Can God Really Forgive My Sin? 1 John 1:9

A sermon preached at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs on Sunday, September 27, 2009 by Pastor Joe Alain.

Series: Foundations: Lessons On Assurance

This Week's Assurance: Assurance of Forgiveness

Scripture Verse: 1 John 1:9, NIV

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Christians aren’t perfect just forgiven. Because salvation does not mean that we are perfect, we do sin and we must ask God for forgiveness. But we sometimes have a two-fold problem when it comes to seeking forgiveness. Sometimes we don’t feel as if we have any sin and do not need forgiveness. John speaking to believers in 1 John 1:8 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” We have a difficult time admitting that we need to be forgiven. The other problem is that we wonder if God can really forgive our sin? We sin and we feel bad because we’ve already talked to God about it, and here we are again.

The truth of our Scripture today is that you and I can have the assurance of forgiveness. Because of what God has done for us in Christ (i.e., His work on the cross), forgiveness for the believer is assured. Let’s read that promise of assurance together. Read 1 Jn 1:9.

Before we look specifically at what this verse says, I want us to examine the need of forgiveness in our lives. Why if God has saved us, forgiven us, do we need forgiveness? Jesus illustrated the need of daily cleansing in our lives when He washed Peter’s feet in the Upper Room. Peter did not want Jesus to wash his feet. When he finally allowed Jesus to wash his feet, He told Jesus, “not just my feet but hands and head as well!” (Jn. 14:9). Jesus in turn said, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean” (Jn. 14:10). What was Jesus trying to say? If you are saved, you have been spiritually bathed, you have been washed. But as you walk in this world, you’re feet are going to get dirty. You don’t need another bath; that is, you don’t get saved every time you sin, but you do need to wash your feet; that is, you need daily cleansing from sin. The reason being that sin by its very nature is an obstacle to our fellowship with God and our experiencing God’s abundant life. Remember, sin doesn’t cause you to lose your relationship with God, but it does hinder your fellowship with God.

You and I can do one of three things with our sin. (1) We can cast if off as unimportant, treat it lightly. Redefine it, which is what the world has done with sin. Several years ago a book came out that was a best seller with the title, Whatever Happened to Sin? That’s a good question. What God calls an abomination, today people call an alternative lifestyle. What God calls iniquity, people call an illness. What God calls wickedness, people call weakness.

Sin has been redefined today. If you are lazy you are “Motivationally Dispossessed.” Dishonest – “Ethically Disoriented.” Serial killer – “Socially Misaligned.” Shoplifter – engaged in “Non-Traditional Shopping.” These would be funny if they were not so serious. While seeming to be caring and compassionate ways of describing people’s behavior, these descriptions make the mistake of failing to confront people with their sin.

(2) A second way of dealing with sin is that we can evade our responsibility, blame someone else for our actions. Or (3) We can confess our sin which is the only way to receive God’s forgiveness.

Let’s look together at God’s wonderful promise of forgiveness.
I. The Condition of Forgiveness (1:9a)
“If we confess our sins” “If” (third class conditional clause) tells us confession is a choice; a decision. Forgiveness is conditioned upon something, that something being we must “confess our sins.” What does it mean to “confess our sins”? To confess is to literally say the same thing as God says. It is naming your sin whether it be a thought or action before God. You agree with Him that it is sin. Confession is owning up to our sin.

Jim Meek citing various contemporary illustrations writes that apologies just aren’t what they used to be. Apologies are deployed as a celebrity bailout, a media strategy, and a legal tactic. People want the results of forgiveness without the confession, the clean slate without any action or true remorse on their part. We want clemency without confession. Three days before Edwin Edwards left office, he pardoned 56 people, a good number were convicted murderers. No confession was required. He pardoned 599 persons from 1992-1996. Clemency in this life may be given without confession; however, God’s divine pardon is experienced when (and only when) we “confess our sins,” when we come clean.

See Psalm 32:1-5. When David acknowledged his sin, God forgave Him and removed his guilt. Confession is uncovering our sins, rather than sweeping the dirt of our lives under the carpet. Truth to know: When we uncover (confess) our sins, God covers them. But when we try to cover our sins, God will uncover them (see Prov. 28:13).

