Using Scripture to guide self-examination, confession, and living in light of the Gospel
God’s Word is the best tool available to us as we seek to look honestly at our lives and bring our sin back to the cross. In this activity, we will specifically reflect on Colossians 3, asking God to open our eyes to see the sin and broken patterns in our lives. Afterwards, we look again to Scripture as the foundation for our hope, wholeness, and joy in Jesus.
To do this activity, you will need a clean, blank piece of paper, as well as a printed copy of Colossians chapter 3 that you can write on. We recommend printing out the passage with extra wide margins and extra line spacing that you can write both around and in between the lines of text. For a printable version of Colossians 3 in the ESV click here.
Committing the Time to God
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:23-24
Take some time to pray, looking to God to reveal sin, convict, and bring a heart of repentance as you do this activity.
The Mirror of the Word
Slowly and prayerfully work through the printed chapter of Scripture. Pay close attention to how these verses connect to your own life, heart attitudes, relational patterns, etc. To whatever degree you see sin and shortcomings in your own life, write these down next to the relevant verse. It is helpful to write down the sins that you want to confess very specifically. While self-examination and confession of sin is difficult, rest actively on the promises of God that all is forgiven in Christ on the cross. We confess in hope, because we know God delights to cleanse and bring freedom to his people. Bringing specific sin into the light is not a sign of defeat, but of our victory and freedom in Jesus. Keep working through the passage and writing specific sin you want to confess, verse by verse, until you finish the chapter. Depending on how quickly you finish the chapter, choose whether or not it is helpful for you to read through the passage one more time.
If you have not done so already, talk to God about each of the sins that you wrote down, honestly and specifically confessing these to your good Father.
Taking It to the Cross
As you confess and write down specific sin in your life, how does God view this “record of debt” that you have created? Let’s go again to Colossians to bring the list of our sins back to Jesus.
Erased
Colossians 2:13-14 says: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.”
When we believe the gospel, trusting that Jesus is the only way to be right with God, we are given full and free forgiveness. Here we are reminded that we have been given new life with Jesus, and that all has been forgiven – not some, not most. All. We are told that our record of debt has been canceled. But the wording here does not merely mean that Jesus wrote “canceled” on the list of our sins. These words actually refer to the list of our sin being blotted out – being wiped away and erased so that there is no more list left. There are no sins written and recorded against those who trust in Jesus.
To reflect this reality, erase, tear up, or shred the paper where you wrote down all the sins. In its place, grab a completely clean blank piece of paper. Dwell for a moment on the reality that in Jesus, this is now your record of debt.
Nailed to the Cross
Colossians 2 does not stop there. The end of verse 14 says: “This (the record of debt) he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” If you have the possibility of doing so, take your now blank piece of paper and lay it down at the foot of the cross, or better yet, nail it to the cross. If you cannot do this, you can write “nailed to the cross” on your blank piece of paper, fold it up, and throw it away.
Take a moment to dwell on the reality that not only is your record of debt erased, but it has been nailed to the cross and you do not carry it anymore.
Close this activity with a time of prayer. If helpful, you can also spend some time journaling about your thoughts and responses to your time of confession.
Follow up this activity by working through the activity titled Next Steps After Confession.
Other Possibilities
While we recommend Colossians 3 for the first time you do this activity, it could also be done with other passages of Scripture. For example:
- Exodus 20:1-21 – The 10 Commandments
- Matthew 5-7 – Choose a chapter from the Sermon on the Mount
- Ephesians 4 – Walking worthy of your calling
- Romans 12 – Loving one another
- Luke 6:20-49 – Sermon on the Plain
If there is a aspect of your life or area of sin that you want to specifically process on and bring to Jesus, you could choose a passage accordingly. For example, if you want to reflect on how you treat your spouse, you could use Ephesians 5:22-33 for this activity. Choose a passage that is on your heart and is relevant.
Group Option
In order to do this activity as a group, have each participant individually do the first two sections (Committing the Time to God and The Mirror of the Word) by themselves. Then, as a group, do the “Taking It to the Cross” steps of erasing/shredding the records of debt and nailing the blank pages to the cross. For these steps, have one person read Colossians 2:13-14 out loud. End with a time of praying as a group, thanking God for the full forgiveness in Christ. You could also close the group time with a song of praise.