Changed by His Love
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Forgiveness isn’t some cheap sideshow trick God performs. God is faithful to His promise, and God is just, because Christ died for your sins and paid the penalty for you. Now, the next time you plan to sin, remember that you are going to sin against a faithful loving God!” Of course, cleansing has two sides to it: the judicial and the personal. The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, delivers us from the guilt of sin and gives us right standing (“justification”) before God.
God is able to forgive because Jesus’ death has satisfied His holy Law. But God is also interested in cleansing a sinner inwardly. David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Ps. 51:10). When our confession is sincere, God does a cleansing work (1 John 1:9) in our hearts by His Spirit and through His Word (John 15:3). When should we confess our sin? Immediately when we discover it! “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). By walking in the light, we are able to see the “dirt” in our lives and deal with it immediately. 1
Loving Him
How grieved are you over your own sin? Until we are deeply troubled by the grossness of our sin, we will continue to stay in the “sin-cycle.” Sin will always dominate until there is a forsaking that follows the forgiving. Are you willing to deal seriously with your sin and its effects on others? Seek His forgiveness, seek the forgiveness of others, and then make no provision for your flesh. If you do not start today, then you are not very serious about ending your sin-cycle.
Loving Others
Relationships are destroyed because sin is exercised far too often, and forgiveness is exercised far too little.
Make Me Like You
Lord, thank You for forgiving me so I can be back in fellowship with You.
1. Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
