If We Confess

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

I John 1:9 

How does God forgive us every day, even when we sin, often in the same way? Our text answers that question. Once again, it links repentance and forgiveness.  The one is predicated upon the other. We know ourselves. We sin daily in thought, word, and deed. If we are honest, not one day passes when we do not break the law of God, by either failing to fulfill something it requires or engaging in something it prohibits. Thus, our need for forgiveness is abundantly clear. How do we gain that daily cleansing that Christ illustrated when He washed the feet of the disciples? The answer is, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.’ Even in the matter of our sanctification, in which the Spirit enables us to die more and more unto sin, repentance plays a part. Thus we maintain the kind of relationship with God that is warm, fresh, and vital. We want that kind of fellowship with Him. Although we falter and fail, He has made a way through Christ.  

Our Gracious, Forgiving God, 
we rejoice that You give us daily access to You. 
We praise You that You have opened for us 
the fountain of cleansing.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning