From Death to Life | 40 Days of Dying to Self and Living for ChristSample

When you were little, you were probably scared of telling your parents or guardian that you did something wrong. Even if you had really gentle parents who never yelled, you likely did not want to admit that you disobeyed. But you probably felt much better if your parents wrapped their arms around you and told you that they forgave you. As believers, we often fear confessing our sins to God. We do not want to tell God how we disobeyed Him. But even though it can feel scary to confess our sins to God, we are able to confidently confess our sins to God, knowing that He forgives us.

1 John 1:9 comforts us when we sin by reminding us that because of Christ, we are forgiven when we confess our sins to God. The gospel declares that Jesus has covered all of our sins with His forgiveness. This means that we never have to fear that God will punish us or refuse to forgive us when we disobey Him. Because of Jesus, we are assured that our confessions of sin are always met with God’s forgiveness.

Such truth encourages us to run to God, rather than away from Him, when we sin. Instead of being like a little child who fears confessing their wrongdoing, we can approach the Lord with confidence, because He is our faithful Father who promises to forgive us. This ability to come to God and receive forgiveness when we sin not only encourages us to confess our sins but also to turn away from our sins. The forgiveness we have from God through Christ motivates us to keep turning away from sin and pursuing obedience to God. It is important to remember that we cannot turn away from our sin in our own power. It is the Spirit who helps us to keep resisting sin and obeying God instead. So let us continually confess our sins to the Lord and rely on the Spirit’s power to keep obeying the One who so graciously forgives us.

Reflect and Respond

How do you normally respond when you sin? How does God’s forgiveness encourage you to confess your sin?