Snitch!

read›
1 John 1:5
If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all wickedness (v.9).

A snitch is someone who freely gives up information
about a friend or acquaintance. Because he
volunteers information that often gets people
arrested, evicted, or even killed, a snitch is considered
one of the lowest people on the neighborhood food
chain. People have a hard time forgiving a snitch.
John encouraged believers to snitch on themselves.
For when they did, God would forgive them. The
apostle wrote a small but powerful letter to a group
of believers who were being harassed by several
groups of false teachers (1 John). One of the groups
was saying they had fellowship with God and did not
sin. John refuted this errant theology by invoking the
holy and perfect nature of God—God is light. If they
said they had fellowship with God, who is light, and
yet continued to walk in darkness, John said they were
liars and were deceiving themselves. For fear that the
young believers were being influenced by false teachers,
John encouraged them to confess their sins—snitch
on themselves—and God would meet their genuine
confession with divine forgiveness. He would forgive
them and cleanse them from all unrighteousness. John
states very clearly that persistent, unconfessed, and
unrepented sin is a mark of someone who does not
genuinely know God.


One of the indicators that we have true fellowship with
God is that we consistently confess our sins to Him. According to Solomon, true
piety and fear of God involves acknowledging that our sin is against a holy
God—confessing it and forsaking it, rather than concealing it and hardening
one’s heart. Confessing and forsaking our sins to God leads to receiving His
mercy (Proverbs 28:13).


That’s well worth snitching on ourselves! —Marvin Williams

more›
Read Psalms 32:1 and Psalms 51:1 to see how
David dealt with his sin before God.

 
next›
Do you practice the spiritual habit of confession? Based on
the two passages in
more>, what are some
important aspects of
confession or godly
snitching? What are
some immediate results
of confession?

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