1 John 1:9: God's Pardoning and Purging

1 John 1:9.. "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 is probably one of the most common verses in the Bible. It speaks so clearly of God's forgiving and cleansing nature. Today, let us take some time to first look at what is required of us to experience God's forgiveness and cleansing, and then and what the Lord does when he pardons (forgives) and purges (cleanses) us.

Firstly, 1 John 1:9 tells us that the Lord will forgive and cleanse us after we have confessed our sins. In other words, God pardons and purges after we confess. God cannot heal what we have not confessed. How can God fix something unless we admit that it's broken? This is why we confess our sins. Some other verses in scripture greatly help us understand this topic. Firstly, Psalm 51:16-17 tells us that "For you [God] will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." In other words, God takes great delight in healing those who are broken before him, that is, that realize their sin and come to him contrite because they realize that they cannot heal themselves. (Quick Side Note: This verse is totally amazing. Not only does it teache what God wants from us in order to be forgiven, but it also shows us what God does not want. A "burnt offering" symbolizes us working for God's forgiveness, but David tells us here that the Lord does not delight in such a thing. In other words, the Lord does not appreciate it when we try to work in our own effort to earn his forgiveness, but only appreciates us coming before him admitting that we have sinned, and that we cannot do anything in ourselves to overcome our sin.) Furthermore, Matthew 5:3-4 says that "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." God promises that all who are poor in spirit (that is, those who realize that they do not have enough [poor] spiritual power [in spirit] to overcome their sin on their own) and mourning (that is, mourning over their sin in a matter of wishing that they did not commit it) are truly blessed. God delights in us when we confess our sins to him, when we come before him broken in need of his healing, and when we mourn over the fact that we have committed sin.

Secondly, 1 John 1:9 tells us that God will pardon our sins after we confess them. Micah 7:18-18 tells of God's forgiveness clearly:

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah here shows us that the forgiveness of God pardons our sin by throwing it into the bottom of the sea. A modern hymn written by Matt Boswell states that our sin is "thrown into a sea without bottom or shore." When we confess our sins, God not only pardons our sin by throwing it away. For love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5-6).

Thirdly, 1 John 1:9 tells us that God will purge (or cleanse) our sins after we confess them as well. If God simply forgave the sins that we confessed without helping us overcome them, what good would this be? Hebrews 4:16 says this: "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." God's mercy is his pardoning, but God's grace to help in time of need is his purging. In other words, God gives us mercy to cover our past sins and grace to help us not commit them in the future. If we confess to God, he is faithful to pardon us as well as purge us. Surely God is a great God.

In response to today's devotional, I encourage you to offer up the following prayer to the Lord:

Dear Father, I thank you so much that you both pardon and purge my sin. Lord, I have sinned against you so many times throughout the course of even these past few hours. I confess that I am powerless to overcome my sin on my own, and request your grace to help me in this great time of need. I thank you for your endless forgiveness; please let me always find rest in this truth. Amen.