Why does John speak of being absolved of all unrighteousness when we approach the throne of grace confessing even just one sin? That’s because the gospel itself is in view. All of our sins were laid on the incarnate, unblemished Lamb of God and were dealt with by His death on the cross.

How many of us have pulled out the card of 1 John 1:9 to place on top of the multitude of sins we confess? No matter how many transgressions we stack up, no matter how high the pile, this one card trumps them all: “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).

Not that God forgives our sins simply because we confess them. Rather, He forgives them because we confess Christ as His remedy for sin. That is implicit in the description of God as “faithful and just to forgive.”

Faithful means that God is true to Himself, true to His word, true to His promises. That we can understand. But why “just”? Wouldn’t we expect John to say “faithful and merciful to forgive,” not treating us as our sins deserve?

Justice points us to the holiness of God. He who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished has levied that punishment at the cross. His justice has been exercised and His wrath satisfied.

That’s why John points us to Jesus. “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2).

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