There is no greater love than this: that we pray our children humble themselves, confess their sinfulness and become born again.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
This Decaying Body, and the Great Regeneration to Come
Americans spend far more time worried about their eating habits and exercise for a trim body and very little time on their character or spiritual condition.
Most "Christians" today are more concerned about outer appearances than they are on the spiritual well being.
I am convinced that if we focus more on the spiritual man than the fleshly body everything else in our life will fall in line.
HOWEVER, that does not mean that if our spiritual man is progressing in holiness that our physical bodies will be perfect and beautiful.
We are living in dying flesh, the body is the shell that encases the spirit and soul. It is wasting away in death every day. We can hope to do our best to feed and cloth it but when that becomes our main focus everyday more than our character then we have lost our moorings.
As we grow older our bodies that are dying and have been dying from birth are progressing toward the grave. There will be no stopping those weak bones, wrinkles and grey hair that adorns our bodies from growing more feeble as the years pass.
We are born dying, we work with what we have, we take care of our body, but it should never be that we obsess over our bodies as they are failing. The older we get the more we should be focused on the inner man. Perhaps this is the reason the Lord cursed our bodies to be dying from birth, so that we set aside the thoughts of a perfect body to enhance the inner man, the inner man that will live forever in heaven with God.
No one will take this body of death with them to heaven, it will be changed into a new perfect body that will live on in eternity.
1 Corinthians 2:14
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
Those who are fleshly in their emotional bent are fixated on this life, this body and stuff they can amass before they die. Their body returns to dust and they leave all their belongings to someone else.
What if born again believers were to stop obsessing over their outer appearances and begin seeking Christ for a Spiritual uplift. Less thinking about remaining as young as we can as long as we can and more pondering the glory of Christ and what is coming after we leave this life.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
"then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
2 Corinthians 4:16
"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."
Psalm 115:1
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"
We live in a culture that thinks its sad for a man or woman to have grey hair so many die their hair, I did it myself a time or two. But when I began to ponder God's perspective about grey hair I began to see it was His design in this fallen world that our grey hair would be a sign of something:
Leviticus 19:32
32 ‘You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord."
When the younger generation honors and reveres their mother and father they will be blessed of God.
Since the younger people do not understand the trials and struggles of the older folks and their marriages they are not qualified to judge it, they are only commanded to honor those who are their elders, mother and father alike as well as grandparents.
In these last days of arrogance and rebellion we see very little of this principle of honor toward elders being demonstrated in our day.
The young people spend more time being angry and resistant to teaching and correction than they do in honoring and valuing those who are their elders.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
This is sad but not without hope! Since we know this is the last days with all its evils, we also know that right after this comes the rapture and then the final judgment when Christ will destroy evil with the breath of His mouth after which He will rule the world in perfect justice.
Our time is hard now but not bleak at all for the future. The great glory that is coming overshadows this short time of peril.
Hallelujah!
Most "Christians" today are more concerned about outer appearances than they are on the spiritual well being.
I am convinced that if we focus more on the spiritual man than the fleshly body everything else in our life will fall in line.
HOWEVER, that does not mean that if our spiritual man is progressing in holiness that our physical bodies will be perfect and beautiful.
We are living in dying flesh, the body is the shell that encases the spirit and soul. It is wasting away in death every day. We can hope to do our best to feed and cloth it but when that becomes our main focus everyday more than our character then we have lost our moorings.
As we grow older our bodies that are dying and have been dying from birth are progressing toward the grave. There will be no stopping those weak bones, wrinkles and grey hair that adorns our bodies from growing more feeble as the years pass.
We are born dying, we work with what we have, we take care of our body, but it should never be that we obsess over our bodies as they are failing. The older we get the more we should be focused on the inner man. Perhaps this is the reason the Lord cursed our bodies to be dying from birth, so that we set aside the thoughts of a perfect body to enhance the inner man, the inner man that will live forever in heaven with God.
No one will take this body of death with them to heaven, it will be changed into a new perfect body that will live on in eternity.
1 Corinthians 2:14
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."
Those who are fleshly in their emotional bent are fixated on this life, this body and stuff they can amass before they die. Their body returns to dust and they leave all their belongings to someone else.
What if born again believers were to stop obsessing over their outer appearances and begin seeking Christ for a Spiritual uplift. Less thinking about remaining as young as we can as long as we can and more pondering the glory of Christ and what is coming after we leave this life.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
"then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."
