We are cleansed

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)

 Sin has negative effects in our lives and the lives of others, and most prominently in the damage it does to our personal relationship with God. Sin causes a breach in our relationship with our Father, and confession repairs the breach. It takes effort on our part to make things right, similar to how it takes effort to restore a relationship with another person whom we have hurt or offended.
 Confession is the means of counteracting the effect our sins have on our relationship with God. If we don’t regularly repair the damage through confessing our sins, we run the risk of becoming hardened in heart and spirit and relationally growing more distant from Him.
 Confessing our sins and asking God to forgive us is the path to that restoration. When we come before Him and admit that we have sinned, when we ask forgiveness and have heartfelt repentance, the breach is repaired and the damaged relationship is restored. We are cleansed from our unrighteousness and can once again be in fellowship with righteousness, God Himself.
 God desires to forgive us, and confession is the avenue through which we receive His mercy and compassion. —Peter Amsterdam [1]

 Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God. —Pope John Paul II

[1] Anchor Confession