This post is part of a 40-Day Prayer Journey through the season of Lent. Click here to learn more and read other posts in the series.
“If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Confessing our sins to a holy and righteous God is a hard concept for us to grasp as sinful human beings.
People have been struggling with it ever since the first fall into sin all those long years ago in the Garden of Eden. What did Adam and Eve do after they ate the fruit, when their eyes were opened, and they knew they had sinned against God? They hid because they were afraid of what God would do.
Humanity has been hiding ever since.
Hiding our sin and shame, terrified of what will happen if anyone discovers the awful things we think, say, and do on a daily basis. We sweep it under the proverbial rug and hope no one ever finds out about it.
We don’t even want to confess our sins to our fellow sinful human beings. The thought of confessing our wrongdoings to the people we’ve hurt is terrifying. We don’t know how they’ll respond. Will they forgive us, or will they want nothing to do with us?
Dear Christian, you and I never have to be afraid of how God will respond. We never have to wonder if God will forgive our sins. We never have to hide.
In this verse, the apostle John highlights what our God is: faithful and just. He is the loving and merciful God who forgives sins and purifies us from all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins to God, his response is never going to be rejection. It’s never going to be the condemnation that we fear and rightly deserve.
Why? God’s grace-filled response is all because of Jesus. He suffered the punishment we deserve for our sins. He bore the brunt of God’s wrath against sin so that we could experience the warmth of God’s love and one day live with him in heaven.
When we confess our sins to our loving God and Father, his response will always be to direct our attention to our Savior Jesus and the forgiveness he won for us on the cross. His response will always be to reassure us of his unending love for us.
What then? God creates new hearts in us, made alive by the gospel and what Jesus has done for us; he calls us to live for him daily—to leave behind the deeds of darkness that we’ve just confessed and to walk in the light of his Word.
Is that a struggle? Yes, daily. But we keep our eyes fixed on the one who did all things for us. When we stumble, falter, and fall, we don’t have to hide our sin and shame. We confess our sin and ask God for his forgiveness, knowing that we are forgiven and loved by him.
Today, pray that God would remove the guilt from the hearts of believers seeking his mercy and grace. Pray that God would give them new hearts, filled with the joy of salvation and the desire to serve God in thankfulness every day.
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