“God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NAS). The death of God’s Son on the cross makes forgiveness possible, His sacrifice means that condemned men can be cleared of charges and cleansed of unrighteousness. Because God gave His only Son, there are two types of sin that can be forgiven when they are confessed.

First, no sin is too sinful, no sin is too large to be forgiven. Why? Because no sin is bigger than God’s Son. Christ is more valuable to God than your sin is offensive to God. Arguing that He can’t forgive your deepest sin suggests you can dig a bigger hole than you deserve credit for. No sin of yours can eclipse God’s Son.

The second type of sin that should be confessed is the small (to our mind) kind, and it’s the same reason: God gave His only Son. Any disobedience, no matter how modest, offends His infinite majesty and requires forgiveness. The cost for mini-sins is the same as massive ones. God cares about the small ones because He cares that Jesus died for those, too. No sin of yours can hide in the shadows.

Lest tender consciences get consumed with confessional bookkeeping, sweating over every line item, remember my first point. No sin is too big nor are there too many, big and small added together. The key is to confess them all. Because God gave His only Son, what can be neither too big or too small? Sins we must confess, sins that His blood covers and cleanses.