All of us want to be forgiven of our sins, right? We want to be freed of the guilt and condemnation that our sins and mistakes bring to us. But most of us will never be forgiven because we lack one thing: We don't admit our sins.

1 John 1:8-10 tells us, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."

Taking responsibility

We all have to admit our sins and mistakes if we want to be forgiven of them. We have to take responsibility for what we have done, said, or even thought of, so that we will be able to admit and confess them to the Lord, so that He can forgive us.

John encourages us to "confess our sins," because God "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Think about it. How can we be forgiven of something we wouldn't even admit or bring to the light?

Just like a clinical check up

Patients need to honestly and precisely tell their doctors how or what they feel so that the latter can give them precise medical action and treatment. At times, patients even have to give specific details, including the conditions for when the symptoms appear and how much it hurts.

In the same way, we need to take responsibility for every little sin and mistake in our lives. We need to honestly and precisely admit to God what we did, thought or said. And by the way, sin is different from mistake in that mistakes are usually unintended, whereas sin is intentional. Either way, you have to carefully examine yourself and honestly and sincerely admit to the Lord what you have done. It's only after we do this that God will be able to deal with and heal our unrighteous hearts.

Promise to forgive

Brothers, God has promised that if we come and admit our sins, He will forgive us – just make sure you have forgiven those whom you haven't forgiven yet (see Matthew 6:14-15). So what's to lose?

When we let go of our defences and just come clean before God in confessing our sins, asking for His forgiveness, and consequently accepting the forgiveness that He gives, we do lose something. We lose the chains of condemnation and guilt for the sins we have hidden, and the dangers of committing the same sins we have denied.

Be free! Confess your sins to the Lord, and be free!