BUT…
“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 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 8-9)
If we confess our sins, He cleanses us from every ugly thing!
Oh, how I want to put a GIANT exclamation mark there!
Hallelujah! Our faithful and just Savior forgives our sins and cleanses those who call on Him as Lord from ALL unrighteousness!
And we need to understand and rejoice in this—the Greek word for “cleanse” here is in the present tense, meaning this is a continual cleansing!
Jesus is continually cleansing us from all unrighteousness as we confess our sins to Him.
Remember, even after salvation, we all still sin. If we say we don’t, we make Jesus a liar and the truth is not in us. (1John 1:10)
And, Jesus knew, before He ever went to the Cross, that we would continue to sin even after we realized what He had done for us!
Let
THAT
sink
in.
But Jesus is so filled with mercy and grace that He still love us. He still runs to us. He still calls us His own! This is our Savior!
No one else loves like this!
We could never earn that! We could never deserve that!
And friend, as we reflect on how GREAT the Father’s love for us, we should never, no, NOT EVER, be content to live in sin like it’s okay.
It is vital to be sick of our sin, and it is important to confess our sin as “sin”.
Let’s call it what it is. Let’s don’t sugarcoat it by calling it a “mistake”.
Because that sin is hurting us and others.
Let’s ask God to help us see it as He does.
Let’s remember, it’s out of His kindness that He shows us sin and leads us to repentance. (Rom 2:4)
Let’s understand when we hear the phrase “God is for you” -He is never for our sin.
Let’s agree with God that what He calls “sin” is sin, of which Christ took our penalty for it by dying a horrible death on the Cross.
Remembering this, we should turn from the sin with no plan to ever repeat that sin; and do whatever is necessary to walk away from it.
This is one reason it is important to confess our sins to one another and hold each other accountable.
This is why things like church discipline (Matt 18) are still important and loving ways to help each other follow Christ.
Oh friends, let’s rejoice in what Christ has done and is continually doing for us.
Let’s don’t ever take it for granted and act like our sin doesn’t matter!!
But let’s live with hearts intent on obeying Jesus, knowing full well we could never earn what He has done for us, motivated by love and gratefulness! ❤️
Kim Jaggers Ministry 