March 3, 2025

Applying the Bible to Your Life

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: James 1:22-25; 5; 1 John 1

My Bible study methods Professor said, “God didn’t give us the Bible to make us smarter sinners. He gave us the Bible to change our lives.” I couldn’t agree more.

There are certain questions you can ask yourself, as you read your Bible, to help you identify concrete ways to apply the Scriptures. This week I’ll identify one question you can ask yourself.

Is there a sin to confess? 1 John 1:9 encourages us in this regard. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (NIV). We are, as often as needed, to confess our sins. The book of 1 John was written to Christians to encourage them in their fellowship with God. In fact, fellowship with God is the theme of the book. As we read Scripture, we see a number of Biblical characters who confessed their sins. King David confessed his sins with Bathsheba (see Psalm 51), Nehemiah confessed after he heard of the destruction of Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 1), and Israel confessed its sins (see Nehemiah 9).

The term “confess” comes from the Greek word “homoloego” which means “say the same thing” (homo – means “same” and loego means “say”). In the context of 1 John 1:9, it means we say the same thing about our sin that God does. We don’t call it a “mistake” or a “accident” or some other means we attempt to diminish the fact that we have violated the law of God in our attitudes, thoughts and/or behaviors.

As we read Scripture, it is a common experience to be confronted with sinful attitudes, thoughts, and/or behaviors. When we become aware of these, we are to confess them so our fellowship with God can be restored. While there are times we confess our sins to one another (believer to believer), I will not address that matter in this blog. For more information on when and how to confess our sins to one another please see James 5:13-20. Pay special attention to the context (i.e., where, when, how, and to whom?).

In the meantime, as you read your Bible ask yourself: is there a sin to confess? I’ll address another application question next time.

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