Quick Thoughts on Sin Part 3: Confession and Repentance
Celebrity apologies are a trend in our modern culture. Whether it's an influencer or an actor, it seems like people are always shocked to find out that, wouldn’t you know it, they are sinners like you and me. Perhaps our strange attachment to celebrities warrants its own discussion, but I want to focus on the apology in this piece.
No matter how celebrity apologies are done, they almost always come off as ingenuine. In many cases, after the apology is issued, these celebrities go on as if nothing had happened.
I’ve been reflecting on this when it comes to the myriad of abuse cases that have come to light in recent years regarding megachurch pastors. In recent news, allegations came out about Robert Morris, the pastor of the megachurch Gateway Church. He was initially resistant to leaving because, in his own words, “I asked for their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me.”
The terms “apologize” and “apologetics” come from a similar Greek understanding that carries the meaning of “defense.” The reason why so many apologies, like the one from Robert Morris, seem to fall flat is because the apology served as a defense of the self over and against the ones they wronged.
Christians, on the other hand, are not in the business of apologies; rather, we are in the business of confessions. A confession doesn’t try to defend the self. Rather, a confession is an act of surrender. When one confesses their sin, they are handing themselves over to God and the people whom they wronged.
One place we can learn about what it means to confess our sins is Alcoholics Anonymous. The 12 steps of AA are all about surrendering the self over to a higher power. In AA, people admit that they are powerless against their addiction and that the only way they can recover is by surrendering themselves to God.
One of the steps is to make amends with the people they have harmed. I’ve heard people say that you shouldn’t ask for forgiveness when making amends. Asking for forgiveness is self-serving. Forgiveness can only come from God. To expect that from others is to protect the self, committing the error of apology.
When we confess, we act as those in AA. We give the self over to God and to others. This often requires a death of some kind. What it means to be Christian is to die an early death. The reason why these celebrity apologies often come off as ingenuine is that they don’t require any death. It is only by dying that we receive new life.