Forgiven

Feedback:
What was last week’s action point? How did you get on with it?
How is your personal evangelism going? Who are the people you live among?

Intro:
When you become aware that you’ve done something wrong, how do you deal with it?

We all make mistakes in our friendships. We need to face our mistakes and put things right to keep our relationships healthy. If we want to enjoy God’s friendship we need to know how to sort things out when they go wrong.

Read: 1 John 1v5-2v2
What do you think this metaphor of walking in darkness and light means?
How is our relationship with God affected by how we “walk”?
What different “claims” are addressed here? What are the results of these claims?
What is the right response to sin? What is the result of this?
Note: Confess literally means “to agree with”.
What is the basis for our forgiveness (2v1-2)? How can we be sure it has happened?
What do we learn about what Jesus is doing right now (2v1)? How do you feel about this?
Do you think that walking in the light means never sinning? Why?
How often does it make sense for us to confess our sins to God?

True or False:
If you don’t confess it, then it’s not forgiven!

Pray:
Take some time now to ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of any sin he wants you to deal with. Remember, the devil’s general accusations bring guilt, while the Spirit’s challenge is to deal with specific sin. (Confess a selfish attitude, but reject the vague label of “selfish”.) As a symbol write 1 John 1v9 over your list and then destroy it, thanking God for his forgiveness.

When we trusted in Jesus, all our sins were forgiven; past, present and future (1 Peter 3v18) because Jesus paid for them all on the cross. Our eternal relationship with God is secure. However, sin messes up our daily friendship with God. By confessing our sin as soon as we become aware of it we can live in friendship with God and experience his love and forgiveness continually.

Action Point:
Memorise 1 John 1v9 for next week.

Digging Deeper:
Read Hebrews 9 & 10.
What more do you learn about the work of Jesus? What more do you learn about God’s forgiveness?

Agape Essentials 1.2