“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.
First we have to confess. This is not easy. Pride sometimes gets in the way. It is hard to admit we have done wrong. It is hard to feel we are worthy, and we are not.
Forgiveness depends on our Father’s faithfulness and not our own. And it depends on His justice, since our sins are paid for in Christ. In this way He chooses to forgive. Better yet, He chooses to cleanse our sin, gradually, but surely taking away the desires that caused us to fail in the first place.
God is willing and able to change those who confess. And He does change people because He is faithful and just.
The Lord is near. That is the great promise of faith. All we have to do is call on Him. He is always near us. We draw near to Him in prayer. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him. Now that is faithfulness. God’s promises are true and we can depend on Him being faithful.
Patsy Lambert is from Whitmire. Her columns appear weekly in The Newberry Observer.