Confession and Cleansing for the Believer

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

My little children, these things I write to you, that you sin not. And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father; Jesus the righteous. -1 John 2:1

This scripture reveals the third type of Bible confession—the believer’s confession of sin. Notice John said, “My little children,” so he’s talking to the Church. When we’re born again, God looks at us through the blood of Jesus as though we never sinned in our lives. We’re cleansed by the blood of Jesus and robed in white robes of righteousness. Old things are passed away; all things have become new. (2 Cor. 5:17)

But what if we make a mistake after we’re born again? What do we do then? God doesn’t condone our sin, but He has made provision for it. He knows that as long as we’re on this earth in the flesh, we’ll have difficulty. The devil tries to push us in one direction, and the flesh tries to drag us into mistakes from another direction.

So God says, “These things write I unto you, that you sin not.” He’s telling us not to sin. But if we do make a mistake, we have an Advocate, a legal representative, in heaven to go to the Father on our behalf. How do we make use of that Advocate? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If we do our part, God does Hi.

Does this verse say, “He’s faithful and just to forgive our sins but will hold them against us the rest of our lives”? No, God won’t remind us of our mistakes and shortcomings. When we confess our sins to Him, He cleanses us of all unrighteousness and makes us as pure as if we’d never sinned.

So this third type of confession involves the confession of sins, but it’s not the way the world gets saved. (Remember, we are saved by confessing Jesus as Lord.) The confession of sins is the way the Church stays in fellowship with the Father.

CONFESSION:

I seek to please God in all I do and say. But even when I miss the mark, He’s made a way to cleanse me by the blood of His Son. I walk in righteousness, for I am in Christ Jesus and follow the leading of the Spirit of God.

From: A Devotional for Divine Health Prescription for a Miracle, Mark Brazee, 1999