Introduction

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs. As a number of you probably know – the book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. The words that are collected here reveal God’s special insight on how the world works, and how we should rightly live in it. And tonight we’re going to be looking at just one proverb – one verse, Proverbs 28:13. And specifically, in this part of the Bible, God tells us about the importance of confessing our transgressions. Transgression is something we’re all guilty of. It means to step across God’s boundaries – to violate his laws of justice and truth. It’s not easy to admit when we’re wrong like this, but God wants us help us see that confession of our transgression is worthwhile – far better than the alternative. So in just a moment I’ll read our verse – Proverbs 28, verse 13. But before I do, please pray with me:

Proverbs 28:13: “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

The proverb splits neatly into two halves. In the first half, we see that concealing sin leads to misery. In the second half, we see that confessing sin leads to mercy.

Concealing Sin Leads to Misery

As we reflect on the idea that concealing sin leads to misery, there are three key truths that we see in this statement. Truth #1: No method should be used for concealing sin. Truth #2: No person should be active in concealing sin. And Truth #3: No benefit results from concealing sin.

Confession of Sin Leads to  Mercy

And in the second half of this Proverb, which says that confession of sin leads to mercy, there are four questions this helps to answer. 1) Who should we confess to? 2) What should we confess? 3) What does Biblical confession look like? And 4) Why should we confess?

This Proverb encourages us to value confession of sin as a means of God’s grace and mercy to us.