2 Corinthians 4:16
"Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day."
Psalm 115:1
"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"
We live in a culture that thinks its sad for a man or woman to have grey hair so many die their hair, I did it myself a time or two. But when I began to ponder God's perspective about grey hair I began to see it was His design in this fallen world that our grey hair would be a sign of something:
Leviticus 19:32
32 ‘You shall rise up before the grayheaded and honor the aged, and you shall revere your God; I am the Lord."
When the younger generation honors and reveres their mother and father they will be blessed of God.
Since the younger people do not understand the trials and struggles of the older folks and their marriages they are not qualified to judge it, they are only commanded to honor those who are their elders, mother and father alike as well as grandparents.
In these last days of arrogance and rebellion we see very little of this principle of honor toward elders being demonstrated in our day.
The young people spend more time being angry and resistant to teaching and correction than they do in honoring and valuing those who are their elders.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "3 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these."
This is sad but not without hope! Since we know this is the last days with all its evils, we also know that right after this comes the rapture and then the final judgment when Christ will destroy evil with the breath of His mouth after which He will rule the world in perfect justice.
Our time is hard now but not bleak at all for the future. The great glory that is coming overshadows this short time of peril.
Hallelujah!
Expel the Lazy Child
For those who fear putting out lazy adult children because they think it will turn them away from God!
If someone is turned away from God because they are disciplined to be accountable then they would only be choosing God because of what they could get out of you. If they do not choose God because God and you did not allow them to be lazy then their excuses for resisting God are nothing more than manipulation to keep everyone on the string.
We do not choose God because of what He can give us, we are more likely to seek God when we have had to feel the brunt of the consequences of our sin of laziness.
Keeping a lazy adult child in the home merely delays the growing process, the older they become the less likely they will learn to fly on their own.
Expect the child to get a job and leave and he will have to find away. Coddle him while in the home without any expectations and you have doomed him to a life of dependence on someone after you die.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 " 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.…"
If someone is turned away from God because they are disciplined to be accountable then they would only be choosing God because of what they could get out of you. If they do not choose God because God and you did not allow them to be lazy then their excuses for resisting God are nothing more than manipulation to keep everyone on the string.
We do not choose God because of what He can give us, we are more likely to seek God when we have had to feel the brunt of the consequences of our sin of laziness.
Keeping a lazy adult child in the home merely delays the growing process, the older they become the less likely they will learn to fly on their own.
Expect the child to get a job and leave and he will have to find away. Coddle him while in the home without any expectations and you have doomed him to a life of dependence on someone after you die.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-11 " 10 For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.” 11 Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.…"
The Ever Present Joy of the Lord
The joy of the Lord never leaves us even in sad or hard times.
We have the joy in the middle of our grief and tears. This is not something unbelievers understand.
When we know grief is a feeling we know that the feelings are not our essence but merely response to stimuli. We understand that the joy of the Lord runs far deeper than temporary feelings and is always present.
Feelings are not a measure of our essence. They must be ignored to be able to follow truth. When we feel sad it is nothing more than the fleshly response to the outward circumstances.
When we become strong enough to ignore our feelings and do what is right we will say how we feel but proceed to follow truth in spite of feelings.
Those who live by their feelings seem to always have messes to clean up after their improper response to those feelings.
Those who are jealous or controlling will base all they do on how they feel in the moment. I have seen many people speak disrespectfully to someone simply because they felt jealous of the other person.
Those who feel jealous of someone will act disinterested, even dismissive of those they think have something they wish they had. Their ability to enter into joy about accomplishments with their target of jealousy is missing.
Feelings often are very destructive, they cause people to believe things that are not true.
Sometimes feelings are enjoyable, but that is not the measure of truth. We feel good when someone makes a funny joke but that joke often has little value in our spiritual growth or resolve. I don't say we shouldn't enjoy levity from time to time, I only say that too much joking has little value in our Christian walk, especially if our goal is just to make others laugh.
The joy of the Lord far surpasses any contrived joking to make someone laugh. Peace and joy stays with us all the time everywhere we go, never to leave us.
Matthew 25:21
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'"
Luke 16:10
"Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
The joy of the Lord comes from trusting in Christ and a job well done when we obey.
