I Confess

v.1:

Only a person who is forgiven can truly be called blessed.

Why is it such a blessing that our sins are forgiven?

Forgiveness is a blessing because our sin has earned us a death sentence

Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No one is sinless

Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 NKJV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:10

Romans 3:10 NKJV

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

Jesus took the penalty on Himself

Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 NKJV

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Peter 3:18

1 Peter 3:18 NKJV

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

God has given this to all who would believe

John 3:16

John 3:16 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 NKJV

that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

God does not bless the unbeliever, because the unbeliever is not forgiven

John 3:18

John 3:18 NKJV

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

v.2:

One who is forgiven, does not have to face God’s wrath.

Believers are not appointed to wrath

1 Thessalonians 5:9

1 Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 5:9

Romans 5:9 NKJV

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

2 Peter 2:9

2 Peter 2:9 NKJV

then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,

vv.3-4:

However, to experience the fullness of God’s forgiveness, we must confess our sins to Him.

At this point, David had been hiding his sins for almost a year and he is realizing what an idiot he had been.

He may have been attempting to hide them, but God already knew, and David was suffering the consequences of his dishonesty.

When we don’t confess our sins, there are consequences.

It causes stress and anxiety, which lead to physical issues. This is exactly what David is speaking about in these verses.

Stress and anxiety are serious issues, and they have very real consequences.

God had chastened David for almost a year.

“Chastening isn’t a judge punishing a criminal; it’s a loving Father dealing with His disobedient children to bring them willingly to the place of surrender.” - Warren Wiersbe

It had been a miserable year for David, but God did not let up until David humbled himself and confessed his sins.

 In the words of Charles Spurgeon:

“God does not permit His children to sin successfully.”  - Charles Spurgeon

v.5:

This brings us to the words of John.

1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 NKJV

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This promise is often quoted as a remedy for dealing with sin in a believer’s life. Simply identify and acknowledge the sin, and all is forgiven. This is true.

All it takes is to ask. God's children should always be ready to admit their sins, and ask forgiveness.

You may ask: If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death, why do I have to confess my sins? 

In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are doing three things:

We are agreeing with God that our sin truly is sin and that we are willing to turn from it.

We are ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from him and consequently from ourselves.

We are recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.

Sin breaks the believer's fellowship with God, and confession to God is imperative if that relationship is to be restored. 

Someone who would never asks for forgiveness is completely insensitive to how he grieves God.

The last part of this verse is also vitally important.

Just as in our Scripture from 1 John, The Lord will forgive those believers who will be honest and confess to Him.

He wants His people to be cleansed from all unrighteousness

1 John 1:7

1 John 1:7 NKJV

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The word cleanse in the Greek text is a strong word, which carries the idea of purging or purifying.

The sin not only is to be confessed, it must be purged, and the believer purified.

Jesus Christ gave His life to cleanse and purify us

Hebrews 1:3

Hebrews 1:3 NKJV

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

This so that God can be “faithful and just to forgive us our sins” on the basis of His cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us

Titus 2:14

Titus 2:14 NKJV

who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

What is confession?

To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right and that what we have done as sinful and wrong.

It means that we intend to repent from that sin in order to follow Him more faithfully.

Confession of our sins is necessary to become more like Him.

When He appears, we will see him as He is; therefore, we should be make an effort to be as much like Him as possible.

This hope of the appearing of Jesus is a promise, and we should strive to be ready.

And everyone who has the hope of Jesus Christ is pure

1 John 3:2-3

1 John 3:2–3 NKJV

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

vv.6-7:

“for this cause”

If we aren’t in the habit of praying, we certainly won’t confess our sins.

When we draw near to God, He draws near to us. He is our defender

The Lord is our defender

Romans 8:31

Romans 8:31 NKJV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 John 4:4

1 John 4:4 NKJV

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Psalm 18:2

Psalm 18:2 NKJV

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

The Lord is gracious and forgiving

His forgiveness of our sins is accompanied by a purging and purifying of our lives.

Forgiveness has always been part of his loving nature.

It began with Adam and Eve.

He announced to Moses

Exodus 34:6

Exodus 34:6 NKJV

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,

He showed it to David

He demonstrated it to the world in Jesus Christ.

He forgives our sin, purges our record, and shows that we can have this joyous experience of forgiveness through faith in Christ.