“Father, I have sinned” (Luke 15:18)

If, the blood of Christ covers your sin, you won’t have to confess to it when you face God on Judgment Day, but as long as you live in a physical body, with your Old Man causing you to sin every day, you’ll always be aware of “the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1). The assurance that God won’t send you to Hell should never be used as a reason to not ask God’s forgiveness when you sin. This would only make sense if you were more concerned about ignoring your conscience than having “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). 

 If, God has placed in you a New Man, your awareness of sin will increase the closer you get to Him, because the process of sanctification will continue as long as you are on Earth. “Put off the Old Man with his deeds, and have put on the New Man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him” (Colossians 3:9-10). People who don’t feel the need to confess sin because they trust the blood of Christ covers that sin, are likely not saved. Most likely, they have the faith of demons, and do not know God (James 2:19). 

 The backslider denies his conscience and avoids the presence of God. He begins to doubt God loves him and forgets that he was cleansed from his old sins (2 Peter 1:9). He stops seeking God in prayer and reading the Word. But after God chastens him (Hebrews 12:5), he repents, and fellowship is restored. The saint knows he’s not only saved from Hell, but enjoys the presence of God through Jesus Christ. There’s a huge difference between confessing sin as a condemned sinner, and confessing sin as a child of God. The Father is always ready to comfort the saint. We’ve been cleansed once and for all, but our feet still need to be washed from the defilement of our daily walk with God. "