Nothing Between My Soul and the Saviour!

Let me be very personal and ask about your relationship with Christ. Has any cloud come between your soul and your Saviour? An incident is told of Spurgeon who suddenly stopped in the middle of the street he was crossing and prayed. [These were the days when streets were somewhat safer, populated with horses rather than automobiles.] When he reached the other side, his companion asked him, "Why did you stop to pray in the middle of the street?" Spurgeon's reply was something like this, "A cloud came between my soul and Christ, and I could not let it remain there even long enough to reach the other side of the street."  --J.V.McGee

How important it is for the believer not to allow anything to come between him and the Saviour!  And when something does come between, it is essential that the problem be dealt with promptly.  God's solution to sin in the believer's life is found in 1 John 1:9:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confess all known sin. Confess right away, without delay. Keep short accounts with God.

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:31-32).

There is hope and help for the sinning believer. God has graciously provided for our recovery and our restoration. God desires and delights to restore us to a right relationship and fellowship with Himself.  David prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation" (Psalm 51:12).  When David sinned he did not lose his salvation but he lost the joy of his salvation.

The basis for our recovery is the precious blood of Christ which keeps on cleansing us from all sin (1 John 1:7).  Our faithful Advocate, the Lord Jesus Himself, intercedes on our behalf (1 John 2:1-2).  Our responsibility is summed up in one word: "CONFESS" (1 John 1:9).  Literally it means "to say the same thing,” and thus to say the same thing about SIN that God does, to agree with God that what we have done is sinful and heinous. David confessed when he said, "I acknowledge my transgressions...Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight” (Psalm 51:4).

Confession involves a frank, honest, open acknowledgement of wrong done. It is the opposite of DENYING our sin (1 John 1:8,10), covering up our sin. Our loving Lord knows all about our sins and faults and failures. Nothing is hidden from Him. We need to come before Him openly and honestly, seeing SIN as He sees it and hating sin as He hates it.

I must see myself “guilty as charged.” God uses His Word to teach me of my guilt: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to Thy word” (Psalm 1119:9). The more His Word is in me (1 John 1:10), the more I will be conscious of my own sinfulness and of God's grace which is greater than all my sin.

I must acknowledge, confess, declare my sin (Psalm 32:5). “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). If we uncover sin (by honest confession) then God will cover it!  If we expose the sin before God, He will cover it properly. When a believer sins, he does not lose his salvation. The problem involves a loss of fellowship or communion with the God who has saved us forever.

Confession is not praying a lovely prayer, or making pious excuses, or trying to impress God and other Christians. True confession is naming sin—calling it by name what God calls it: envy, hatred, lust, deceit, or whatever it may be. Confession simply means being honest with ourselves and with God, and if others are involved, being honest with them too. It is more than admitting sin. It means judging sin and facing it squarely...When should we confess our sin? Immediately when we discover it! By walking in the light we are able to see the "dirt" in our lives and deal with it immediately. --W.W. Wiersbe.

We must sit down humbly in the presence of God and examine clearly what the Lord Jesus calls sin and what He calls "doing His will."  Let us see that sin is far viler and far nearer to us and sticks more closely to us than we supposed, and then we shall be led to get nearer to Christ. As we realize how much Christ has done for us, so shall we labour to serve Christ more faithfully. Much forgiven, we shall love Him much. --J. C. Ryle
 

My great, my wise, my never-failing Friend,

Whose love no change can know, nor turn, nor end!

My Saviour-God! Who gavest Thy life for me

Let nothing come between my heart and Thee!