Text: 1 John 1: 5 -9

 For a true Christian, to live with unconfessed sins is like walking in shoes with grains of sand or living with a heart clogged with unconfessed sins. If we ignore or procrastinate in addressing our sins in our daily life promptly it will eventually wear us out. Unaddressed sins can have a silent but profound impact on our spiritual well-being, affecting our Christian walk without our awareness. The unconfessed sins accumulate in our lives, they act as barriers to our communication with God creating a static that interferes with our prayers, hindering our connection with Him. As a result, we may feel distant from God and struggle to discern His guidance or experience His abundant blessings. Confession, on the other hand, serves as clearing these barriers and restoring the lines of communication with our Heavenly Father. It paves the way back to the vibrant and flourishing relationship with Him.”

 In this blog, we will look at what confession means and the timing of the confession.  

Light and Darkness are Not Compatible (v.5-8)

Apostle John declares: “God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all.” Therefore, anyone who professes to be in fellowship with God while walking and living with the darkness of sin is blatantly lying. John also says those who assert they have no sin are misled by false teachers. John makes it clear that light and sin cannot be compatible regardless of the nature and magnitude of sins. According to the Bible, sin encompasses a broad range such as doubting God, complaining, disobeying Him; looking at a woman with lustful eyes, speaking out against a brother, and hating a brother in the heart. These sins can be committed knowingly or implicitly. John urges Christians to take sins seriously and must not neglect to deal with any sin at all times.

John emphasizes the need for ongoing confession of sins to be in true fellowship with the Holy God. He encourages believers to approach the loving heavenly Father God in total honesty and humility of a child and confess sins to Him. God will forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Confession of sin

Confess and repentance are related yet distinct concepts. In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, repentance is the son turning around and returning to his father’s house, while confession is the son honestly admitting his wrongdoings.

To confess (ὁμολογέω –homologeo) means to openly, willingly, and explicitly admit any wrongdoing in complete agreement with the Word of God.

Confession is a genuine expression and recognition of our wrongs, much like the prodigal son did when he humbly acknowledged his mistakes without any reservations, excuses, or justifications. Furthermore, it is essential to list each offense individually, avoiding a generic ‘lump sum’ approach, like – “I confess all my sins,” etc. Prompt confessing is the best way to ensure none will be left out unforgiven.  

Confession does not need a specific time, place, liturgical language, etc. It can be anywhere and wherever, in the car, in the church service, in voice, or silent words in mind. The Christian life, in essence, is “walking” together with the heavenly Father God conversing as we walk. We can tell God whenever we realize we “did wrong,” just tell God, like a child would do, “Dad, I am sorry I just said bad things to brother Jim,” and so on. Then, our loving Father will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness with the blood of Jesus. God will remember them no more. 

Apostle John is saying while we are in the flesh, this is the only true and practical way to keep walking in the light and truth in fellowship with God, not the mere claim of having “no sin.”

The Liberating Power of Confession and Forgiveness:

The Bible portrays Sin as a burdensome weight, often too heavy to bear, and a spiritual barrier separating us from God (Psalm 38:4; Isaiah 59:2). These realities weigh on our hearts and minds, robbing us of security, peace of mind, and a sense of nearness to God.

However, forgiveness removes the weight and barrier of sin, restoring what was lost; thus, feeling forgiven is the complementary aspect that accompanies God’s forgiveness. It is an undeniable spiritual reality and blessing that accompanies God’s forgiveness. As children of God, we can anticipate such liberating blessings from our loving God when He lifts the heaviness of Sin from us. Like the liberation felt when a judge declares “not guilty” and “all charges dropped.”

Conversely, the absence of this liberating feeling may serve as a red flag for our relationship with God or indicate that something is amiss in our pursuit of forgiveness—for example, harboring unforgiveness toward others, like the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35, or persisting in a sinful lifestyle without ‘turning away’ as the prodigal son did.

Conclusion:

God’s Word assures us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This cleansing includes the removal of guilt and feelings of guilt.

God’s gifts of salvation include peace, joy, security, and confidence. However, our adversary, Satan, seeks to make us miserable and insecure as children of God, dragging us into the trap of sin in every possible way. Confession is a sure way of undoing the the devil’s work in us.

Our pilgimage toward the Heaven, invoves a two prongs approaches -standing firm and resisting the evil, and cleansing our sin-tainted garment of the righteousness of Christ by confession. The true heartfelt forgiveness comes with a genuine experience also involves aligning ourselves under the wings of the loving God as we submit to Him and resist the devil (ref. James 4:7). By doing so, we find forgiveness and restoration, and the peace of God we need.

May you all experience the the liberation power of the confession and forgiveness in your daily pilgrimage!