Bible Truth #8 -­‐ Confession and Repentance Removes Guilt and Sin. 

1 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.

Christianity has the answer for a guilty conscience. We no longer must carry the burden of sin, nor the guilt that comes with it. Jesus, by dying on the cross for our sins, provided a way for God the Father to justly forgive us. Many people have found that upon confessing Jesus as their Saviour, a great burden was lifted off their hearts and conscience. You see they experienced the true forgiveness that only God offers through faith in Jesus Christ. Forgiveness, however, only comes when we confess to Him that we are sinners and repent of our sin. 

The word, repent, means to have a change of mind that results in a change of direction. In other words, it is not to say that I am sorry for getting caught; it is not I am sorry for getting in trouble. It is, I am sorry for what I have done, I am sorry that I have been involved in sin that caused Jesus Christ to have to die on the cross. I am sorry that I have offended against a Holy and Righteous God. To repent means that you are going to follow Him instead of your old ways. It means that He is now going to be in charge of your life, you are turning over the reins to Him and He will be the boss. 

True repentance changes your life. It isn’t the quick fix and go back to what I was before; it is a conversion from death to life, from sinfulness to righteousness. It is a glorious point of forgiveness and release of the burden of our sin that Jesus takes upon Himself and marks “paid in full by the blood that I shed on Calvary.” 

What is Guilt? Guilt is what happens to most people who violate a law. The law can be a government statute, rules of parents, teachers, employers, etc. The law can be God’s rules or commandments, including Jesus’ commandments. God’s law is perfect. We bring supreme guilt upon ourselves when we violate God’s law. People who break laws and feel no guilt are called psychopaths or sociopaths. God’s law is based ultimately on His own personal character.

What is Shame? Shame usually accompanies guilt. We feel humiliated and embarrassed. This occurs especially if others know about what we did.

We are blessed that God has given us a conscience that often tells us when we do wrong. But we must remember that for us to be wise in following the dictates of our conscience, we must first make sure that our consciences are informed by the Word of God.

We do not like bodily pain; however, pain can sometimes save our lives. Guilt feelings are God’s way of warning us that there is something wrong that we need to deal with. Often we deny and excuse the guilt feelings. It is easy for us to justify our own sin. However, the guilt feelings will keep returning. We must confess our sin to God.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

When God produces guilt feelings in us it is for the purpose of reconciliation. For that reconciliation to take place we must repent. We confess our sin to God, and we confess our sin to those who we have sinned against. There can be no real forgiveness without real repentance and faith. God’s motive is redemptive.

If we refuse to acknowledge our sin, we then give Satan an opening. He desires to destroy us. Guilt over our sin should drive us to the cross of Christ. He died to pay the penalty for our sin.

If you have offended or sinned against family or friends, etc., you must confess the offence to them. Don’t demand forgiveness. That is up to them. Be specific with the offense that you committed without expecting confession or forgiveness from others. Don’t give excuses for your trespass. These are some statements that you must not make:

·       If I offended you …

·       If you hadn’t done, said, etc. …

·       I was only kidding.

Without rambling and excusing, just say what you did and that you are sorry for it and feel guilty for what you did. You know it was wrong. Stop talking about it and leave it at that. It may take others more time to forgive you. Don’t make them feel bad for that. They may want to see that you are truly contrite and humbled and that you are serious about it. If you handle your part in a godly manner reconciliation is possible. Just don’t demand it. God will remove the guilt. Shame may take longer to be removed, but if you continue to live a life of integrity, the shame will be gone of its own accord also.

Let’s look at 1 John 1:9 again.

1 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.

This is an IF/THEN statement with the THEN implied. God is faithful. He will do what He has promised to do.

Our part – Confess our sins

God’s part – Forgive and cleanse.

Our part – Confess our sins. We name the sin. We repent of the sin. We turn from the sin. King Saul confessed to Samuel that he had sinned, but he did so after blaming the people for his sin. He also had ulterior motives. He was confessing so that Samuel would stick by him. We cannot have ulterior or selfish motives in confessing our sin.

God’s Part – God forgives our sins. He casts them behind His back. He tosses them in the depths of the sea. They are a distant as the east is from the west (Isaiah 38:17, Micah 7:19, Psalm 103:12).

God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. He cleans us up. God restores us. He makes us whole. He lifts us out of the miry clay, sets our feet on solid ground and establishes our goings (Psalm 40).



After confessing ours sins we need not feel guilt and shame before God. By faith we trust that God has forgiven us. If the devil or our thoughts condemn us, we must rebuke them. We can now serve God with a clean heart. Amen.