Introduction. Without a hearty confession of sins to God, we have no promise of mercy through the blood of the Redeemer. “Whosoever confesseth his sins and forsaketh them shall find mercy.”
(1) The Hardened Sinner. Pharaoh—‘I have sinned.’ Why this confession from the proud tyrant? Because the Lord sent hail and fire upon Egypt. Pharaoh is a type of multitudes of the same class. When cholera strikes, churches are crammed with confessors. But once the cholera has done its work, conviction stops. Sirs, God has not forgotten the vows you then made. Do you think to lie against God and go unpunished? This first style of penitence is utterly worthless.
(2) The Double-Minded Man. Balaam—‘I have sinned.’ This man feels his sin deeply, but is worldly-minded. To quote Ralph Erskine, ‘To good and evil equal bent/And both a devil and a saint.’ He refuses to curse Israel, but advises the king of Moab to entice Israel from her God. Some men seem born with two characters. Balaam offered sacrifices to God on the altar of Baal. Many offer sacrifices to God on the shrine of Mammon. They give to the church, then enrich themselves by grinding the poor for bread. The double-minded man’s confession is of no avail.
(3) The Insincere Man. Saul—‘I have sinned.’ To some extent Balaam was sincere in two things. Saul was the opposite, insincere in every thing. There are many such in every Christian assembly: men easily molded! Say what you please to them, they always agree. They confess their sins only to please someone. To say ‘I have sinned’ in an unmeaning manner is a mockery of God.
(4) The Doubtful Penitent. Achan—‘I have sinned.’ Achan stole some prey from Jericho and was put to death for it. He seems to have made a full confession of his sin. The most we can say is that we hope he was saved at last. His case, like the deathbed conversion, is doubtful. A physician once kept a record of a thousand persons who thought they were dying, but didn’t, and whom he thought were penitents. He says they all returned to their sins afterward except for two.
(5) The Repentance of Despair. Judas—‘I have sinned.’ This is the worst case, the remorse of conscience. You tell such a man that Christ died for sinners. He answers, ‘There is no hope for me. I have cursed God to his face.’ Ah! there may be a man here who may have such a death as that. I warn him before he comes to it. May the Holy Spirit grant his turning unto God.
(6) The Repentance of the Saint. Job—‘I have sinned.’ Job was a saint, but he sinned. This is the repentance of one who is a child of God already, an acceptable repentance before God. David was of this specimen. Study his penitential Psalms, which are full of weeping humility.
(7) The Blessed Confession. The Prodigal—‘I have sinned.’ He has run away from a good home and a kind father. He has spent all his money on harlots. Look, there he is, with the fellow-commoners of the pigsty, hungry and miserable. Off he goes back to his father. He confesses, ‘I am not worthy to be called thy son.’ The father answers, ‘No more of that. I forgive you all.’
Selection from Conclusion. “’Ah, sir, I am so black, so filthy, so vile.’ Well, come along with you—you cannot be blacker than the prodigal…‘Him that cometh unto me I will no wise cast out.’”
