Today's encouragement comes from 1 John 1:10, where we read these words:
"If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him [God] a liar, and His word is not in us."Sin is an insidious thing. If we acknowledge it, we must confess it and repent of it—receiving fresh absolution in Jesus’ blood. If we do not acknowledge sin, we sin even worse (by pretending it does not exist). The best thing to do, in confessing sin, is to be as honest with God as we possibly can be. This re-quires God's gracious and loving assistance.
Confession of sin usually has these two temptations attached to it: 1) to say things to God that we do not really mean (just to ease our conscience); or, 2) to confess things to God which (in themselves) are really not sin at all. Again: the key is candor. May the Lord help us know our hearts well enough, in order to make good confession to Him; and then to enjoy our full freedom in Christ.
[Puritan quote of the week: "The eyes of our souls cannot be towards God unless He has cast a gracious look upon us first.” —Richard Sibbes, in, "The Bruised Reed"]
