If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
- I John 1:9, 10 (NASB)
The apostle John gives us some great insight into how to know we are saved. I call them spiritual signs of life. One of those spiritual signs includes confession.
What does it mean to confess? Confession means to “say the same thing as”. Another way to think of confession is to agree with another about a matter. For example, God says that adultery is sin. If I, as a believer, commit adultery, I need to come before God and agree with Him that my adultery is sin. What happens is that I change my mind to come into line with God’s truth and I admit the truth of what I have done.
Therefore confession has nothing to do with self-hatred or trying to gain God’s favor. As a believer in Christ, I already have God’s favor through the blood of Christ. I confess because I offend God through my sin and I agree with Him that my sin is sin and I must change directions. The act is a sign of spiritual life.
The reason why confession is a sign of life is that it shows that the confessor cannot comfortably live while offending God. Unsaved people, on the other hand, have little issue with sin. But sin is like a foreign substance in the body of one who knows Christ. Eventually, that foreign substance must come out. Confession removes sin from blocking the relationship between God and His child.
If you are a believer in Jesus, confession should be a part of your life. Christians should not sin but when we do we can go to our Father through Jesus Christ and receive cleansing from all unrighteousness.
-Pastor Randy
- I John 1:9, 10 (NASB)
The apostle John gives us some great insight into how to know we are saved. I call them spiritual signs of life. One of those spiritual signs includes confession.
What does it mean to confess? Confession means to “say the same thing as”. Another way to think of confession is to agree with another about a matter. For example, God says that adultery is sin. If I, as a believer, commit adultery, I need to come before God and agree with Him that my adultery is sin. What happens is that I change my mind to come into line with God’s truth and I admit the truth of what I have done.
Therefore confession has nothing to do with self-hatred or trying to gain God’s favor. As a believer in Christ, I already have God’s favor through the blood of Christ. I confess because I offend God through my sin and I agree with Him that my sin is sin and I must change directions. The act is a sign of spiritual life.
The reason why confession is a sign of life is that it shows that the confessor cannot comfortably live while offending God. Unsaved people, on the other hand, have little issue with sin. But sin is like a foreign substance in the body of one who knows Christ. Eventually, that foreign substance must come out. Confession removes sin from blocking the relationship between God and His child.
If you are a believer in Jesus, confession should be a part of your life. Christians should not sin but when we do we can go to our Father through Jesus Christ and receive cleansing from all unrighteousness.
-Pastor Randy
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