(The following is the November 20 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read 1 John 1 and pay close attention to verses 5-10.)
Confessing sins to God has always been part of the Christian life. We do so in our initial submission to Christ as Lord when we come to him in repentance and faith, and we continue throughout our lives. Why? That depends on whether we are talking about our salvation experience or our daily walk with Christ as believers.
As unbelievers, we are dead in our sins and destined for eternal judgment. Our greatest need is forgiveness and being declared righteous by God so that we become his children for eternity. As we become aware of our separation from God and experience godly sorrow for our sins, we bow before him in confession, asking for his forgiveness and surrendering to the lordship of Christ. When we do, God hears, forgives, and adopts us as his own.
If God forgives our sins when we experience salvation, why do we continue to confess them afterward? All sin is offensive to God, whether we are already his children or not. Sin doesn’t negate a believer’s salvation but hurts our relationship with him and our witness to others. We need the humbling experience of bowing before God, confessing our sins, thanking him for forgiveness, and pleading for the presence and power of his Spirit to make us more Christlike.
John says of sin, confession, and God’s response: “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (vv. 8-10).
If our purpose is to glorify God, one way to do that is to acknowledge our sins to him, rest in his forgiveness, and enjoy a renewed relationship with God that encourages holy living.
Next Step:
Confess all known sins to God in prayer. Thank him for his forgiveness, and pray for the Holy Spirit’s presence and power to keep from repeating those sins in the future.
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