"If we admit our sins--make a clean breast of them--he won't let us down, he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing." I John 1:9
Confession is a life-long partner. It's as close as our breath. No appointments or special places are needed for confession. I can confess my sin in the middle of real-time life, anywhere, anytime.
Confession means I own my sin. No excuses. I admit my failure. No cover up. I come clean. Halfhearted repentance won't do.
Full confession guarantees full pardon. Forgives is instant and complete. The God of grace runs to cleanse my sin-stained soul. He is more eager to forgive than I am to confess.
It would be a mistake to forget that Papa-God who is present to hear my confession is omniscient. He knows everything about me. He knows everything about everything. Nothing is outside his scope of knowledge and understanding. He knows my sin; he knows all my sins.
Papa-God is the One who "sees in secret." The One who hears me in my silence. I can't deceive him by blame-shifting, lying, or silence. When I confess to Papa-God, therefore, I'm not like a bank teller being audited to determine his or her honesty or dishonesty. When I confess to Him, it's not like one friend confiding in another friend about secret sins that no one else knows about.
When I confess to God, I'm confessing to One who already knows my sin--every offense. So, every confession I make is to an All-Knowing God. Therefore, confession is not a revelation to Him but a revelation to me. God doesn't learn something He didn't know beforehand. Rather, when I confess my sin I find out something about myself that I didn't want to know.
What great grace is this?
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