Sin wrecks your life. It may seem fun for a moment, but the consequences of sin are damaging to you and those around you. God’s Word shows us the way to be forgiven and the way to avoid sin in our daily walk of life.
1 John 1:5-10
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him. 6 If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 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, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:1-2
1 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the righteous one. 2 He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.
Definition. Sin is “missing the mark.” The picture is that of an archer shooting at a target. If God’s perfect plan is the target, sin is the arrow falling short of the target or missing the target altogether. Another definition of sin is rebellion, rebellion against the will of God. Another picture for sin is walking in darkness, stumbling and bumping into things, causing destruction. We have all sinned, and we all battle sin. If we say we have not sinned, we are deceiving ourselves and we are lying to God. Rather than doing that, we should acknowledge the struggle against sin and deal with it God’s way.
Confession. When we confess, we are admitting that we did something. In a courtroom, a confession is the admission of a crime. Spiritually speaking, confession is admitting to God that we have sinned. When we confess to God that we have rebelled against his will, walked in the darkness, and missed the mark he set for us, we show the humility and contrition necessary to receive the forgiveness he offers.
Cleansing. Confession with repentance leads to salvation when we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He cleanses us eternally, bringing us into a right relationship with God. His death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice for our sin. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness.
Confession for a believer leads to cleansing and restoration of pure fellowship between us and God. In other words, as a follower of Jesus, at any point when you realize you have committed a sin, stop in that moment, ask God to forgive you, and hear him whisper to your heart and your mind, “Through Jesus you are forgiven.” How wonderful is the cleansing of our loving Heavenly Father. He cleanses us from all unrighteousness!
Daily walk. On a daily basis, our desire is that we walk in the light so that every thought we think, every word we say, every place we go and every thing we do be exactly what God desires for us. But if and when we stumble, we have an advocate, Jesus, who has covered over our sin by becoming our atoning sacrifice, and he is the one who declares, “You’re forgiven.” Jesus himself forgives us and empowers us to live our lives in ways that glorify God, bless others and bless us too.