Spiritual Disciplines: Fellowship & Confession

Spiritual Disciplines: Fellowship & Confession

Though spiritual disciplines tend to be quite solitary, God did not intend for us all to be hermits. Yes, solitude has its place, right there alongside prayer, meditation, reading the Bible, and fasting, but our faith cannot be practiced in a vacuum. God commands us to love Him, first and foremost, but He also asks us to love our neighbors as ourselves. In our last article, we discussed the importance of service and how it helps us see God’s heart for His people. In this article, we will continue that community-oriented focus, taking a look at two disciplines that go hand-in-hand: fellowship and confession.

Fellowship (or spending time in community with Believers) is a little bit of an old-fashioned term, but it pops up several times in the Bible and throughout church history. It comes from the Greek word koinōnia, meaning “participation” or “sharing.” In the days of the early church, fellowship involved sharing material goods, breaking bread (including communion and a larger fellowship meal), and prayer—both in homes and in the temple (see Acts 2:42). Personal faith resulted in connection to community, and that connection inspired generosity and genuine concern for others. Though our daily lives look much different than those of the first disciples, the value of community still remains the same.

When we spend time in community, we often leave feeling a little lighter, and several of the biblical writers mention this idea in their letters. Paul mentions how fellowship gives us the opportunity to be “mutually encouraged by each other’s faith,” “carry one another’s burdens,” and “fulfill the law of Christ” (see Romans 1:12; Galatians 6:2). And in an often quoted passage of Hebrews, the writer reminds readers to “consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together…but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching” (see 10:24–25). 

At times, life can feel unbearably heavy, but God places people around us who can help us carry that weight. When we spend time with people who love us, the difficult things start to feel more possible and existence as a whole seems a lot more hopeful. And when we make a practice of building relationships with fellow Believers, our faith is strengthened, and we start to look more and more like Jesus. However, that process often includes friction. As we read in Proverbs, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another” (27:17). For a blade to become sharp, it must come into contact with steel over and over again, and eventually, its rough edges will be worn smooth. The same goes for our relationships: if we want to shed our old habits, we must regularly come into contact with—or be in fellowship with—people who challenge us (in healthy ways) to grow in grace, mercy, and love.

Maintaining healthy relationships also requires us to admit when we ourselves make mistakes, and that goes for our relationships with others and our relationship with God. In church, we call this practice confession. It is something we do regularly. In our prayers and prior to communion, we tell God about our shortcomings and ask Him for forgiveness. We make a habit of turning away from our sins and toward God, and He meets us with grace, kindness, and mercy. Without confession, we cannot be reconciled with God, but when we humbly admit our faults to Him, He welcomes us back into relationship with Him. 

At times, life can feel unbearably heavy, but God places people around us who can help us carry that weight.

Sometimes, though, we forget God’s goodness, try to avoid Him, and procrastinate our confession. In one of the Psalms, David vividly depicts this tendency, writing, “When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat” (32:3–4). When we grow distant from God, we soon find ourselves weak, wasting away. It is hard to bear the weight of it all—but, fortunately, we do not have to. 

In the very next line of the Psalm, David dramatically turns. He writes, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity…and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (32:5). Though David took his time working up the nerve to confess, God’s forgiveness was immediate. And the restoration of their relationship brought David immense joy, so much so that he ended the Psalm with this instruction: “shout for joy, all you upright in heart” (32:11). Though confession is not easy or pleasant, it is essential to having a fruitful relationship with God. 

Our relationship with God directly impacts our relationship with others, and vice versa. So, in addition to confessing our sins to the Lord, we also need to confess to other people when we hurt them. This practice is so important that Jesus told His followers, “If you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23–24). Jesus asks us to admit our failures for the sake of our relationships with others. He asks us to be humble, like Him, loving others more than we love ourselves. 

If you are looking for supportive, Christ-centered community, consider joining one of our Life Groups. To learn more about our vision for Life Groups, view open groups, or contact a leader, visit our app or website, experiencecc.com.