We have the joy in the middle of our grief and tears. This is not something unbelievers understand.
When we know grief is a feeling we know that the feelings are not our essence but merely response to stimuli. We understand that the joy of the Lord runs far deeper than temporary feelings and is always present.
Feelings are not a measure of our essence. They must be ignored to be able to follow truth. When we feel sad it is nothing more than the fleshly response to the outward circumstances.
When we become strong enough to ignore our feelings and do what is right we will say how we feel but proceed to follow truth in spite of feelings.
Those who live by their feelings seem to always have messes to clean up after their improper response to those feelings.
Those who are jealous or controlling will base all they do on how they feel in the moment. I have seen many people speak disrespectfully to someone simply because they felt jealous of the other person.
Those who feel jealous of someone will act disinterested, even dismissive of those they think have something they wish they had. Their ability to enter into joy about accomplishments with their target of jealousy is missing.
Feelings often are very destructive, they cause people to believe things that are not true.
Sometimes feelings are enjoyable, but that is not the measure of truth. We feel good when someone makes a funny joke but that joke often has little value in our spiritual growth or resolve. I don't say we shouldn't enjoy levity from time to time, I only say that too much joking has little value in our Christian walk, especially if our goal is just to make others laugh.
The joy of the Lord far surpasses any contrived joking to make someone laugh. Peace and joy stays with us all the time everywhere we go, never to leave us.
Matthew 25:21
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'"
Luke 16:10
"Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."
The joy of the Lord comes from trusting in Christ and a job well done when we obey.
Repeat from Earlier Article on the Dopamine Affect
"There are so many things in our culture today that could easily distract us from truth. The pulpits are so full of story tellers and slap happy clappers whose greatest aspirations are to become the most sought after friendly preachers for their ability to bring a crowd into a jag of hilarity."
"I admit these comedians are fun to watch and some of their stories are funny, but if we have a steady diet of them continually it is possible the dopamine in our brain will never allow us to return to serious thinking."
"I admit these comedians are fun to watch and some of their stories are funny, but if we have a steady diet of them continually it is possible the dopamine in our brain will never allow us to return to serious thinking."
Rejoicing over Confession
1 Corinthians 13:4-5: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."
Has anyone noticed that love is not easily angered. This is an emotion that is almost indulged in our day. Anger can arise in someone over something as simple as telling the truth when it is uncomfortable to hear.
All of the attributes we see listed in the above verse describes what love is not. That alone these days would be seen as negative for its "its not" phrases.
Why do we speak about love as "what is not"? It is my observation that "what love is not" is what we see most of in our world today. It is beneficial to those seeking to understand love to see what it is not because this is what is being demonstrated in our world today more than what love is according to the Bible.
We have many people thinking it is good to boast about themselves, to be proud of who they think they are, whether or not its true as long as they think so.
Boasting and pride dishonors others, it elevates self and personal desire to be noticed above the needs and desires of others.
"Love never keeps records of wrongs" shows a heart that is willing to forgive when someone confesses their sin. I have seen narcissists listen to a confession only to demean and mock the one who confessed as though one more beat down was going to make the confessor a little more sorry than they are already.
To harshly admonish a person for having done a wrong when they have confessed and changed is the worst sort of monstrous pride. It shows that the one who administers the emotional beating actually thinks they have never sinned and have never needed to confess. The sorry thing about these people is that they never do confess, ever.
Those who are born again confess regularly, even for the small attitudes and the wrong responses. Not only this but they confess openly without being caught or prompted to do so.
I had so much sin in my life before I was born again I had no dilutions that I was better than others. It was obvious to me at a crucial point in my life that I needed the Savior. This is when I confessed that I was a sinner in need of Christ Who could save me from my sin and from hell.
After Christ responded to me when I confessed and believed He paid for my sin on the cross, He began the cleansing process of a lifetime.
Sadly I see so many "Christians" who cannot confess to those they have harmed nor can they confess to God. God gives us a description of these people in His word.
Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Publican
"9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
There is another side to this lack of love for God that seems almost opposite of the parable. The person who says "I am under grace so sin doesn't matter anymore." This person pridefully expects to be forgiven for sin they are not sorry for committing while continuing in that sin with a great deal of pride at how much they can grieve the heart of God and expect Him to cover them in His blood.
God does not cover in His blood the one who loves their sin, the one who remains arrogant and entitled to sin all they please without sorrow over it.
