It is clear to the careful reader of the Word of God that the first demand of God on those who profess to have received the gift of salvation is that their lives should be holy. It is possible, and sad to say sometimes obvious, that some claim to hold faithfully to the truths of Scripture and yet are strangely careless of living a holy life. Thus it is that Peter exhorts his readers that "as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Pet 2.14-16). How many have experienced failure in this endeavour and, in despair, have concluded that living in such a way is beyond them and only to be enjoyed by a few.
Scripture does not teach that it is possible to be rid of all sin before we go to glory, although it makes clear that sin should be an abnormal thing in the life of a believer. What it does teach is that we can seek to avoid it, while reminding us that sinning affects our relationship with the Father. It robs us of joy, places us at a distance from Him, grips us with a feeling of failure, and is used of the Adversary to envelop us in an air of spiritual despondency. Something clearly is missing and we wonder where to turn.
This is where John provides a major part of the answer when he writes, "It we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn 1.9). Judicially, we have been forgiven all our sins, but fellowship with the Father is quite another matter, and that needs to be addressed when we sin. Sin costs us the close fellowship that He desires to have with us. If we wish to have that fellowship restored He has promised that it will be so when we confess our sins.
Now we come to the nub of the matter. What does "confessing" entail? Is it merely briefly mentioning in prayer that "I have sinned today", and then passing on? A close look at the word "confess" reveals that this is not the confession taught in Scripture. Being in the present tense indicates that it is something that should be done continuously, not merely occasionally when we feel that we have sinned in a particularly grievous manner. Second, to confess sins is to mention them in His presence. Third, we note that the word has the meaning of saying the same thing as another, and therefore to agree with the views of another.
What then must characterise our prayer life in this respect? Sins must be raised and mentioned in His presence. John uses the plural word "sins" indicating that we must name them individually, and, by so doing, admit to having committed them. It may be painful to do so, and will require us to consider carefully what we have done and why we have done it. Motive as well as action must be scrutinised and what is sinful brought into the open and named before the God whose name is "Holy" (Is 57.15). But even that is not enough. We must make it clear in prayer, and by our actions which follow, that we agree with the verdict that God has declared on these sins; we must stand on the same side as God on the issue. Without reservations of any kind we confess the shame of our actions, declare that we accept what He says of them, and determine to get rid of them out of our lives.
Holiness does not just happen. It requires spiritual determination; it demands that we be constantly on our guard, knowing that our enemy may move swiftly and unexpectedly to take us unawares; it will make us misunderstood by the world which at times may regard how we act with disdain. That matters not at all. What confession will do is keep our fellowship with the Father warm and close. It will change barren souls into full, cold hearts into warm, and parched days into times of refreshing. Try it! Next time you pray tell Him about it. Agree with His verdict, express your sorrow and distaste for that which you know to be sin, and then enjoy the closeness and warmth of the Father’s love. Your life will be changed and your family and assembly will know the difference. If we all lived like that, local church testimony would be transformed.
