CONFESSION RESTORES BROKEN FELLOWHIP FOR THE BELIEVER !

CONFESSION RESTORES BROKEN FELLOWSHIP FOR THE BELIEVER: The God kind of faith has no song when fellowship is broken. In our studies on the subject of confession, we have covered the first two types all : the confession of the sins of the Hebrew Jews, and the confession of the sinner today. In this lesson we will deal with the confession of a believer who is out of fellowship with God. In (Psalms 137) we see a dramatic example of broken fellowship. As a result of sin, Israel had been carried away into Babylon. (Psalms 137:1--4) "By the rivers of Babylon, there we set down, yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the Willows in the midst thereof. For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, saying was one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sin the Lord's song in a strange land ? In this passage of Scripture, Israel laments her captivity. God's people remembered Zion, but they are now in sorrow, and their harps are hung on the Willows. They cannot "sing the Lord's song in a strange land." The God kind of faith cannot sing when fellowship is broken. We lose our testimony the moment we sin. Sin always puts the light out. CONFESSION BRINGS FORGIVENESS: (1 John 1:3-10) "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things right we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with the another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his Word is not in us. Many use these verses only when dealing with the unsaved. However, they were written to the believers, and they should only be used in connection with believers or Christians who are out of fellowship with God because of sin in their lives. Notice that the word "fellowship" is mentioned four times in these verses. They were written to the believer, not to sinner, first, as a warning against broken fellowship; and second, to show the way back into fellowship with the Lord. Verse 6 says, "if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." In other words, if we are out of fellowship and declare that we are all right, we are not telling the truth.