Are Your Sins Forgiven?
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9).1
First John chapter 1 is a very special Bible chapter to me. Verse 7 states, “The blood of Jesus Christ His [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin” (NKJV). God used this verse to bring me to understand this precious truth: Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood to cleanse me, a guilty sinner, of every one of my sins – past, present and future. I will never forget that day! Are your sins forgiven?
In the Bible, God speaks of His love for you and for me. In 1 John 4:8, we read that “God is love.” Dear friend, God knows you. God loves you. And He wants to forgive you of your sins so that you can spend eternity with Him.
Have you ever had a moment in your life when you realized your sins needed to be forgiven? “If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar” (1Jn 1:10 NLT). You and I must realize we have sinned against God. And because we sin, we are rightfully guilty.
Think of the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus. One of the thieves mocked Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” The other thief rebuked the first, saying, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man [Jesus] has done nothing wrong.” He then turned to Jesus and said, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” The Lord Jesus replied, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” (Luk 23:39-43). Christ forgave this guilty thief of every one of his sins!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn 1:9). The thief on the cross did not have the time to confess every one of his sins. He confessed his guilt before the Lord, recognizing his sins rightly deserved punishment. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). This death goes far beyond mere physical death. It is spiritual death, eternal death resulting in eternal separation from God. Every sin, at its core, is rebellion against God and a rejection of Him as God. And our sins cannot be in the sinless presence of our Sinless God.
We must be forgiven of our sins if we want to be in heaven with God forever. God’s forgiveness is obtained instantaneously the moment that any human being trusts Christ for salvation. The Bible says that Jesus Christ “bore our sins in his own body on the tree [cross]” (1Pe 2:24), and that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – every one – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity [sin] of us all” (Isa 53:6).
Take God’s Word as true, recognize your guilt, and trust Christ and His atoning blood as sufficient to forgive your sins and “cleanse you from all unrighteousness.”
1 Bible quotations in this article are from the ESV unless otherwise noted.
