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
Falling to confess your sin to God means that the Lord at the same time, cannot forgive such a sin, which leaves the Believer in a precarious situation. Forgiveness by God, in the context of which the Holy Spirit here speaks, is not automatic.
John plainly says that such a person "walks in darkness" (1 John 2:11). Jesus said: "Therefore your sins remaineth" (John 9:41).
In fact, the very moment that we do something wrong, the Holy Spirit without fail, will convict us (John 16:8). At that moment we should confess our sin to the Lord, whatever it might be, and wherever we might be. This is a matter of the heart, so it does not need ceremony of any kind.
Pastor Jimmy Swaggart Bible Commentary
Falling to confess your sin to God means that the Lord at the same time, cannot forgive such a sin, which leaves the Believer in a precarious situation. Forgiveness by God, in the context of which the Holy Spirit here speaks, is not automatic.
John plainly says that such a person "walks in darkness" (1 John 2:11). Jesus said: "Therefore your sins remaineth" (John 9:41).
In fact, the very moment that we do something wrong, the Holy Spirit without fail, will convict us (John 16:8). At that moment we should confess our sin to the Lord, whatever it might be, and wherever we might be. This is a matter of the heart, so it does not need ceremony of any kind.
Pastor Jimmy Swaggart Bible Commentary