered, and he is defiled in consequence. God is degraded in his
thought to the likeness of sinful humanity, for the priest stands as a
representative of God. It is this degrading confession of man to fallen
man that accounts for much of the increasing evil which is defiling the
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world and fitting it for final destruction.
Says the apostle: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one
for another, that ye may be healed.” This scripture has been interpreted
to sustain the practice of going to the priest for absolution; but it has
no such application. Confess your sins to God, who only can forgive
them, and your faults to one another. If you have given offense to your
friend or neighbor you are to acknowledge your wrong, and it is his
duty freely to forgive you. Then you are to seek the forgiveness of