Monday – Confession of Sins
READ: Joshua 7:16-21; Proverbs 28:13
SOAP: Proverbs 28:13
For further reading – Joshua 7:15; 22-26
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” – Proverbs 28:13
Joshua, after the defeat against Ai, called the people by tribe, clan, and family in order to allow every man to come up and return the things taken from Jericho. When he confronted Achan, he confessed that he coveted a robe, silver, and gold and took all of it from Jericho.
Proverbs 28:13 says that when we confess our sin, we will obtain mercy. If you read all of chapter 7 in Joshua, you will see that this was not the case for Achan – he was stoned to death. What´s the difference between Achan and us? The difference is Jesus Christ.
Romans 3:21-26 reminds us that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but that we are justified and redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We deserve the same outcome as Achan because of our sin. But God, who loves us and has mercy on us, sent His son Jesus Christ to bear our sins and set us free. It is through Christ that we can be forgiven.
When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we can have confidence that God forgives all our sins when we repent. We are justified when God declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ based on His finished work on the cross. When the sinner trusts Christ, God declares him righteous. We should reflect on Achan´s story and rejoice in the forgiveness we have in Christ.
Oh, Lord, thank You for sending Jesus Christ to die for me and bear my sins. Thank You because, though I deserved the same outcome as Achan, through my faith in Jesus’ work at the cross, I´m saved and freed from sin and death. In Jesus’ name, Amen.