The Cost of Confession and Repentance

Genuine confession and repentance can be costly, as I have discovered in dealing with offenders. Take the case of the young man in the Washington area, deeply involved with his church and solidly converted to Christ, who came to visit one of our staff members several years ago. He had, he confessed, committed a murder in a drunken stupor many years earlier. He was never a suspect and had never been charged. But in his prayer time his sin greatly troubled him. He knew he was guilty in the eyes of the law. What should he do?

My associate counseled him that he had to follow his conscience; if he believed God was really telling him to turn himself in, he should do that. But he should also know God had forgiven him. In the weeks that followed, the man became increasingly convicted. He discussed it with his wife, also a believer, and both came to the conclusion, although it meant leaving the children, that he should turn himself in. He did, was charged, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Today this man is still serving his sentence in a Midwest prison, where he is one of the prison’s Christian leaders.