As we see in the parable in Luke, the Pharisee did not go away justified, that is his sin having been paid for. He remained arrogant, refused to admit he was a sinner, God did not cover him in the blood. The Pharisee was not forgiven because he would not admit his sinfulness. There was no restored relationship with God in the Pharisee's life.
However the Publican was justified and forgiven because of his heart condition of brokenness over his sinfulness. He was made whole and right with God for his deep desire to be cleansed by Christ. His relationship with God was restored.
1 John 1:9 "
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who boast about how good they think they are will not be blessed by God with wisdom or the love. These people have no love for anyone but themselves. When we know what we had to confess and how much God pardoned us we have compassion for those who are confessing.
It is common for those who think they are very good to often make inaccurate judgments about others to elevate themselves. They will take an action out of context and judge a person based on that one act that wasn't even clear to them as to its meaning. These judgments are sin and must be confessed if the gossip monger comes to the realization that they have sinned in their rush to judgment based on little to no information.
I have noticed too that those who are jealous and contemptuous will choose to see actions the way they wish to judge them to justify their contempt. This is the mentality of the Pharisee who wished to see himself as pious and perfect.
There are false confessions too that God does not honor with forgiveness. Those confessions that come because someone was caught and cannot wiggle their way out of the problem they have caused for themselves, this is a confession that is despised by God.
Judges in court rooms see these false confessions every day. They see the false humility and the manipulation on the part of those who hope their pretense of confession will get them off or lesson their sentence.
We cannot fool God and often judges in courtrooms are not fooled either. God expects honest and open confession without any expectation of a reduction in our sentence. We are willing to take the consequences of our sin whether it be temporary or lifelong.
We ought never to complain about the consequences of our actions when we deserved worse, that is death and hell.
The old saying "confession is good for the soul" is as accurate as it gets as we ponder the passage in 1 John 1:9. When we confess with a broken and contrite heart, without expectations of our consequences being removed, then is when God will cleanse us.
God's cleansing is a deep cleaning of the soul that removes the desire to get away with sin replacing it with the desire to continue our walk better than before, never committing that sin again.
Those who think they do not need cleansing because they are covered in the blood, will not be cleansed and very likely were never born again. Those who have confessed and hate sin don't want to repeat the same sins again. They want to be done with them, moving on toward a little more holiness.
When someone rages at their accuser for exposing their sin, this person is not repentant or humble. They are prideful and will not be forgiven for that sin. Those who do not confess their sin think they are safe because they follow certain rules, the rules of their own choosing, often not even Biblical rules or standards but rather whatever they think they want to observe to make themselves appear righteous.
Romans 3:20 "20 Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the Law. For the Law merely brings awareness of sin. "
When we come to Christ His way without arrogance that we deserve anything, then He will cleanse us.
Psalm 51:2
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin."
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."
The desire of the born again believer is to be continually cleansed to grow in holiness.
1 Peter 2
As Newborn Babes
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
As Living Stones
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For this is contained in Scripture:"
The humble man loves to see someone confess, this man will not give the confessor another beat down, he will rather rejoice with the one who has a broken heart willing to be open and honest about their sin. Confession is worthy of rejoicing.
Psalm 51…16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You take no pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Has anyone noticed that love is not easily angered. This is an emotion that is almost indulged in our day. Anger can arise in someone over something as simple as telling the truth when it is uncomfortable to hear.
All of the attributes we see listed in the above verse describes what love is not. That alone these days would be seen as negative for its "its not" phrases.
Why do we speak about love as "what is not"? It is my observation that "what love is not" is what we see most of in our world today. It is beneficial to those seeking to understand love to see what it is not because this is what is being demonstrated in our world today more than what love is according to the Bible.
We have many people thinking it is good to boast about themselves, to be proud of who they think they are, whether or not its true as long as they think so.
Boasting and pride dishonors others, it elevates self and personal desire to be noticed above the needs and desires of others.
"Love never keeps records of wrongs" shows a heart that is willing to forgive when someone confesses their sin. I have seen narcissists listen to a confession only to demean and mock the one who confessed as though one more beat down was going to make the confessor a little more sorry than they are already.
To harshly admonish a person for having done a wrong when they have confessed and changed is the worst sort of monstrous pride. It shows that the one who administers the emotional beating actually thinks they have never sinned and have never needed to confess. The sorry thing about these people is that they never do confess, ever.
