by If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Picture an archer with a bow and arrow, aiming at a round target some forty feet away. If the archer shoots the arrow and misses the target by five feet, it’s because his aim was off by a tiny amount at the point of release. Unconfessed sin is like an arrow that flies by the target and gets farther and farther away with every second.
The most-frequently used word for sin in the New Testament hamartia means “to miss the mark.” Perhaps the most graphic illustration of missing the mark and delaying the acknowledgement of sin is in Psalm 32. David recounts how, the longer he went without confessing his sin to God, the worse his life became. He wasted away; he groaned inwardly; he had no strength. He was a parched man dying in the desert of guilt. But then he confessed his sin to God and found relief. His dry soul was showered with the grace of forgiveness.
If you have missed the mark in any area of life—past or present—don’t delay confessing it to God. He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins.
Forgiveness is to be set loose from sins.
G. Campbell Morgan