STEP 5: Admit to God, ourselves, and to another person in Christ the exact nature of our sins.
Each part of this step is important, as is each person involved; God, ourselves, and the person we share our 5th step with.
GOD
King David wrote in Psalm 51:
“For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” Psalm 51:3-6
Although it is true that our past, our sins, have hurt others and ourselves, we need to acknowledge that our sin is ultimately against God Himself! Our fears, resentments, impure thoughts, attitudes, and actions have taken a toll on us. But our healing can begin when we admit to God, and are honest and authentic with him, He already knows every thought and action anyway.
God’s desire is to take our past, our broken lives, and cleanse us, and free us so that we no longer have to live a life bogged down in guilt and shame. When we admit our faults to God and allow all the hidden stuff to be exposed, healing can begin.
“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for it is light that makes everything visible. That is why it
is said: ‘Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:13-14 NIV
OURSELVES
Some of us can struggle for a long time without getting honest with ourselves, some never do. Maybe none of us ever get 100% honest with ourselves, but this is about doing the best that we can to open up and see ourselves.
Denial is a powerful force that works against our recovery. It will tell us that we can handle this problem in our lives. We can stop drinking or using drugs anytime we want to. We can handle this destructive relationship or our out of control anger, or this depression, stress, anxiety. All the bad choices I’ve made are not my fault. It was because of ….
We must be honest with God and ourselves.
ANOTHER PERSON IN CHRIST
Some might say that it’s not important to do this step with a fellow believer but God’s Word tells us in James 5:16
“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
God’s Word tells us to confess our sins to one another and to pray for one another so that we may be healed.
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