I am delighted to feature Howard and Holly Satterthwaite’s new book, “Spiritual Detox.” As I wrote in my endorsement, the most dangerous person in your church is the one who forgot he or she is a sinner. Or, as C.S. Lewis put it in Screwtape Letters, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one.”
The regular practice of confession of sin to God helps us to avoid the gradual road toward ignoring sin and its devilish effects. In this inspiring and helpful book, Howard and Holly Satterthwaite walk the reader through the why, the what, and the how of a life of confession before the Lord.
Filled with biblical teaching and helpful application, and interspersed with stirring stories of believers set free through confession, this book is a must read for any believer, but especially for those who struggle with understanding how great is our God’s grace and how full is his forgiveness.
— Ed Stetzer
20 Truths—Spiritual Detox: Discovering the Joy of Liberating Confession
By Howard and Holly Satterthwaite
1. Confession is not a journey of depressing introspection but life-transforming liberation; heavenly joy that transcends earthly circumstances. If we see it as an unpleasant duty rather than an invitation to freedom we’ll struggle to make it a regular part of our daily lives. (11)
2. The challenging climb of confession, although it begins with a descent, will be worth it. Abundant life, joyful forgiveness and intimate fellowship are found at the end of its journey, which, it turns out, is more of a walk. (25)
3. You can choose the way of flourishing or floundering, confessing or concealing. Which will it be? Our hope, of course, is that you’ll say yes and daily confess because your prosperity but also your community’s prosperity depends on it. (26)
4. Failing to confess is like not taking the bin out, the stench of guilt blocks out the aroma of Christ; you lose fellowship with God. This is the context of 1 John 1:9: fellowship, fellowship, fellowship, fellowship. (42)
5. So what exactly is confession? We’re glad you asked. One of our favorite confession definitions comes from seventeenth-century English Puritan Thomas Manton. “Confession is an act of mortification; it is as it were the vomit of the soul.’ (42)
6. This is typically how we can approach God in confession; it’s interesting to note that even our confessing can be tainted with sin. True confession, by contrast, begins with accepting responsibility. It is coming out from hiding, dragging your sins into the open, and siding with God against them. (44)
