The biblical theme for ‘confession of sins’ in the Old Testament is structured by praising the great salvation of God. The confession of sins is to be executed not merely in individual dimension, but in the cults of atonement in the Israelites’ community. In particular, the prayer of confession of sins originated from the exile, being open to the community. Judaism stands strongly on these traditions of ‘praise and confession’ as the theological ground of confession of sins. This theological aspect is not changed in the New Testament. However, its contents came to be renewed; the act of God’s salvation, going over the Exodus and the Exile, has eventually reached to the point that God raised up Jesus from death. So the confession of sins focused exclusively on Jesus the Lord. It is characteristic that not only the Israelites, but all the nations praise the Lord Jesus (“every tongue” Rom 14:11; Phil 2:11). Moreover, the confession of sins among people is detected in the New Testament: In James 5:16, such a confession is urged in the setting of prayer. Moreover, people should not only confess their sins before God, but also pray for the forgiveness of their sins against others. Prayer is the only way through which people can ask God for the forgiveness of others’ sin. Confession to each other is a necessary prerequisite for the forgiveness of their sins before God. Indeed, Christian community is privileged to pray to God for forgiving others(1Jn 5:14f). Mutual confession of sins and forgiveness thereafter must be the way to keep the community holy. The great revival movement at Pyongyang in Korea 100 years ago was directed to repentance and public confession of sins with a violent passion. These phenomena are to be considered as a ‘Wirkungsgeschichte’ based on the theology of the confession of sins. It was then a sacramental event that God built up the Korean church on the biblical foundation by purifying her as the body of Christ!

The biblical theme for ‘confession of sins’ in the Old Testament is structured by praising the great salvation of God. The confession of sins is to be executed not merely in individual dimension, but in the cults of atonement in the Israelites’ community. In particular, the prayer of confession of sins originated from the exile, being open to the community. Judaism stands strongly on these traditions of ‘praise and confession’ as the theological ground of confession of sins. This theological aspect is not changed in the New Testament. However, its contents came to be renewed; the act of God’s salvation, going over the Exodus and the Exile, has eventually reached to the point that God raised up Jesus from death. So the confession of sins focused exclusively on Jesus the Lord. It is characteristic that not only the Israelites, but all the nations praise the Lord Jesus (“every tongue” Rom 14:11; Phil 2:11). Moreover, the confession of sins among people is detected in the New Testament: In James 5:16, such a confession is urged in the setting of prayer. Moreover, people should not only confess their sins before God, but also pray for the forgiveness of their sins against others. Prayer is the only way through which people can ask God for the forgiveness of others’ sin. Confession to each other is a necessary prerequisite for the forgiveness of their sins before God. Indeed, Christian community is privileged to pray to God for forgiving others(1Jn 5:14f). Mutual confession of sins and forgiveness thereafter must be the way to keep the community holy. The great revival movement at Pyongyang in Korea 100 years ago was directed to repentance and public confession of sins with a violent passion. These phenomena are to be considered as a ‘Wirkungsgeschichte’ based on the theology of the confession of sins. It was then a sacramental event that God built up the Korean church on the biblical foundation by purifying her as the body of Christ!

Confession of sin, repentance, great revival movement in Pyongyang