The problem of post-baptismal sin was an issue of great concern in the early church. The baptismal doctrine of the early church taught that water baptism was the initial act of Christian confession which cleansed the human soul of original sin and all sins committed up to the point of baptism.
By the time of the conversion of Constantine, many converts to the Christian faith were not baptized as an initial act of Christian confession, but waited until just before death. This was done because some Christians had come to believe that there was no remedy for sins committed after Christian baptism. These early Christians appealed to specific statements in the apostolic writings that seem to support such a teaching.
For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:26; also see 6:1-4).
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first (2 Peter 2:20).
No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him (1 John 3:6; also see 3:9; 5:18).
The early fathers did not want to trivialize God’s grace or the seriousness of human sin. Clement of Alexandria wrote, “He, then, who has received the forgiveness of sins ought to sin no more. . . But continual and successive repentings for sins differ nothing from the case of those who have not believed at all, except only in their consciousness that they do sin” (The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II, 360-361). The sins of concern here were “mortal sins,” such as idolatry, sexual immorality, or murder. A “mortal sin” is considered to be so grave that it may lead one to apostasy. In an effort to offer grace to those who had fallen into sin after baptism, and to exercise discipline within the Christian community, the early church established the practice of exomologesis, that is, “second repentance” or “public confession” (The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. III, 660-666). If a believer committed a mortal sin, the penalty could be excommunication from the church.
However, if the offending member submitted to a period of restoration (penance), climaxing in the exomologesis, then the believer could be reconciled. During this time of penance, the offending member does not cease to be a Christian (or a member of the church). The offending member is not allowed to participate in certain aspects of church life, such as, partaking of the Eucharist or serving as deacon. The climax of the period of restoration is the exomologesis, a public and dramatic display that at once is a confession of sin and an act of reconciliation. The exomologesis in not a verbal confession of sin; it is a somatic (of the body) confession of sin which demonstrates the desire to be reconciled. In exomologesis the body assumes the posture of repentance.
To many Protestants this may seem to be an example of justification by works. It is in fact, the operation of the Spirit of grace within the community of faith. Tertullian explained that “exomologesis is a discipline for man’s prostration and humiliation, enjoining a demeanor calculated to move mercy.” Pentecostals have taught that sinners must “bear fruits in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8; 19:8-9). Repentance of fallen believers includes doing one’s “first works” (Revelation 2:5). The Pentecostal way of salvation is the pursuit of holiness, which is, sharing in the moral excellence of God. The pursuit of holiness affects the whole human self—spirit, soul, and body. Therefore, the confession of sin includes a right disposition of the heart, a true confession of the mouth, and presenting the body as “a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).
Footwashing may be understood as exomologesis, a sacramental act that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, effects sanctification within the Christian community. John Christopher Thomas has written that “footwashing functions as an extension of the disciples baptism in that it signifies continual cleansing from the sin acquired (after baptism) through life in a sinful world. This act then is a sign of continued fellowship with Jesus” (Footwashing in John 13 and the Johannine Community, 1991, 150).
Footwashing is a somatic expression of profound love and humility which offers an opportunity for the sinful to confess their offenses and receive forgiveness. James wrote,
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).
Too often, we have viewed confession of sin as a private matter—a matter of concern between the sinner and the Lord only. This individualistic view of repentance too often allows the sinful Christian to hide behind grace. Grace becomes a license to sin, and sinfulness is not remedied. If the purpose of confession and forgiveness is juridical only, that is, a divine declaration of pardon, then this “Jesus-and-me” religion will suffice. However, according to James, the confession of sin “to one another” is significant to healing, which should be understood in terms of restoration to wholeness. Secret sin often leads to personal anguish. The psalmist prayed, “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3). The theologians of the Reformation taught the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer, but Martin Luther did not reject the practice of the sinner’s confession to a minister of the church. He wrote:
Private confession should be retained in the church, for in it consciences afflicted and crushed by the terrors of sin lay themselves bare and receive consolation which they could not acquire in public preaching . . . an approach to confession should be opened up so that they may seek and find consolation among the ministers of the church (Lectures on Genesis, 1554).
The ultimate purpose of confession is sanctification. This means that the sinful Christian must tell the truth about oneself. Instead of hiding behind a false sense of grace, the penitent believer reveals oneself and is transformed by grace. This type of confession and forgiveness of sin takes place within the community of faith. The regular confession of sin in the presence of one’s brothers and sisters offers an opportunity for the cleansing of guilt and sorrow. The sinner must seek forgiveness from and reconciliation with the offended individuals (Matthew 5:23-24). The church graciously responds and offers forgiveness.
Excerpt from: Pentecostal Sacraments: Encountering God at the Altar
