Confidence in Our Confession

Confession in my faith walk is a growing necessity. Why? Because John, in 1 John, lays out the importance of that confession for self-realization and growth. The critical part of our faith walk is the realization that "we are supposed to grow stronger as a believer." We cannot grow stronger without the eternal, perfect guidance of the Word of God. A "THINKING" person might say to themselves, "I need to figure out life according to God's Word." 1 John has some powerful truths for each of us on this faith walk, and those truths are vital to our confidence in this faith walk.

1 John 1: 1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. ² This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy. ⁵ This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. ⁶ So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. ⁷ But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

In the above verses, we can see some vital truths for growing in our faith walk, and John is very upfront and specific about what must be in place to grow in our walk and, thus, grow in our confidence. In verse 1, John states that he and others have seen Jesus, and he establishes that the Jesus we love and follow is definitely real and active. Jesus has revealed real life to each of us who follow Him, and that Jesus himself is eternal life itself. This belief in Jesus is not a solo project, but a powerful fellowship-building faith that draws us to others in the faith. When we are united and moving in the same direction with other believers, we see the strength of this fellowship called Koinia. Koinonia is a Greek word meaning "fellowship," "communion," or "holding something in common". In a Christian context, it describes the spiritual bond and intimate sharing between believers, their shared commitment to Christ, and their connection with each other and with God.

When believers enter into this kind of fellowship, there are many elements of it that help each one to grow in their personal faith walk. As a single believer, God will do great things because He has empowered us through the Holy Spirit to live this life "in" Jesus. Take this faith and join it with others who are also growing, and it becomes a life of growth with others in spiritual fellowship. As John said in verse 6, we must first realize and firm up our relationship with God, and the result of that relationship will lead us "into the light" in our walk with God, and that light will show areas where we are not growing and are actually falling short. The blood of Jesus cleanses us and cleans out the weak parts, but we must not avoid what Jesus shows us when the light comes on. This realization that "I am a sinner" is necessary to grow in this faith walk, and confession is a huge part of that growth. The light shows us our sin, and the desire to walk in that light overwhelms the urge to hide in that sin.

1 John 1: ⁸ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.⁹ But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. Here is where the "rubber meets the road" as we realize and begin to enjoy the light, but realize some changes need to be made, as shown to us in that light. Our claims to always "be right" fall to the side as the light shows us who we are and what we are doing, and it is not pretty. Sin is never pretty when it is revealed and shown to the sinner. There is a huge "but" that John gives to help us continue to grow in the grace we have been given. Verse 9 says, BUT if we confess our sins to Him. We see ourselves in this light of perfection, and it brings us to a point of "seeing" our sin and confessing it to Him. This confession is significantly strengthening our faith walk. JUST ADMIT IT, and let the grace of God encourage "light walking," and you will zoom forward in your personal faith walk to new heights of growth and confidence in your faith walk. Result: 1 John 1:⁷ But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

This kind of confession brings into focus a strong confidence and in our faith walk, and then we crave more "light" and more growth, and God always supplies an abundance. You figured it out, didn't you? This is the abundant life Jesus told us about, now a reality. Ther we find this Godly confidence in this life of confession and growth.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren