by Jonathan Dirmann
What does it say?
1 John 1:8-10 (NKJV) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
Philippians 2:13 (NKJV) “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
What does it mean?
This passage in 1 John shows us that when we confess our sins, two things happen; the first is that God forgives us our sins. According to Meriam Webster, to “forgive” means “to cease to feel resentment against (an offender)”. In other words, when God forgives our sins, He chooses to move past them and let go of the negative feelings that come associated with them. However, it doesn’t stop there (thank God)! The second thing He does is to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. This means that not only does God choose to move past our sin (which is already amazing), but He goes a step further and totally cleanses us from any trace of it! So, through Jesus’ death on the cross, when God sees us, He doesn’t see someone stained by sin that He just chooses to love anyway. He actually sees someone totally spotless and clean! Wow!
In Philippians, it shows that us that He doesn’t just forgive and make us clean, but He actually partners with us to both want to live righteously, and to actually do it.
What does it mean to us?
Because we are both forgiven and washed totally clean, this means that we can enter boldly into the presence of the Lord here on earth… Not as someone that God lovingly tolerates despite the stains of sin, but as someone who is totally clean before God. When you have a true revelation of this, it changes the way we operate.
Response
Confess your sins and enter boldly into the presence of the Lord as someone spotless and clean! In His presence, the Lord will help you both desire to do right and actually do it! So, enter into His presence every day to receive the strength to walk in the righteousness that He has purchased for you.