Those who are born again confess regularly, even for the small attitudes and the wrong responses. Not only this but they confess openly without being caught or prompted to do so.
I had so much sin in my life before I was born again I had no dilutions that I was better than others. It was obvious to me at a crucial point in my life that I needed the Savior. This is when I confessed that I was a sinner in need of Christ Who could save me from my sin and from hell.
After Christ responded to me when I confessed and believed He paid for my sin on the cross, He began the cleansing process of a lifetime.
Sadly I see so many "Christians" who cannot confess to those they have harmed nor can they confess to God. God gives us a description of these people in His word.
Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Publican
"9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt:
10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
There is another side to this lack of love for God that seems almost opposite of the parable. The person who says "I am under grace so sin doesn't matter anymore." This person pridefully expects to be forgiven for sin they are not sorry for committing while continuing in that sin with a great deal of pride at how much they can grieve the heart of God and expect Him to cover them in His blood.
God does not cover in His blood the one who loves their sin, the one who remains arrogant and entitled to sin all they please without sorrow over it.
As we see in the parable in Luke, the Pharisee did not go away justified, that is his sin having been paid for. He remained arrogant, refused to admit he was a sinner, God did not cover him in the blood. The Pharisee was not forgiven because he would not admit his sinfulness. There was no restored relationship with God in the Pharisee's life.
However the Publican was justified and forgiven because of his heart condition of brokenness over his sinfulness. He was made whole and right with God for his deep desire to be cleansed by Christ. His relationship with God was restored.
1 John 1:9 "
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Those who boast about how good they think they are will not be blessed by God with wisdom or the love. These people have no love for anyone but themselves. When we know what we had to confess and how much God pardoned us we have compassion for those who are confessing.
It is common for those who think they are very good to often make inaccurate judgments about others to elevate themselves. They will take an action out of context and judge a person based on that one act that wasn't even clear to them as to its meaning. These judgments are sin and must be confessed if the gossip monger comes to the realization that they have sinned in their rush to judgment based on little to no information.
I have noticed too that those who are jealous and contemptuous will choose to see actions the way they wish to judge them to justify their contempt. This is the mentality of the Pharisee who wished to see himself as pious and perfect.
There are false confessions too that God does not honor with forgiveness. Those confessions that come because someone was caught and cannot wiggle their way out of the problem they have caused for themselves, this is a confession that is despised by God.
Judges in court rooms see these false confessions every day. They see the false humility and the manipulation on the part of those who hope their pretense of confession will get them off or lesson their sentence.
We cannot fool God and often judges in courtrooms are not fooled either. God expects honest and open confession without any expectation of a reduction in our sentence. We are willing to take the consequences of our sin whether it be temporary or lifelong.
We ought never to complain about the consequences of our actions when we deserved worse, that is death and hell.
The old saying "confession is good for the soul" is as accurate as it gets as we ponder the passage in 1 John 1:9. When we confess with a broken and contrite heart, without expectations of our consequences being removed, then is when God will cleanse us.
God's cleansing is a deep cleaning of the soul that removes the desire to get away with sin replacing it with the desire to continue our walk better than before, never committing that sin again.
Those who think they do not need cleansing because they are covered in the blood, will not be cleansed and very likely were never born again. Those who have confessed and hate sin don't want to repeat the same sins again. They want to be done with them, moving on toward a little more holiness.
When someone rages at their accuser for exposing their sin, this person is not repentant or humble. They are prideful and will not be forgiven for that sin. Those who do not confess their sin think they are safe because they follow certain rules, the rules of their own choosing, often not even Biblical rules or standards but rather whatever they think they want to observe to make themselves appear righteous.
Romans 3:20 "20 Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the Law. For the Law merely brings awareness of sin. "
When we come to Christ His way without arrogance that we deserve anything, then He will cleanse us.
Psalm 51:2
"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin."
Psalm 51:10
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me."
The desire of the born again believer is to be continually cleansed to grow in holiness.
1 Peter 2
As Newborn Babes
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
As Living Stones
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For this is contained in Scripture:"
The humble man loves to see someone confess, this man will not give the confessor another beat down, he will rather rejoice with the one who has a broken heart willing to be open and honest about their sin. Confession is worthy of rejoicing.
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