This uncovering, confession of sin is to be an ongoing experience. It is a daily cleansing. “Confess” is a present tense verb and means “to keep on confessing.” You’re feet are going to get dirty in this life and God has made a way for you and I to be cleansed. Confession is a way of life for the believer. As soon as we become aware of a thought or action that is not pleasing to God, there is to be instantaneous confession on our part and instantaneous cleansing on God’s part.

I. The Condition of Forgiveness (1:9a)
II. The Confidence of Forgiveness (1:9b)
“He is faithful and just” Just like every promise we have in Scripture, our assurance of forgiveness is based on the faithfulness of God. We are confident that God will forgive our sins when we confess because we have complete confidence in the faithfulness of God. When we confess our sins we need to claim with confidence that God is faithful and has forgiven us. One man was consulting with his pastor because he was being tormented by guilt over a past sin. The pastor asked him if he had confessed his sin to God. The man said, “yes, I’ve confessed it a hundred times.” The wise pastor said, “that’s 99 times too many. You should have confessed it once and thanked God 99 times for forgiving you.”

God is not only faithful but He is “just.” Wouldn’t God’s justice demand that He not forgive us? If God is just can He really forgive my sin? How can God forgive me, a sinner, and still be just? Because God’s demand for perfect justice has been perfectly met in Jesus. If God forgave people apart from the cross of Jesus, He would be unjust. He would be treating sin lightly. But God does not treat sin lightly. Sin must be punished. It must be paid for if God is to forgive and the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that your sin and mine has been paid for in Jesus Christ.

God does not extend pardons without justice. God maintains His perfect justice because my sins – past, present, and future – have already been judged in Jesus. Have you ever noticed how fire fighters will start burns so that the approaching fire will not go any further? The believer stands on a burned patch of ground called mount calvary. Jesus took our sins. He stood in the path of the fire so that we would not have to be burned. That is why God is able to forgive me and He still be completely just. But apart from Christ there is no forgiveness.

If we meet the conditions, “confess our sins,” we can claim with confidence God’s forgiveness. We too will be able to say as David did. “A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps. 51:17, NLT).

I. The Condition of Forgiveness (1:9a)
II. The Confidence of Forgiveness (1:9b)
III. The Confirmation of Forgiveness (1:9c)
“to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”
When we meet the condition, God fulfills His promise. And what does He do? The two words used here for forgiveness illustrate what happens when God forgives us.

(1) Removal – “Forgive”
Aorist, active, subjunctive, 3, sing. Literally, it means to carry away (See Mic. 7:19). To forgive is to remove the obstacle, the roadblock that stands in the way between you and God.

(2) Renewal – “Purify”
The word means to cleanse and is the act of making the sinner holy so that he or she is able to enjoy fellowship with God once again. God makes us holy by the process of cleansing or washing. Forgiveness is a washing of renewal, of refreshing. We are brought back to life again so that we can enjoy God’s presence and enjoy life.

Testimony: There’s incredible freedom and power in the act of receiving and extending forgiveness. Gail Hall is going to share a testimony about the power and freedom that forgiveness brings in our lives. Forgiveness is life-changing and it allows us to move forward with God.

If you are going to move forward with God, not only must you be forgiven but you must practice forgiveness. Forgiveness does free us to move forward! If you are a believer today, is there a roadblock in your relationship with God? Is there something that you’re holding on to that God wants you to release to Him? What’s in your pathway that only God can clear? Why don’t you confess that sin to God and receive His forgiveness that will restore your fellowship and joy with Him. God really can forgive you and you can move forward.

You might be here today and you’ve never had that once-for-all experience of forgiveness. You don’t know what it’s like to stand with confidence on that burned patch of ground. You’re not sure you have been forgiven, that you are in Christ. Has there been a once-for-all experience of surrender to God? If not, what’s holding you back? You don’t have to wait till you get your life in order. Jesus came because we couldn’t get our lives together. He came for messed up people and He paid it all by the sacrifice of Himself on the cross for your sins. Will you trust in Him today? Will you give your life to Him and be saved? If you will, you too will experience God’s presence and true joy for life. That’s God’s promise!

For His Glory!

Pastor Joe