The Bible teaches that God loves to forgive our sins. All we have to do is to confess them and, where necessary, turn from them (Luke 15:18–22). The most common sins for those with genuine faith are sinful actions that are not premeditated. They involve moments of weakness. Other sins are more deeply rooted and, in some cases, so deeply rooted that we may not even consciously be aware they are sin patterns. But God will help us to see them and turn from them in time.
God forgives us as we walk in the light with a humble faith in him. The apostle John describes how those with genuine faith are to deal with sin:
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:6–9)
This passage shows that Jesus’ blood continues to cleanse us as we walk with him, even when we are not conscious of our sin. And when we become conscious of our sin—from the teaching of God’s Word or as the Holy Spirit reveals it inwardly—we are to confess it. As soon as we confess it with a genuine, repentant heart, God forgives us instantly!
“When we become conscious of our sin—from the teaching of God’s Word or as the Holy Spirit reveals it inwardly—we are to confess it.”
There are four points to keep in mind to help us maintain a healthy and balanced perspective when it comes to the sin with which we all must handle. The first point comes cumulatively from other passages we looked at: If a person persists in living in an ongoing, deliberately sinful way, then this person is living without saving faith. As the text says, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (1 John 1:6).
Hebrews 10:26 gives us another vantage point on the same behavior: we are in danger with God “if we deliberately keep on sinning.” The problem is both deliberate sin (rebellion) and staying in the sin (i.e., it is ongoing). These are people not walking in the light, but in darkness. They are deceiving themselves and others if they claim to have fellowship with God. But the opposite is also true: someone who is walking in God’s direction and living a responsive, Christ-centered lifestyle while struggling with sin can still boldly have confidence of forgiveness.
This text leads us to the second insight: struggling with sin is part of a genuine faith in Christ. Our basic lifestyle testifies to our faith and our security because it demonstrates we are true believers (1 John 5:12–13). We still have the ongoing certainty of salvation.
“Someone who is walking in God’s direction and living a responsive, Christ-centered lifestyle while struggling with sin can still boldly have confidence of forgiveness.”
The Word of God is crystal clear: to walk in the light includes the continuing struggle with sin. Years ago I came across the writings of Chuck Jones, who points out what 1 John 1:7–9 teaches:
“Walking in the light” does not mean, however, that you have rid yourself of every sinful act. The verse itself makes this clear—one of the two blessings we receive as a result of this walk is that Jesus’ blood “cleanses us from every sin.” That phrase is meaningless if a person is not walking in the light until he has conquered every sin. Sinning, not as a lifestyle, but as an occasional act, is part of walking in the light.[1]
This is an important clarification. As mentioned earlier, all Christians continue to struggle with sin throughout this life (James 3:2). But the difference is that faithful Christians resist rebellious and ongoing sin. We are to look at the basic direction of our lives and our relationship with God, by which we can know our faith is real and making a difference in our lives.
“We are to look at the basic direction of our lives and our relationship with God, by which we can know our faith is real and making a difference in our lives.”
Third, when we become conscious of our sin, we stop and come to God with our transgression(s). We acknowledge it by being honest with ourselves and we confess it to God. The presupposition in 1 John 1 is that we are repentant after we sin because we strive to walk in the light of Jesus. We do not want to sin, yet we become weak, and then stumble and fall. It happens to every one of us.
Sometimes we stumble into sin regularly and it bothers our consciences. What do we do? We confess our sins directly to God and hold to full confidence that through Jesus, God forgives us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Please note: God promises to forgive us immediately. We do not need to do anything more. There is no version of personally doing something good to overcome the sin we have committed; the Word of God requires no acts of penance. By faith, we acknowledge, confess, and trust the blood of Jesus. What a wonderful promise: our Savior purifies us from all unrighteous acts.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Fourth, while we walk in Christ’s light, the cleansing from sin never stops. Again, consider an observation from Chuck Jones:
Here lies the most liberating revelation in the highly liberating verse: the cleansing of Jesus never stops. . . . An occasional sin does not stop the cleansing power of Jesus. It is instead the very thing that calls the power into action. . . . I’m convinced that whether they know it or not, the majority of committed Christians live their entire lives from the moment of their baptism to the hour of their death without spending one day in danger of hellfire. The cleansing never stops. Only one thing can cause it to cease: my making the premeditated decision to abandon Jesus’ lifestyle, leave all he stands for and rebel against his Lordship.[2]
A God-ward direction in our lives authenticates our faith and gives us great reassurance.
We know that when we sin, the blood of Christ will continually cleanse us. We are perpetually forgiven as long as we cling to him by faith. In this way the apostle John teaches us how to know we are on the path of authentic faith (1 John 5:13).
[1] Chuck Jones, “Walking in the Light,” Image (September 1987): 24.
[2] Ibid., 25.
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