"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God Who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9)
Basically, we Lutheran Christians believe that "confession" is given us for the sake of the forgiveness that follows. Without the announcement of God's mercy on you for Jesus' sake, confession is either a one-way ticket to despair as we admit our failure to keep God's Law OR it's a self-indulgent enumeration of our brokenness for personal cathartic purposes. Unless the announcement of forgiveness follows the spoken confession, nothing good can ultimately come of it.
Once again, "being forgiven" is always about God's mercy on us for Jesus' sake. We are forgiven because we trust that what God said is true. We trust that He will do what He says He will do: He says He will forgive us for Jesus' sake.
So when we confess our sins, we aren't "hoping against hope" that God will forgive us. We confess our sins KNOWING God will forgive us for Jesus' sake.
In the Catechism, the Reformers put it this way. The question is "What is Confession?" The answer is: "Confess has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven."
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