Day 27: Walking In The Light

Dear friend,

We’ve seen that we need to be honest and call the problem by its right name: sin. If we say that we have no sin, which I have pointed out to be the real problem, we are deceiving ourselves. The truth is not in us and we are not in the light. We are still in the dark where God’s provision does not work.

Then we come to the alternative. If we confess our sins, come to the light, and acknowledge the real nature and the seriousness of our problem, then God "is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Two words are used, "faithful" and "righteous." God is faithful because He has promised, and He will keep His promise. God is righteous or just because Jesus has already paid the penalty for our sins; therefore, He can forgive us without compromising His justice.

If we confess our sins, the guarantee of Scripture is that God in faithfulness and justice will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God not only forgives but, even more important, He cleanses. Once our hearts are cleansed, because the heart is the wellspring of life, we do not go on committing the same sins.

If you believe that your sins are forgiven but you find experientially that you have not been cleansed, I would like to question whether you have really been forgiven. The same God who forgives also cleanses. The same Scripture that promises forgiveness also promises cleansing. God never stops halfway. If we meet the conditions, we get the packet. If we do not meet the conditions, we do not get half, we get nothing. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once our hearts are cleansed, then the problem will not be there. Remember, the condition of the heart determines what comes out of the mouth. A clean heart cannot produce unclean utterances. Unclean utterances indicate an unclean heart.

First, if we come to the light, confess, and turn to God with the problem, then God is faithful and righteous to forgive. The record of the past is blotted out, and all those things you wish you had never said are blotted out. Secondly, God cleanses your heart. Then, out of a clean, pure heart, what comes through your lips will be clean and pure. If your heart glorifies God then your lips will glorify God. God solves the problem of the tongue and of the lips by dealing with the condition of the heart.