“True Confessions”
I John 1:5-10
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If you are a Christian you are the target of my message this morning. I wanted to tell you up front so that everyone could get into the context of what I’m about to say. I’ve been observing Christians for over 40 years now and hopefully during that time I’ve learned a little about how God’s people need to live in today’s world. One thing that stands out is that there are many who are saved who don’t seem to be very happy; that is they don’t manifest joy in their lives. You can tell that they are not enjoying their Christian experience because they seem miserable. I believe that there is a reason for this and the reason is that they have unconfessed sin in their lives and no Christian will ever be happy if that is the case. King David is a wonderful example of this truth. In Psalms 51:12 he prayed: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Thankfully the Lord has provided a remedy for this in His Word and that’s what I’m speaking to you about today.
Ill- How many of you are old enough to remember a magazine called? True Confessions is a confession magazine targeted at young women readers. It was originally published by Fawcett Publications, beginning in 1922. With a cover price of 25 cents, the front cover of the October, 1922, issue heralded, "Our Thousand Dollar Prize Winner—'All Hell Broke Loose'." During the 1920s, Jack Smalley was the editor, and early issues in the run sometimes featured cover illustrations by Norman Saunders. Directed at a female readership between the ages of 20 and 35, the magazine climbed to a circulation of two million during the 1930s, carrying such articles as "The Romantic Story of Jack Dempsey's Cinderella Bride." True Confessions was in competition with rival publishers of Real Confessions, and Crime Confessions). What do these magazines have in common? They all deal with confessions or the exposure of the truth. People are by nature very interested in knowing what happened and when and where and how. Some times this desire to know becomes an obsession. God is interested in confession too. I’m not taking about going into a little booth in a church and telling a priest what you feel guilty about. He wants the truth from us so that He can forgive us and renew a right standing within us. Our text tells us that sin is possible in the life of a believer and the remedy that God has provided.
I. Forgiveness is possible when we confess to God
a. The fact that we sin
1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
b. The “fessing up” to sin
To confess means to agree to a thing and confessing our sins means that we agree with God about what we have done! King David finally came to a place of confession after his awful sins with Bathsheba and in Psalm 32 we read:
Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Paul speaks of dealing with sin in Hebrews:
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
c. The forsaking of sin
ILL - Several years ago, I read Patrick Morley’s book “Walking with Christ in the Details of Life.” It is a book of meditations that includes one called “Revival: The Gospel of Addition.” In it, he said the following, “The American gospel has evolved into a gospel of addition without subtraction. It is the belief that we can add Christ to our lives, but not subtract sin. It is a change in belief without a change in behavior… A changed life is one that has added Christ and subtracted sin.
The Scriptures make it plain that we cannot “walk in the light, as he is in the light…” unless there is a forsaking of sin. When we were children we probably were sorry when we got caught doing something, with our “hand in the cookie jar” but when we are really ready to deal with our sin there will be a desire to “forsake it” and “…go and sin not more!”
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
II. Forgiveness is possible because of the character of God
a. His faithfulness
This means that God is faithful to His promises and one of those promises is to forgive our sins when we confess them openly and honestly. He is true to His Word. If He failed to forgive than He would not be God for that would violate His word.
Vincent Word Studies: “(God is) True to His own nature and promises; keeping faith with Himself and with man. The word is applied to God as fulfilling His own promises (Heb 10:23) Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;); (Heb 11:11) Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.; as fulfilling the purpose for which He has called men (1Th 5:24) Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.; (1Co 1:9) God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.; as responding with guardianship to the trust reposed in Him by men (1Co 10:13) There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.; (1Pe 4:19) Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. (2Ti 2:13) If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.. The same term is applied to Christ (2Th 3:3) But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.; God's faithfulness is here spoken of not only as essential to His own being, but as being faithful toward us.”
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
b. His fairness
The word just means “rightness” and reminds that penitent sinner that God will keep his promise to forgive and cleanse because He is righteous. To do anything else would be inconsistent with who and what He is.
Psalms 33:4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.
III. Forgiveness produces cleansing from God
a. Pardon from sin
To forgive means “to let go” In forgiveness God let’s go of our sins and “remembers them no more.”
b. Purification from sin
Guilt is a powerful emotion and when we truly confess our sins to God he removes the sense of guilt and shame we feel.
2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
c. Peace about sin
Isaiah 57:15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
PRESIDENT IN YOU
ILL - As someone aptly stated, "Jesus does not just want to be resident in you, He wants to be president in you."
ILL - A Soapmaker, who was not saved, walked along the road with a preacher one day. He said to
the preacher, “The gospel you preach has not done much good. There is still a lot of wickedness in the
world, and wicked people, too.” Quietly they walked on. The preacher did not reply to his friend’s
comment until they passed a dirty little child making mudpies in the gutter. With this before them, the preacher spoke, “Soap has not done much good in the world, I see; for there is still much dirt in the world, and many dirty people about.” “O, well, you know,” said the Soapmaker, “soap is only useful when it is applied.” “Exactly,” said the preacher, “so it is with the gospel we proclaim.”
Like the soap confession of sin leads us to purity but is only good when we apply it.
