Sometimes it is hard to believe that God forgives us simply because we confess our sins. We are tempted to think that it takes more than confession.
Here are some things, in addition to confessing their sins, that people think they need to do in order to be forgiven:
- Feel very sorry for their sins.i
- Fast for one or more meals.
- Pray earnestly and repeatedly for forgiveness.
- Read the Bible.
- Go to church.
- Confess their sins to a priest.
- Give money to their church.
Of course, all of those are things people think they need to do to have (or keep) everlasting life. That should be no surprise, since many people (wrongly) equate the forgiveness of sins with everlasting life.
Step one to knowing you are forgiven is realizing that forgiveness is not the same as everlasting life. At the moment we believe in Christ, we have everlasting life that can never be lost (John 3:16). However, as we walk in the light of God’s Word (1 John 1:7), we will recognize sins in our life. If we confess the sins of which we are aware, God forgives us of those sins and cleanses us of all sins (1 John 1:9). We need ongoing forgiveness. We do not need fresh infusions of everlasting life.
Step two is to believe what God says. First John 1:7 and 1:9 are clear: As long as we are walking in the light of God’s Word and confessing our known sins, we are forgiven. Forgiveness is not a feeling. Forgiveness is not something tangible. It is interpersonal. God forgives us as we walk in fellowship with Him.
Step three is to realize that feelings are fickle. We cannot rely on feelings to know we are forgiven any more than we can rely on feelings to know we are citizens of our country, are born again, are right-handed, or are male or female. Facts are facts and feelings are just feelings.
Step four is to separate knowledge of our forgiveness from grief over negative consequences of our sin. King David committed adultery and murder. His adulterous relationship with Bathsheba led to the birth of a son. God forgave David for the adultery and murder. However, the baby boy became deathly ill. David fasted, wept, and prayed for God to spare the life of the boy. When the baby died, David washed his face and ate because he realized that the matter was settled. He accepted the child’s death and knew that they would one day be reunited in Sheol, the place of the dead (2 Sam 12:22-23). I imagine he grieved the death of that boy for a long time. But David knew he was forgiven and that he was in fellowship with God. He recognized that grief didn’t indicate a lack of forgiveness.
We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). We might paraphrase that as: We walk by faith, not by what we see or feel.
Keep grace in focus and you will confess your known sins, be forgiven, and continue to walk in fellowship with God.
i I remember Joe asking Zane Hodges at a Lord’s Supper meeting, “How sorry do we need to be for our sins in order to be forgiven.” Zane’s answer was, “You don’t need to be sorry for your sins. You need to be honest with God about them.” That is what confession is. It is honestly telling God that you realize you sinned. That led to a discussion about desiring to please God. Confession is always in the context of someone walking in the light (1 John 1:7). If a believer is not walking in the light, like the prodigal son who was in the spiritual far country, then the condition for forgiveness is repentance, that is, turning from the far country and going back to the father (Luke 15:11-32). A believer who is walking in the light wants to please God. If you sin and are glad you did and you look forward to doing it again, then confession of your sin will not result in forgiveness because you are out of fellowship with God. You will need to repent of your sin to get back into fellowship and be forgiven. But if you sin and confess it while walking in the light, you are forgiven and you do not obsess over how sorry you are.
