1 John 1:9–If We Confess God is Faithful

1 John 1:9–"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

The proposition is invariably simple: confess sin and trust in God.  In reality, it is perhaps the simplicity that poses the the great difficulty for humans; we assume that something so profound must be complicated.  But God, while being eternally complex yet effortlessly simple, has made the forgiveness of sin a straightforward ordeal.

The difficulty, then, is not in the transaction of confession and forgiveness but, rather, in the will of the sinner.  Until we recognize the depravity within us we will render ourselves wholly unable to confess that depravity unto God for forgiveness and salvation.  It is not, as it were, an issue of intellect that prevents people from coming to God in faith; it is, and it has always been, a problem of will.

As we ponder the reality of this in our own lives, my prayer is that we would all take a heartfelt and sincere look into ourselves so as to come to God in authentic humility and penitent praise.