1 Samuel 15:24

"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned." 1 Samuel 15:24 .

Confession is necessary to forgiveness. Before confession there must be consciousness in the man himself as to the nature of his transgression; that is to say, he must not merely use a form of words, but he must express a real and agonising contrition. Saul does not reply to a merely technical argument; many men are willing to admit that they may be sinners in the letter; such confession goes no way towards the realisation of forgiveness; what is wanted is full, complete, earnest, unreserved confession, not of error and mistake or miscalculation, but of grievous iniquity positive and absolute sin against God. "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins." Man never appears to be more dignified than when speaking to God he confesses that he has no self-defence when charged by the Most High with the violation of law. The very humiliation of the spectacle is the principal element in its moral dignity. There is no dignity in defiance, in assumption, in self-exculpation; all processes of this kind add one falsehood to another, and crown the whole with intolerable vanity. When we are weak, then are we strong; when we are humble, then are we about to be exalted; when we see the sin, point it out, confess it, and repudiate it, we are not far from the kingdom of God. There is this distinction between technical and vital confession: a man may technically confess, and go out and repeat the sin: but when a man vitally confesses his iniquity, he by so much disqualifies himself for its repetition. After confession we must wait for, pray for, a sense of divine forgiveness. Saul not only confessed his sin, he said, "Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord." The case of Saul shows us, however, that there may be a point when confession itself comes too late too late, not for the world that is to come it may be, but for present rulership, influence, and high social advantage. Samuel himself turned away from Saul, protesting that he would not return with him, and that his rejection of the Lord was a final act. Samuel, however, on further remonstrance and expostulation "turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the Lord." We are not to think that deposition from official position and honour necessarily means eternal exile from the presence and favour of God. Let the worst take heart to believe that if he will now confess his sin God will show him the way to the Cross.