Forgiveness Is A Promise

9If 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 NKJV

Here are some ENCOURAGING points to grab from this verse…

#1 God is FAITHFUL
#2 God FORGIVES
#3 God makes us NEW & IMPROVED

Someone just read that and asked, “New and improved? It doesn’t say that!” Right. It doesn’t. It says He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. What does that mean? What does it mean to CLEANSE something?

I think of my car. I drive it every day. It carries me. It carries my three kids. It occasionally carries my dog. And in the midst of all the travel and traffic and mud and dirt and dog hair… it gets DIRTY… REALLY dirty! I don’t like it. It bugs me. It irritates me. So I clean it. I WASH it. I scrub and wipe and vacuum and scrub and wipe and vacuum until it’s CLEAN. The outcome? It’s NEW & IMPROVED.

It’s changed.
It’s like a NEW car.
That’s you.
That’s me.
God changes us.
He makes us NEW.

How do we get that? Reread the first portion of the verse (I love how John writes it so plainly)…

If we CONFESS our sins

All I need to do to receive forgiveness and be made new is CONFESS my junk. That’s it. That’s all I gotta do. That’s pretty freakin’ simple and amazingly AWESOME! I don’t want to be that dirty car. I don’t want to be covered in mud and stained by juice boxes. I want to be NEW & IMPROVED!

God is not a liar. If He says He’ll do it, He’ll do it. If He promises forgiveness, He’ll give it. If He promises to make you clean, He’ll do it. God is a PROMISE MAKER and a PROMISE KEEPER. I dare you to test Him in that one.

Reflect:

• Even the slightest drive results in bugs and dirty and nastiness landing on your vehicle; what are the things in your life that need to be cleaned out and scrubbed off?
• Often times we struggle to accept God’s forgiveness because we are struggling to forgive someone else; who do you need to forgive?
• God is a promise maker and promise keeper; why is this sometimes hard to believe?