If we confess our sin -He is faithful to forgive

 

1 John 1:6-2.2. Three important tests of profession are in these verses; they are introduced with the words ‘If we say.’ The first is in verse 6. It tests the profession of salvation. The ongoing walk of a true child of God must be in the light, for he has been delivered from darkness.

The second is in verse 8 and tests the profession of a person’s nature. Claiming sinlessness is untrue. The most spiritual believer is conscious of the ever-present inner desires of the flesh, resulting in the commission of various sins. What then is the way for a Christian to gain forgiveness? It is to pray, but this is not the normal prayer of communion; it involves confession of sin.

‘Confess’ is an interesting word; it means to ‘agree with’ or to ‘speak the same thing.’ Thus, when we confess, we are telling God about our sin and agreeing with His verdict on our conduct. When David sinned with Bathsheba, there was an initial period when he ‘kept silence’; he did not admit to God what he had done. When we do not confess sin, we experience the barrenness that was his at that time, Ps. 32:3–4. It all changed when he said, ‘I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.’

John shows that He who forgives our guilt when we confess it does so on an entirely righteous basis. He is faithful to His promises and is also just in relation to His own character. Forgiveness is also accompanied by cleansing from the defilement we incurred when we sinned; what wonderful grace!

The third test is of the profession of behaviour, v. 10. To say we have not sinned when we have is to reject God’s own testimony, thus making Him a liar. Some have made such claims, but we truly know that the most spiritual Christian is still susceptible to sin. When we do sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us. He is the indwelling ‘paraclete,’ and it is because of His work within that we make confession, and this enables the restoration of communion. But there is another ‘paraclete’; this is our Lord Jesus Christ, whose work of advocacy in the presence of the Father is invoked immediately we sin. This work is based upon His propitiation, which is always before the eye of God. This is why our union and security are maintained.