April 6                                          Deut 17 - 19

MISCONCEIVED SALVATION

MEMORISE: ‘He tat covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whose confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov. 28:13)
READ: Psalm 139: 1-4

The devil has deceived some people by telling them that since God already knows everything about them, including their past and present sinful lifestyle, it is therefore unnecessary to confess their sins. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship on with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Sons cleanseth us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7).

This passage has also been used by Satan to deceive believers. They believe that once they are in fellowship with Christ, any sin they commit is automatically cleansed by the blood of Jesus, irrespective of whether they confess or not.

Proverbs 28:13 says: ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but who so confesseth and forsaketh them, shall have mercy.’

This is God’s standard for genuine salvation. If you do not confess your sins and decide to quit such sinful acts, you cannot obtain real salvation. You may end up with the fake salvation offered by the devil. 1 John 1; 8-9, while addressing believers, tells us it is possible to deceive ourselves and secondly refutes the false assumption of automatic cleansing. It says for you to be forgiven your sins, committed after knowing Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour, you have to confess them first. The fact that you are in the light and in fellowship with the brethren gives you access to confession and forgiveness.

Several people go about with fake born again claims devoid of the fruits of the Spirit because their faith in Christ was built on a faulty foundation. Such Christians will be shocked at heaven’s gate to find that the sins they thought would be automatically cleansed have not been cleansed at all. Rather these sins were retained against them and they will have to spend eternity in hell, while the devil who deceived them laughs them to scorn. Why not confess and forsake your sins and rest assured that based on God’s word, you are forgiven?

ACTION POINT
Heaven is too precious to lose. Confess any sin committed and audibly ask God for forgiveness.