One Scripture in the Bible that is, or should be, a Christian’s favorite friend is First John 1:9.  We can’t live without it because none of us are perfected completely yet.  As we mature in the things of God, we become more like Him but there is always something He is ready to reveal to us that needs attention from the point of holiness.  As I was reading this week, I actually saw two parts of actions in this verse. Yes, God’s part and our part, but also something more that I think some of us miss at times. Let’s read it.

First John 1:9:  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God’s part is to forgive and to cleanse us – when we confess our sins – that’s our part. He is the giver and we are the receiver.  However, I also think we miss receiving the full benefit of this verse from time to time.  We usually do well in receiving the forgiveness part because we have heard a lot a teaching in that area. But what about the cleansing part.  It hit me that we are sometimes slow in implementing our receiving of our complete cleansing.  Let me explain.

I don’t know about you, but I always put the forgiving and cleaning of unrighteousness together.  And they DO go together. But from our standpoint of receiving those benefits of God’s grace, we need to understand something more.  We are cleansed from the acts of the unrighteousness and we are also cleansed from the regrets and shame of those actions.  Forgiveness for the act of sin and the result of sin that manifests itself so much of the time as shame and regret (to mention couple) – both are received by faith.  We need the cleansing part too.  Just as our Salvation is by faith in accepting Jesus as our Savior, it is by faith that we receive His forgiveness and His cleansing from any sin after we are saved.

Most of us do pretty well to not receive any condemnation connected to confessed sin, but it’s also important to receive the cleansing from the regrets of those confessed sins.  This is where we miss it; we keep hanging on to the what-could-have-been. God does not want us to stay there, He wants us to be completely free, and that is why He cleanses us from all unrighteousness.  The all means the act and even the regrets and or shame.  Don’t let the enemy hold you in condemnation or regret regarding those mistakes, of missed opportunities, or wrong decisions made in the past.  You and I have been set free, and living in regret of the past has the same destruction as condemnation. As long as the devil can hold us there, we will not be able to go forward in the power of God, or keep our faith strong.  By faith put the sin action and the regret and shame under the Blood of Jesus.

Then do what we learn in Philippians 3:13-15; forget those things which are behind (the acts of sin, regrets or shame) and reach for those things which are before us (the next plans God has for us). The mark we are to keep reaching forward to is to complete what God has called us to do.  Just because you or I missed it in the past doesn’t mean that God has changed His mind; get up and get back with His plan, begin again and see what God will reveal for you to do now.