Knots Untied - Ryle - XII - Chapter 12

Required reading
Knots Untied by JC Ryle (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 12 (Confession).

My summary
Now Ryle looks at the subject of confessing sins.

Firstly Ryle teaches us that everyone ought to confess sin because everyone is guilty.  And without confession there is no salvation and no inward peace.

Secondly Ryle instructs us to confession our sin to God through Christ.  This is because Christ is a High Priest:
(i) of almighty power;
(ii) of infinite willingness to receive confession;
(iii) of perfect knowledge;
(iv) of matchless tenderness;
(v) who can sympathise with all that confess.

To finish off the second point, Ryle rejects the teaching of the Roman Catholic church that it is right to confess sin to ministers.

What grabbed me
Ryle made a good point about how fearsome it is to confess sin to God: 'Can vile sinners like us ever dare to confess our sins to a holy God? Will not the thought of His infinite purity shut our mouths and make us afraid? Must not the remembrance of His holiness make us afraid ? Is it not written of God, that He is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity "? (Hab. i. 13.) Is it not said, that He "hates all workers of iniquity"? (Psalm v. 5.) Did He not say to Moses, " There shall no man see My face and live"? (Exod. xxxiii. 20.) Did not Israel say of old, " Let not God speak with us, lest we die " ? (Exod. xx. 19.) Did not Daniel say, "How can the servant of my Lord talk with this my Lord "? (Dan. x. 17.) Did not Job say, "When I consider, I am afraid of Him "? (Job xxiii. 15.) Did not Isaiah say, " Woe is me, for I am undone : for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts " ? (Isa. vi. 5.) Does not Elihu say, " Shall it be told Him that I speak? If a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up " ? (Job xxxvii. 20.) These are serious questions. They are questions which must and will occur to thoughtful minds. There are many who know what Luther meant, when he said, " I dare not have any thing to do with an absolute God." But I thank God they are questions to which the Gospel supplies a full and satisfactory answer. The Gospel reveals One who is exactly suited to the wants of souls which desire to confess sin.'

No wonder people want to confess their sin to man rather than to God - it is far less threatening.

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 13 (Worship).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.