But notice something surprising about the wording of 1 John 1:9. You expect John to say, “If we confess our sins, God is kind and merciful.” Instead he says, “faithful and just.” If you’ve just confessed to a crime, the last thing you want to hear is that the judge assigned to your case is the most just and righteous judge in the city. No, you want to hear that he is the most merciful judge. But John deliberately chooses two words that are completely counterintuitive.
