The Cup of Christ - CJ Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

"Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane. And He said to the disciples, Sit here while I go and pray there. And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Wait here and watch with Me. And He went a little further and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will. And He came to the disciples and found them asleep. And He said to Peter, What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done. And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same word. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, Sleep on now and take your rest. Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." Mat 26:36-45


"And going out, according to His custom, He went to the Mount of Olives. And His disciples also followed Him. And when He was at the place, He said to them, Pray that you do not enter into temptation. And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And He kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done. And an angel appeared to Him from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose up from prayer and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping because of sorrow. And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray lest you enter into temptation." Luk 22:39-46

"And they came to a place named Gethsemane. And He said to His disciples, Sit here while I pray. And He took with Him Peter and James and John. And He began to be greatly amazed, and to be very heavy. And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sorrowful to death. Stay here and watch. And He went forward a little and fell on the ground. And He prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.
And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible to You. Take away this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will. And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, Simon, do you sleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. Truly the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And again He went away and prayed and spoke the same words. And when He returned, He found them asleep again (for their eyes were heavy), neither did they know what to answer Him. And He came the third time and said to them, Sleep on now and take your rest. It is enough, the hour has come. Behold, the Son of Man has been betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go. Lo, he who betrays Me is at hand." Mar 14:32-43

I Confess my Sin - Amazed at the Grace of God - C.J. Mahaney

C.J. Mahaney of Sovereign Grace Ministries' shared his heart and biblical view on where confession of sins should be in his and a Christian's walk with God. He said, " I confess my sin—most importantly to God to receive the forgiveness I need from him for my sin through the death of his Son for my many sins...............I hope my confession of sin is the sincere and specific confession of one genuinely convicted of his sin, sorrowful about his sin, and amazed at the grace of God provided for the forgiveness of sin." :


My Confession of Sin

Though I’m seeking to grow in godliness (by God’s grace), I know indwelling sin remains, and that means I will sin against my wife, son, or friends at some point this week. I am the worst sinner I know, not Andy Pettitte. I am more familiar with my sin than I am with his sin. And I have my own moment fast approaching when I will need to acknowledge my sin.

Obviously I am not a high-profile athlete, and my words are not being recorded and evaluated by the press. But my words are being evaluated by God (Matthew 12:36). And at times, I am sorry to say, my confession can be all too Pettitte-like.

When I have sinned against someone, a sincere confession is required. A confession that is sincere and pleasing to God will be specific and brief. I have learned to be suspicious of my confession if it’s general and lengthy. A sincere confession of sin should be specific (“I was arrogant and angry when I made that statement; will you please forgive me for sinning against you in this way?”) and brief (this shouldn’t take long). When I find myself adding an explanation to my confession, I’m not asking forgiveness but instead appealing for understanding.

If my so-called confession extends beyond a very specific (acknowledgement of sin) sentence or two, then I am most likely excusing my sin, and requesting understanding for my sin, rather than sincerely asking forgiveness because of my sin. So I have learned to be suspicious of any confession of sin that is lengthy. Genuine conviction of sin is evidenced by a sincere, specific, and brief confession of sin, without any reference to circumstances or the participation of anyone else. When I sin, I am responsible for my sin, and the cause of my sin is always within my heart and never lies outside my heart.

Often after I sin, and even after I confess my sin—most importantly to God to receive the forgiveness I need from him for my sin through the death of his Son for my many sins—I experience a conflict in my soul about the confessing, when necessary, to the appropriate individuals. And whenever there is this conflict in my soul about specifically confessing my sin, I am aware that pride is actively at work in my soul, opposing the confession and seeking to persuade me that it wouldn’t be wise or even necessary for me to confess. But I have learned to ignore this noise from my arrogant heart, and instead weaken this noise by specifically confessing my sin to the appropriate individual as quickly as possible.

When I do confess, first and foremost to God and then (where and when appropriate) to others, I want my confession to be sincere and specific. I want my confession to express genuine sorrow and gratefulness to God for the mercy I experience because of the substitutionary sacrifice of his Son for my sins on the cross.

And when I confess my sin to others and ask their forgiveness when I have sinned against them, I don’t want my confession to resemble the press conference of a high-profile athlete, characterized by evasive language and the refusal to be specific. Instead, I hope my confession of sin is the sincere and specific confession of one genuinely convicted of his sin, sorrowful about his sin, and amazed at the grace of God provided for the forgiveness of sin.

For the full post by C.J. Mahaney, please visit here : Andy Pettitte and My Confession of Sin by C.J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries.

"For a long time, Mahaney had ties with both restorationism and Maranatha Campus Ministries. He currently co-hosts the Together for the Gospel conference with Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan and Albert Mohler and serves on the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, and on the boards of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation" Source: Wikipedia