Posted on 05/28/2019 1:26:16 PM PDT by metmom
“‘“And forgive us our debts”’” (Matthew 6:12).
God will not forgive our sins if we do not confess them. John makes that condition clear when he declares, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Confession simply means we agree with God that our sins are evil and defiling and we do not want them to taint our walk with Christ.
Our sinful pride makes it difficult to confess sin, but it is the only way to the free and joyful Christian life (cf. Prov. 28:13). John Stott said, “One of the surest antidotes to the process of moral hardening is the disciplined practice of uncovering our sins of thought and outlook as well as word and deed and the repentant forsaking of the same.”
We must never take God’s promise of forgiveness as a license for sin or as an excuse to presume on His grace. Instead we must view forgiveness as an aid to our sanctification and be constantly thankful to the Lord for His loving forgiveness.
Your prayer ought to coincide with the Puritan one: “Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, and the exceeding wonder of grace. I am guilty but pardoned. I am lost but saved. I am wandering but found. I am sinning but cleansed. Give me perpetual broken-heartedness. Keep me always clinging to Thy cross.”
Ask Yourself
How can one walk in an awareness of his own wretchedness while also living in the confidence of Christ’s righteousness and salvation? Actually, it is only by realizing our great need for Him that we can enjoy the grace that overwhelms our sin. Seek this biblical balance in your own life.
Studying God’s Word ping
Then how can anyone go to Heaven?? If you have even one speck of sin on you then you will not go to heaven. So the smallest unconfessed sin out of a myriad would send you to H*ll. How does this statement work if anyone is to go to Heaven??
When we come to God and confess and repent, He saves us.
We don’t lose our salvation on a sin by sin basis, because we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
And besides, no way under the sun that anyone could ever remember all the sin they committed. I think we aren’t even aware of the half of it honestly.
But when we come to God as the publican in Jesus story, then God forgives us of our sinfulness and saves us.
Future sin can interfere with the lines of communication and grieve the Holy Spirit, but they can’t unsave us.
Believe what you want, but when you wag your sanctimonious theological finger in my face, I am going to call you on it.
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