Mike Focht 2/7/2025
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 us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9
Confession is a basic biblical command. We are not called to excuse our sin, hide our sin, compartmentalize our sin, justify our sin, or claim that we are without sin. God calls each of us to approach Him sincerely and confess our sins. Every good work God wants to accomplish in our lives begins with a humble sinner at the foot of the cross.
Confessing our sins is more than acknowledging that we have sinned in the past. To confess sin is to say the same thing about our sin God does, whether those sins are past, present, or future. If we come to the Lord with our sexual sin, we cannot talk about it in comparison with the sin of others, or in comparison with cultural norms, or in comparison with our own standard of what sin is. Those reactions are not true biblical confessions. Many believers still struggle with guilt, condemnation, and a true sense of God-given forgiveness because they are coming to God without biblical confession.
When we come to God with our sins, we must confess our sins to be as sinful as God sees them to be. The true confessor is agreeing with God against himself. This is where all restoration must start. Something in our repentance will break down if we come seeking to confess part of our sin but cover, mitigate, or excuse the rest. Something in my repentance will break down if I demand that others see my sin from my point of view and not from God’s point of view. Something in my repentance will break down if I cannot agree with how God calls me to bring my sin to Him.
Confessing sin should not be something that makes us fearful. God already knows our sins better than we do! He asks that we come to Him in agreement with all that He says about our various sins. Once our sin is inexcusable (as God says all sin is), then God’s incredible gifts of forgiveness, justification, grace, and cleansing come alive. Once we truly confess sin, God promises to faithfully and justly forgive us and cleanse us.
This is often where our wicked and doubting hearts waver at God’s exceedingly great promises. We worry that He really won’t forgive us. We worry that He really won’t cleanse us. We worry that we will somehow inexplicably mess the whole thing up. We cannot understand how or why God will forgive and cleanse us as He claims.
No matter how we feel about our sins, God’s Word stands. Our only job is to get on our knees before our Savior and agree with Him about our sins. Own His condemnation of sin and cast yourself at His feet. Once you do, don’t worry about how forgiveness and cleansing will come. Trust the Word of your faithful and just Savior.
Through the cross of Jesus Christ, God’s forgiveness is ours, and God’s cleansing is ours. That is what the Bible teaches. That is where all restoration begins.
I want to add one more practical point of action here. Depending on our sin, it is very likely that we must also confess before others. You may need to confess your sin before a spouse, a family member, a pastor, or a group of people. If we can genuinely agree with God about our sins, we will also be able to agree with Him and confess His opinion of our sins before others when our sins have affected them. The angry father who confesses his temper before God should also be able to confess it before his wife and kids.
That said, if you must hide your confession or repentance before men, it is very likely that your confession and repentance before God has not been biblical or thorough. When he came to his senses and returned home, the prodigal son could confess: Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. The man who confesses before heaven should have no issue confessing before men. The man who remains too prideful to confess before men has likely deceived himself as to the validity of his confession before God.
Confession is extremely humbling, but we will never be delivered from our sins if we refuse to humble ourselves. The only way to move forward in our walk with Christ is in the light. We must be able to say what God says about our sins before God and men. Confess before God and men, remain in the light, and allow God to begin His work of cleansing, purity, and growth!