One of the truths that will be shocking to unbelievers on the day of judgment is that they missed out on what it means to be fully human. Some of them will have heard and rejected the truth that Christ came to save sinners from hell. But most of them will have not heard that Christ came to make man truly man. This part of the good news is ours to tell and it is to our shame that we neglect it.
Our hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing makes the point—
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore
Jesus took on human nature to restore our nature. The Second Adam has come as a life-giving spirit that we might have life and have it abundantly.
Put it this way. Christians know the truest human who has ever lived. If you want to know what our race used to be before the ruin, look to Him. If you want to know what we Christians are becoming, then look to Him.
This is why we confess our sin.
You are not simply to kneel and tell the Lord what you did wrong as if there are marks against your clean record and you need to get them removed. We confess our sin because we are in the process of becoming more human. God made us an upright race, and though we have fallen, Mary’s Son has come to restore our nature.
How much sin should you confess? Well, how restored do you want to be? Look at Jesus the man, and you will want to be like Him. And because He became like us, we are free to become like Him.
Jared Longshore – December 24, 2023
