How easy is it for you to confess your sins?

Nobody likes admitting they’re wrong.

• Sometimes we defend ourselves even when we know we’ve made a mistake.
• We explain why we did what we did.
• We point out that someone else was partly responsible.
• We compare ourselves to people who have done worse things.

And sometimes we simply try to forget about it and move on.

We do something similar with our sins.

• We tell ourselves that what we did wasn’t really that bad.
• We remind ourselves of all the good things we’ve done.
• We point to other people who have “sinned worse” than we have.
• Or we convince ourselves that, since we’re Christians, our sins shouldn’t be that big of a deal anymore.

John confronts that kind of thinking directly.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

Notice that John includes himself. He doesn’t say, “If unbelievers say they have no sin.” He says, “If we say we have no sin.”

Even Christians continue to struggle with sin.

We may have been baptized into Christ, know God’s Word, and genuinely desire to follow Him. Yet the sinful nature remains, and it continues to show itself in our thoughts, words, and actions. As Paul writes in Romans 7:

“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Sometimes we recognize our sins immediately. Other times, we’re surprisingly good at overlooking them, especially when they’re sins we have grown comfortable with. But pretending we have no sin doesn’t make us holy. It simply makes us dishonest.

Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us there.

He continues,

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Think about the words John uses to describe God.

“Faithful and just.”

We might expect John to say that God is loving and merciful, and He certainly is, but why does John say that God is just to forgive us? After all, justice means that sin deserves punishment. If God simply ignored our sins, how could that be just?

The answer is Jesus.

Just before these verses, John tells us that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. And in the next chapter, he reminds us that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father and the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

God does not forgive by pretending that sin doesn’t matter. God is just. Sin must be dealt with. He forgives because Christ has already borne its punishment.

At the cross, God’s justice and mercy meet. Jesus takes what our sins deserve, and we receive the forgiveness He has won.

So when John tells us that God is faithful and just to forgive, he is pointing us to something much more dependable than God’s willingness to overlook our failures. He is pointing us to God’s faithfulness to His own promises and to the finished work of His Son.

That changes the way we approach confession.

We don’t treat sin as though it’s not a big deal. Jesus went to the cross for our sin. Sin is a big deal. 1 John spends a lot of time telling Christians not to live in sin. That said, we also don’t confess our sins to persuade God to become merciful. We confess because He already is merciful in Christ.

We don’t need to hide our sins, minimize them, or make excuses. We can acknowledge them honestly because we know where forgiveness is found.

This is why confession and absolution are such precious gifts in the Christian life.

When you confess your sins and hear Christ’s forgiveness spoken to you, you are not merely being reminded that God is generally a forgiving God. You are hearing His promise applied personally to you.

Your sins are forgiven.

Not because you confessed perfectly or you felt sufficiently sorry and not because you promised never to sin again. You are forgiven because Jesus died and rose for you.

There is tremendous freedom in being able to tell the truth about ourselves and tremendous healing in hearing those words of forgiveness and knowing they are true.

I remember when I was attending the seminary. I was in one of our pastoral counselling classes and one day we were doing some roll-playing while being observed by counselors from a nearby college. They were there to critique our counselling so we could improve and affirm what we did well. In this session, my partner was roll-playing someone who had hurt someone. Towards the end, he admitted what he had done and said felt terrible about it. I asked if he wanted to confess his sins. He did. Then, I forgave his sins as a called and ordained servant of the Lord. 

When we were done, the observer from the nearby college just stared at us for a minute. Then, he said, “That was incredible.” He said he counsels with people who struggle with guilt all the time and tries to help them deal with it psychologically. Then, he said, “I wish I could do that, to actually deal with the source of the guilt.”

This is the gift we have from God. He doesn’t tell us, “Don’t worry about. It’s all good.” He tells us we are forgiven through Christ’s death and resurrection.

We are sinners who still need forgiveness. And we have a Savior who is faithful to give it.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

I confess that I am a sinner. Too often I make excuses for my sins, minimize them, or fail to recognize them at all. Forgive me for the times I have tried to justify myself rather than trusting in the righteousness of Your Son.

Thank You for Your faithfulness and for the forgiveness Jesus won through His death and resurrection. Give me a heart that honestly confesses my sins and a faith that confidently receives Your forgiveness.

When my conscience troubles me, direct me to Christ and His promises. Help me to live each day in repentance and faith, knowing that Your mercy is greater than my sin.

Through Jesus Christ, my Lord.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.