It is God’s desire that every believer live a victorious Christian life. Yet, God knows that there will be times when we will yield to sin and temptation. In His graciousness God has provided a way for us, through confession, to be forgiven and cleansed from all sin.
1 John 2:1 – My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
It seems that John truly believes that we do have the option NOT to sin. Therefore we can blame nobody but ourselves for our sin. We can not say that the devil made us do it, or that we are only human, so we have no choice. However, when we do fall short of the best we can do, we are able to proclaim victory over the enemy through the power of Jesus Christ.
If the devil is our accuser, and the Father is our judge, then the Christ is our defender and advocate.
Hebrews 4: 15-16 – For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Our Lord Jesus Christ knows how it is for us. He lost a parent, a cousin, and friends to death. He suffered as an innocent. He was tempted by the devil in every way. There is nothing He can not related to. And He is the One who is advocating for us in the judgment. Of course, that is so long as we have placed our faith in Him and made Him our Lord.
Proverbs 28:13 – Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
It is best to face our sin head on, and tackle it for what it is. The devil has no power over us that we do not give him. We can not change our past, but we do not have to be enslaved by it either. The devil will continue to remind us of our sin, but we can claim victory nevertheless.
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
In the act of repentance, there are two sides in play. We have to come to God with a real desire to change. This is more than to feel guilty for offending Him, but really want to change. The other side is God’s, because if it was not for His power and strength to help us overcome the next temptation, and His mercy and grace for the times we stumble along the way to a consecrated life, we would be doomed.
Psalm 32:5 – Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
There is something relieving to the confession of our sin. When we address our sin, and its cost on our life, then we begin to feel the weight of it.
Psalm 103:12 – as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
So how far is the east from the west? Clearly there is no distance one can travel that would put them any closer to either side, because there is always further to go. The east and the west are separated by concept. They can never be close.
If we look at the original language that much of the Bible is written in, we see an interesting alternative translation for the word “forgiveness”. It could also be translated to say “put away”. When God forgives us of our sins, he puts them away. He will not remind us of them. He will not bring them up, and our sins will not affect how much He loves us.
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