1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he might forgive us our sins and might cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John gives another conditional statement that provides an escape from the bondage of sin. The key idea of the whole passage is found behind the apodosis, “if we confess.” Confess (homologōmen) can mean to agree with someone and have the same thinking about a matter. When we confess our sins, we agree with God’s assessment of us. Confession is the action of realizing our weakness and rebellion in the light of God’s holiness. When Isaiah experienced the holiness of God, he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). When we see the King, we see ourselves for who we are as sinners.
John is specific about what we need to confess: sin. Sin (hamartias) is our biggest battle. Sin takes many forms because humanity is creative in its rebellion against God. The Bible lists many types of sins, but the examples are not exhaustive. At the root of sin is worshipping something other than God, and this is often something related to ourselves or even ourselves in the form of pride. When we come to realize we fall short of God’s goal for us, half the battle is won. The other half of the battle is acting on this awareness. Sincere confession is proof of one’s repentance and that one is truly sorry for his or her sin. What will we do once we know about sin? Several responses are possible: ignore it, continue in it, or confess it and do not do it again. The first two options are similar, as John will write in 3:6. To see Jesus and continue in sin is the worst choice one can make.
God’s response to our confession is based on his character of being faithful and just. God does not ask much of us but simply to believe in his loving and merciful character. God is faithful in the sense that what he has promised, he will do. God does not coerce or force but waits patiently for us to repent. God is also just (dikaios) or righteous because God truly does forgive. “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
God responds in two ways when we confess our sins, both found in result clauses (hina followed by a subjunctive verb). First, when we confess our sins, God is ready to forgive us. God will not forgive those who do not want to be forgiven. We express our desire and need for forgiveness through confession. Forgiveness resolves the guilt of our past sins. When we confess our sins, God also cleanses us from sin. Theologians refer to this initial point as justification. God also does a deeper work in us of cleansing (katharisē), the process of making something pure and undefiled. Sanctification deals with the problem of the power of sin within us. Cleansing is wiping away the lingering stain from sin and makes a person clean. John does not say how God does that in this verse, but other passages in the Bible show that this is the work of the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:5).