When I was in high school, geometry was a tough class for me. All those if/then statements and telling why you could do the operations were above my head. I have always been a word person. Numbers, not so much.
1 John 1:9 is an if/then statement that I can understand:
IF we confess our sins
THEN God, the Faithful and Just, will forgive us and cleanse us.
Simple. Profound.
Somehow, though, we have lost this truth. We either make it seem more difficult or unnecessary. Opposite ends of the spectrum.
Confession isn’t a long drawn-out process to be held until someone in leadership is available to share it with. It’s simply agreeing with God that the thing you just did, the choice you just made, the thing you should have but didn’t do, was anti-God—against His Word and His will. Since God is always with us, we can do this anywhere at any moment.
His Word says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus—believers. That goes hand in hand with what John wrote. We get it in our heads that if we confess that we’ve sinned, we’re in for big trouble. We’ll have to do some sort of penance, endure some sort of punishment if we confess. God says, “Nope!” All you’ll have to endure is the unwavering, unyielding love and forgiveness of the One who is completely just and who is your judge. You’ll also have to withstand having Him cleanse you of all that wicked residue that clings.
Believer, if you want to have a way to determine your growing maturity in Christ, use this:
Measure the amount of time between your sin and your confession.
As your maturity in Him grows, that time will become shorter.
That seems a worthy goal for today.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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