What can you do when you have a load of guilt and feel that the wrongs you have done are so bad that nothing will fix them. What can you do? Is there hope? Yes, something can be done. In fact, the hard part has been done already.
The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.
IF
The word "if" reminds us that there is a condition, that forgiveness and purity is not a universal automatic assumption. God as a right to ask us to admit that we are wrong.
WHAT IS SIN?
The Bible teaches that all wrongdoing is sin and that, "if you know what is right to do and fail to do it then for you it is a sin." (James 4:17) The Bible also teaches that God cannot ignore sin, but since He is holy He must judge sin and condemn it. Ultimately all sin is against God, and it is right for Him to be angry with us for the wrongs we have done against him.
HE IS FAITHFUL
He is faithful to His promise of the Gospel. He is faithful to His love for us, and so He offers forgiveness.
JUST
God is just as well as loving. He does not merely pass over our wrongs or a wink at them. He satisfies the requirements of moral justice. For humanity, justice means eternal death, but God offers a substitute in our place. Logically, only a person without sin can pay for another's sin. And a substitute for the wrongdoings of all mankind would have to be infinite (or God) to pay for the sins of all mankind. Jesus fulfilled these requirements.
FORGIVE
God does not forgive the way we do. We may forgive but hold onto some little part, we may have trouble forgetting. But God puts our sins "as far away as the east is from the west," (Psalm 103:12). His forgiveness is perfect, and nothing is left out.
We can not forgive this way but God can. He can forgive because His anger has been vented in judgment and endured by his son, Christ, on the cross.
PURIFY
Purify here is both an action and a result. God acted by sending Christ to take the judgment on our behalf. God took the action, and we receive the result, forgiveness.
If you feel that you need to be purified from your sins then remember it is about the IF. If you confess and if you receive God's forgiveness through the justice of Christ's death on your behalf as a substitute for your sins then you can be assured by the promise of God that he accounts for you as righteous.
