“He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if we confess our sins” (1 John 1:9).
To say the same thing
According to scripture, God will pardon us for our transgressions if we confess them. Having stated that, how can we confess our faults and what does confession entail? The Greek verb “homologeoo,” which literally translates to “to say the same (thing),” is translated as “confess” in 1 John 1:9. It denotes agreement, sharing a viewpoint, or having similar opinions regarding a subject. We label what God considers sin. 1 John 1:9 makes no mention of receiving compensation. God only wants for agreement—that is, acknowledgment of the sin. When we accept God’s perspective, we always respond to the Spirit’s provocation by confessing our faults.
God’s response
God pardons and purifies me if I confess. God makes that commitment since He fully devotes Himself to His Son’s deed at Calvary. We can receive the pardon that is already present in the blood of Jesus when we confess. God never wavers from His “faithful and just” nature, even in the face of bloodshed. A well-formed confession will never take our eyes off of Jesus and His accomplished work.
Don’t be self-defensive
Note the context of 1 John 1:9:
If we claim to be sinless, we are lying to ourselves and are not carrying the truth. He is true and just to pardon our transgressions and to purify us of all unrighteousness if we confess our sins. According to 1 John 1:8–10, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
The words “If we say we have no sin” (verse 8) and “If we say we have not sinned” (verse 10) come before and after 1 John 1:9. In this context, the terms “have not sinned” and “have no sin” relate to the same thing—the sins that need to be admitted. It is unrelated to the force of sin, which would continue to exist in us as the elderly man. This text does not show the old man because he died at the cross.
In light of what needs to be confessed, my belief when I claim, “I have no sin, I have not sinned,” is my own. I’m attempting self-defense. Confession, on the other hand, refers to accepting God’s viewpoint. I agree that anything is sin because he says it is. “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” is God’s prompt response.
The ground of confession
Jesus’ blood from Calvary serves as the foundation for our confession: 1 John 1:7 states, “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.” We will be raised above all enemy strength when we bring that ground in confession to the Lord and stand in the virtue of that blood in all its cleansing and overwhelming power.
The assurance of forgiveness
“He removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). God takes away our admitted sins, just as the east and the west never meet. Whatever, we might remember them from time to time. We no longer give them any thought because God has taken them away.
“Lord, I sincerely acknowledge that I have sinned in the light of your word. I now admit my transgressions, which are [enter]. I’m grateful that You’ve moved on from them and aren’t thinking of them. Amen. I hereby certify that I will forgive you.
Given that God has already pardoned me, it might therefore be required for me to make amends with others in relation to these admitted sins.
