1 John 1 Devotional

Confession Met by Faithfulness

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”1 John 1:9 (BSB)

John begins with something he and others heard, saw with their own eyes, and touched with their hands, the Word of life who was with the Father and was made known to them (1:1-2). This is not a theory about God. It is testimony about a real person, shared so that readers can have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with each other (1:3).

Then John gives the message that shapes everything else: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all (1:5). That could sound frightening, since none of us is without sin, and John says plainly that anyone who claims otherwise is self-deceived (1:8). But the light is not where God exposes us and leaves us. Walking in it means being cleansed by the blood of Jesus from all sin (1:7). When we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us (1:9). Forgiveness rests on his faithfulness, not on the quality of our confession. Honesty with God is the safest place there is.

To think about: What sin have you been explaining away instead of simply confessing to the God who is faithful to forgive?