We need to confess to the Lord
January 16, 2009 (Friday)
When you receive Christ into your heart, you are declared righteous. You are “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1). Somewhere along the journey, however, you disappoint yourself by doing something you should not have done. In plain language, you sin. Wow! In the excitement of your new experience in Christ, you must have thought you were through with sin. Sadly, now you know the truth: you still falter and fail in your walk with Christ. This is a startling realization for you. You had such high hopes for your life, but self asserted itself and now you feel disillusioned. It may help you to know that the Apostle Peter had such experiences himself. He openly said to Jesus, “I will never deny you,” but, within a matter of hours, he did deny that he even knew anybody named Jesus. He was emotionally crushed and wept bitterly, knowing he had failed.
In 1 John 1, this subject of sin and the Christian is discussed, and to sum it up in a few words, John said, “We don’t plan to sin or want to sin, and usually we don’t, but sometimes we do, and when that happens, if we confess our sins, he always forgives us.”
The fact of the matter is, as unattainable as it may be, our goal is to live a perfect life. We never reach that goal, however, so that keeps us moving toward it. If we could attain perfection in this life, what then? We would have it only until we begin to grow proud of our attainment, and in so doing, realize anew that we are imperfect. We are not perfect, but we would like to be, so we keep on drawing nearer to the Lord, always desiring to live like Jesus. When we fall short, we ask forgiveness, and the Lord always forgives, because He loves us dearly. Yes, He loves you.
When we sin, the best way to deal with it is to confess it to the Lord immediately. If we try to keep it secret, it festers like an infection. If we try to cover it up, it begins to show itself in embarrassing ways. We need to commit to memory and take to heart 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The Christian life is not a matter of rules and regulations; it is a matter of loving the Lord. If we love Him, we want to do things His way.
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