Detail: Ministers Corner « Unclassified « :
"Blessed assurance Jesus is mine, O' what a foretaste of glory Divine. Heir of salvation, purchase of love. Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood." The words are familiar and comforting. In Jesus we have this assurance if we continue to walk faithfully with Him.
We have had our sins forgiven through the blood of Christ. (Eph. 1:7) We have received the mark of the circumcision that is not of human hands when we were baptized into Christ. (Col. 2:11,12). The grace of God has saved us. (Eph. 2:8) We are saved, but yet we still often fall short of the standard that Christ expects of us. And sometimes we are troubled with doubts about whether we are indeed saved. After all, we supposedly have died to sin. (Rom. 6:1,2) Are we right to feel this way?
The answer as is always the case, is found in the Scriptures. In 1 Jn. 1:7-9, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 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."
Here John reveals two great truths about walking faithfully in Christ. The first is that if we are "walking in the light" our sins will continue to be forgiven. This is not to be interpreted as our past sins, but rather our future sins. If we are striving to follow Christ and apply His teachings to our lives, then even when we stumble, we will be forgiven! This does not apply to "willful sin" as the Hebrew writer points to in Heb. 6:4-6, but rather it pertains to the believer who strives daily to "walk in the light".
The second great truth is that we must "confess our sins". The truth is that WE WILL SIN, even after we have repented and been baptized into Christ. Salvation guarantees forgiveness not perfection! So each day as I come to God in prayer I must confess my sins, both the ones I am aware of and the one's I might have forgotten. This will guarantee that I enjoy the gift of continual cleansing.
So the great lesson for every child of God is that though we might stumble as we walk in the light, our daily confession on our sins will cover us with the blood of Christ Jesus. While conscience is most often a good barometer of our spiritual health, we must acknowledge that try as we might we will never be perfect on this side of eternity. Keep walking in the Light and cling to that "Blessed Assurance". Think about it.