Don't Stay Under the Water....

*This message is from Greg Laurie w/ Harvest Ministries

Finding Forgiveness

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

— 1 John 1:9

I heard about a man who wasn't a good swimmer, so he went down to a dock and asked a fisherman, "Excuse me sir, if I were to fall into this water, would I drown?" The fisherman said, "No. Falling into the water doesn't drown anybody. It's staying under the water that drowns them."

You may stumble and fall spiritually, but you don't have to stay under the water. You don't have to stay under the control of sin. You can be free from it, and forgiven of it.

How do you find forgiveness? Remember the words of 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That is a wonderful promise.

What does the word "confess" mean? A more literal rendering of that word would be "agree with God." If you agree with God about your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive you. How does God look at sin? It is abhorrent to Him. It is offensive to Him. Is that how we look at our sin when we confess it?

A lot of people will merely acknowledge their sin, thinking they are confessing it. But confession is seeing sin the way God sees it, and feeling sorry for it—sorry enough to change. The Bible says, "Godly sorrow produces repentance" (2 Corinthians 7:10). So it means that we say, "Lord, I realize what this is. God, I am sorry. Help me." Now we are getting somewhere. If you will confess your sin, see it as God sees it, be sorry for it, and turn from it, then He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Don't stay under that ocean of sin! Grab hold of the lifeline of forgiveness.