If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 john 1:9
John presents us with twin truths: Sin remains in us, and God forgives our sin. How are we to respond to these truths? Here are two dangers.
1. We acquiesce in our sin.
We say to ourselves, “Everybody sins. And God loves me as I am. He forgives the sins of everyone who believes in Jesus.” We hear the truth that God forgives, and we acquiesce in our remaining sin.
But Jesus did not die on the cross so that we could remain in our sins. Peter tells us the reason Jesus died: “that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24).
John tells us: “If we confess our sins, [God] is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9). Then he says, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 Jn. 2:1). In other words, “Don’t ever use that as a reason to sin. That would be to walk in darkness, and you can’t have fellowship with God there.”
2. We despair over our sin.
Or we say to ourselves, After all I’ve learnt from God’s Word, after all I’ve seen of God’s goodness, after all I’ve received from His hand, why am I not more godly? Am I really a Christian at all?
The first danger is that we see God’s gracious forgiveness but give in to our sinful desires. The second is that we see our own remaining sin and give in to despair. John is leading us, and he wants to guard us from falling off the cliffs that are close by on either side.
Which of these two cliffs are you more in danger of falling off—acquiescing to your sin or despairing over it?
