Have you ever struggled with what you should exercise when you lot sin, even after y'all're saved?

When we first repented to God and received Jesus Christ as our Savior, nosotros were forgiven of all our sins, and a peace we never knew flooded our hearts. But nosotros know from personal experience that existence saved doesn't mean we're immune to sin. Despite our best efforts, nosotros still sin. So what should nosotros practise when nosotros sin after nosotros're saved?

We need to confess our sins to the Lord

Since our salvation is eternal, nosotros don't need to be saved once again to receive forgiveness for our sins. In fact, that'south impossible.

But we also shouldn't think it'south okay to sin just considering we're saved eternally. God is offended past and concerned about the sins we commit afterwards nosotros're saved.

The Bible gives united states a clear answer to the question of what we should exercise when we sin. To experience existence forgiven and washed of our sins, we must confess them to the Lord.

Confessing our sins to God is disquisitional for a healthy Christian life. Now, let'southward expect at why nosotros demand to confess our sins, what it means to confess, how to confess, and the results of confessing.

Why we need to confess our sins

God wants to take a loving human relationship with us, and we desire to have the same with Him. But when we sin, a barrier arises between us and God.

Our God is a God of love, simply He'southward also holy and righteous. He can't tolerate or ignore sin. This is why our fellowship with Him is interrupted.

In our human relationships, we know that when we offend someone, a barrier goes upward between the states and that person. For example, permit'southward say y'all offend a friend by saying something hurtful, and you never apologize. You both feel in that location'south a rift between you, but until you lot clear the air by apologizing, you but can't exist at ease in each other's presence.

This is even more true when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. Earlier we sin, we have peace in Him. We savor gratuitous and open fellowship with Him. But when we sin, our conscience tells u.s. we've offended the Lord. The ease and sweetness of our human relationship is lost. We've trespassed against Him, and our sin is now a bulwark between usa and God. We can't savour fellowship with Him as we did before.

Confessing our sins to the Lord is the only manner our fellowship with Him can be restored.

What information technology ways to confess our sins

To confess means that we acknowledge and acknowledge our sin. Nosotros don't cover it upward or human action equally if we didn't do annihilation wrong.

Then how do we know when nosotros've sinned?

The Bible tells usa in 1 John 1:five that "God is light." When God shines on united states of america, He exposes our sins and failures, and we become conscious of them. The resulting sense of guilt in our censor is uncompromising and can't be subdued by whatever reasoning or alibi on our side.

Instead of trying to justify ourselves, reason our sin away, or cover it up, we should acknowledge the sins God shines on by agreeing with His light. This is the significant of confessing.

The author of Psalm 32:5 gives us a clear word about this:

"I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Jehovah. And then You lot forgave the iniquity of my sin."

This verse shows the states that to confess our sins to God means not to encompass them just to acknowledge them and admit to the Lord that we've sinned. This ways we concur with God's light and judgment of our sin and say, "Yes, Lord, that is sin."

How to confess our sins to the Lord

As soon as we realize we've sinned and offended the Lord, we demand to confess. And then how do we practise this?

Nosotros confess our sins in prayer direct to God. Whether it'south a pocket-size transgression or ane that's more than serious, when the Lord makes us aware of it through our conscience, we must immediately admit our sin to Him and ask for His forgiveness.

We don't need to go to a certain place, tell a special person, or wait for a particular time to confess our sins. No affair where we are, every bit soon as we're fabricated conscious of our sins, nosotros can confess them to the Lord by praying to Him. Since He'south living in our spirit, we tin can confess our sins anywhere and at any time.

A applied example

Permit'southward say your workplace has a stock of notepads and pens. Since they're just the kind you like, you help yourself to a few for personal use at abode. Later on, as you open your heart to the Lord to spend time with Him, He shines on y'all and convicts your censor that y'all've taken something that doesn't belong to y'all.

At this betoken, you could reason, "The office has plenty of those things; they'll never be missed." Or you can continue with the feeling of conviction and guilt in your censor and agree with the Lord that what y'all did was incorrect.

When yous decide to keep with the Lord, yous can immediately pray to Him, "Yep, Lord, You're right; I've sinned. I confess that I took those things. I'one thousand lamentable. Forgive me, Lord. Cheers for shedding Your precious blood to take away my sin."

Notice that this elementary prayer doesn't include a promise to do better. That isn't required. What is required is acknowledging your sin to the Lord and declaring your religion in His blood shed for your forgiveness.

Later on nosotros confess our sins, we should besides resolve our wrongdoing if necessary. In this example, you should return the items to your workplace.

The sin in this instance might seem small, even insignificant. But in principle, all sins—big or modest—must be confessed, since any sin interrupts our fellowship with God.

The result of confession: forgiveness and cleansing

In 1 John 1:9, a poesy written by the apostle John to believers, we see the result of confessing our sins:

"If we confess our sins, He is true-blue and righteous to forgive u.s.a. our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

If we confess, the result is that nosotros are forgiven and apple-pie.

Note two on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version explains what it ways for God to be faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins:

"God is faithful in His word (v. 10) and righteous in the claret of Jesus His Son (five. 7). His give-and-take is the word of the truth of His gospel (Eph. 1:thirteen), which tells us that He volition forgive united states our sins because of Christ (Acts 10:43); and the claret of Christ has fulfilled His righteous requirements that He might forgive the states our sins (Matt. 26:28). If we confess our sins, He, according to His give-and-take and based on the redemption through the blood of Jesus, forgives us because He must be faithful in His word and righteous in the blood of Jesus; otherwise, He would be unfaithful and unrighteous. Our confession is needed for His forgiveness. Such forgiveness of God, which is for the restoration of our fellowship with Him, is provisional; it depends on our confession."

Our forgiveness depends on our confession. By confessing our sins, nosotros receive forgiveness—a forgiveness that's solidly based on God's faithfulness and righteousness.

Note 3 on the aforementioned verse explains what it ways for Him to "cleanse us from all unrighteousness":

"To forgive u.s.a. is to release us from the criminal offense of our sins, whereas to cleanse united states is to launder united states from the stain of our unrighteousness."

We gain so much by confessing our sins: we're released and washed, and our fellowship with the Lord is fully restored.

As we've seen in this post, practicing to confess our sins to the Lord is crucial for our Christian life. We encourage you to read chapter 3 in Basic Elements of the Christian Life, vol. one to learn more than about God'due south provision for our sins. Yous can download the book from anywhere in the earth for free here.

To find out more on this topic, you tin can also read the verses and the notes from the New Testament Recovery Version mentioned in this mail service. If yous alive in the US, yous can order a gratuitous copy of this outstanding study Bible here.

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