WHAT DOES IT SAY?
1 John 1:5–9 (NKJV) “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The Apostle John is declaring the message that he and other disciples heard from Jesus – that God is light (pure, holy, perfect in righteousness) and in Him there is no darkness at all; no sin, no error, no imperfection. If we as believers say that we walk closely with God, that we are in communion with Him and yet we live a lifestyle of sin, we are lying. If we truly live following the Lord, then we have deep communion with other believers and the blood of Jesus which paid for our sins, cleanses us from all sin. If we refuse to acknowledge that there is sin in our lives, we deceive ourselves. If we admit that there is sin and confess those things which we know are sin, God is faithful to His covenant of forgiveness and He will not only forgive every sin we confess, but He will cleanse us from any sin and wrongdoing that we don’t yet recognize is in us.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO US?
We must first recognize the holiness and absolute purity of God. He is light. There is no sin or imperfection in Him; therefore, we cannot have close communion with God and live in sin, ignore His Word, the conviction of the Holy Spirit and refuse to repent. If we say that we walk closely with God, yet we ignore what God says, we are pretending, we are lying.
As Christ-followers, we are called to live in holiness. When we pursue holiness, it is evident by our true communion with the Lord and with other believers.
God knew that people who genuinely loved Him would still sin so He provided the solution: acknowledge and confess the sin(s) so that the complete forgiveness that Jesus paid for on the cross can be released to us. When we confess the sins we do recognize in our lives, God goes beyond forgiving us for the confessed sins… He totally washes us from any sin that we are not even aware of and therefore we have the ability to continue to walk in true, intimate fellowship with the Lord.
Response
Sin itself doesn’t keep us from walking closely with God, but unconfessed sin does. So, let’s come boldly, without shame, to the throne of grace and confess those things in our lives and hearts that we know are sin and displease the Lord. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin in us and as He does, lets confess that it is sin.
Sometimes we avoid confessing sin because we feel like we’re going to do it again and again, but that’s a trap to keep us in sin. Let’s confess all sin and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us to walk uprightly and to free us from all bondage.
If you have children in your home, let’s lead them to understand the power of confessing sin and let’s lead them to confess sin and receive complete forgiveness. Perhaps, your household needs to come together and confess as sin the way you have treated each other and talked to each other. How beautiful for households to repent, receive forgiveness and purpose to live in obedience to the Lord.
Let’s receive the forgiveness that belongs to us because of Jesus. Let’s refute any and all condemnation. Let’s walk in obedience and in the joy of being the righteousness of God in Christ!!