Do Christians Need to CONFESS Their Sin Pt 2 ( 1 John 1:9)?
05.16.09
Do Christians Need to CONFESS Their Sin Pt 2 ( 1 John 1:9)?
(All Bible verses quoted are from the New King James Version)
Last week we spoke about whether it’s Biblical for Christians to confess their sins, and in particular about James 5:16. This week we’ll look at 1 John 1:9
Firstly note we are NOT propagating a sinful lifestyle. We are NOT encouraging people to just go out and commit hideous deeds of licentiousness. We believe in obeying God and living a holy lifestyle, but these are only the fruit. The root is being established in grace & righteousness, knowing who you are in Christ. So let’s get into this week’s message.
[1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness].
This verse has to be read in the context of the rest of the book of John – written to a group of believers whose ranks had been infiltrated by teachers of Gnosticism. John seems to be gentle whenever he addresses the Christians, calling them “my little children”. But in other parts of his letter, when he is countering the teachings of the Gnostics, he becomes quite protective of his brothers and sisters in Christ, and his words quite harsh. At the time John wrote this letter, the Gnostics had already left the ranks of the Christians [1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us], but remnants of the Gnostisism teaching were still confusing the Christians that remained.
Gnostics are people who believe that creation is flawed and was created by a flawed creator, a movement out of which the “Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints” or “Mormons” has arisen. They also believe that there is no such thing as sin in the world, and as an UNBELIEVER that you do not have to confess your sins to God to be born again.
Even though the book of 1 – 3 John was written to the church, 1 John 1:9 was NOT a command for people to grovel in sack cloth & ash, instead it is simply a statement to contradict the false teachings of the Gnostics. There were people in John’s church (who had not been born again yet) who were self righteously claiming that they did not need to confess their sins to receive eternal life. They were still confused by the teaching of the Gnostics, even though the Gnostics had already left. John countered this lie and said the following: [1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us].
And then in the next verse he reveals how to be saved: [1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness]. God will cleanse them from ALL unrighteousness if they will only confess that they need to be forgiven of their sins. If 1 John 1:9 were addressed to the believing Christians (the ones who were already saved), it would then contradict the following verse: [1 John 2:12 Little children, I write to you because you have been forgiven your sins through His name]. Why would John command people to confess their sins if He says a few verses later that they HAVE been forgiven? If confessing our sins was such an important practice in the life of a believer, why did the writer of the biggest part of the New Testament, Paul the apostle, not command us to do it once??
Under the New Covenant, ALL our sins (past, present & future) have been forgiven. When Jesus taught his disciples (who were still under the Old Covenant) the Lord’s prayer, He told them: [Mat 6:12 and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors]. But under the New Covenant our motivation to forgive others is different. We don’t forgive anymore in order for God to forgive us, but now we forgive others because WE HAVE BEEN forgiven. Col 3:13 … even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Countless doctrines have been formulated by the modern day church about confessing our sins to God, all based on this one verse (1 John 1:9). It’s quite amazing if we realize there are no other verses in the entire New Covenant that tells us we should confess our sins to God! It’s even more amazing if we realise that this verse was not even intended for Christians who trust in the forgiveness of God, but for self righteous people! There are millions of people who have turned their back on Jesus & left the church, not because they are evil or sinful people, but because they are sincere people that for years & years have been taught a mixture of Old Covenant law and New Covenant Grace. These people have came to a place where they felt that other Christians and themselves were such hypocrites, that their failures and mistakes were so great, that their discouragement drove them away from Jesus into the wilderness. They gave up on Jesus and His word, although they still love Him in their hearts.
But you may ask, “Why would God not want us to confess our sins to Him? After all, we do make mistakes!” The answer is simple: Because walking around the whole day remembering all the bad things we have done will not bring us closer to God! Jesus already paid the full price so that we could have unbroken fellowship with the Father. This means that when we make a mistake, it does not break our fellowship or right standing with God. Jesus was forsaken by his Father on the cross so that we would never have to experience that! Does this mean that we just go out and live a life of full blown wickedness & depravity? No!! But it definitely means that God wants us to have confidence before Him, and to be more aware of our righteousness and His grace than of our shortcomings & mistakes. [Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water].
How can we have boldness before God if we have to grovel on our knees and plead for the forgiveness of our sins every time we pray? If we can’t have confidence before God, how then can we even dream to stand in front of a blind person and say confidently: “Blind eyes open in the name of Jesus!” We’d always feel that God does not want to use us because we have too much sin in our lives. No amount of crying, confessing, remembering your sins, emotional torment or anything we can do can add to the finished work of the cross, where our sins were forgiven, once and for all.
So when you find yourself conscious of your sins, simply say: “Thank You Jesus for the perfect work of the cross that has removed my sins completely. Thank you Holy Spirit for convicting me of righteousness, not my own, but the righteousness given to me as a gift (2 Cor 5:21) and I praise You that nothing that I do can ever change that or ever separate me from your love!!!” Grace does not mean the denial of occasional mistakes in our lives – that is a dangerous thing to do – rather grace removes the punishment and guilt of that sin (Tony Ide – Freedom Life Fellowship, Perth, Australia). Grace is what makes us worthy!
Rob Rufus (City Church International, Hong Kong) presented the following brilliant argument: Let’s pretend for a moment that Christians DO have to confess their sins to God. Then for the sake of integrity, these people should please be consistent. They should not only confess those sins which they think are the big sins, but also ALL the little sins. Rom 14 says that ANYTHING a Christian does not do out of faith, is sin. (Rom 14:23 …for whatever is not from faith is sin.) This means that we have to monitor every single little thing we do the entire day, and if we find ourselves doing anything without faith (eat, go to work, go to church, drive home, talk to our children, take off our shoes, worrying about anything, etc.) that is sin, and we should stop whatever we are doing at that moment, and confess that we have sinned, because God has now cut Himself off from us, our right standing with Him has been broken and we stand in danger of being thrown into hellfire for sinning.
So in closing, the Bible teaches all unbelievers to confess their sins to God to be born again and come into Christ, but the Bible does not teach New Covenant believing Christians to confess their sins to God. Also see part 1 on this topic at our website dealing with James 5:16.
If this truth about confessing our sins to God is still unclear to you, we encourage you to download the sermon called “Do Christians have to confess their sins to God?” by Rob Rufus from City Church International in Hong Kong. Simply follow the following link (the date of the sermon is 6 June 2008): http://www.citychurchinternational.net/2008.html
Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe
www.NewCovenantGrace.com
1 John 1:9 is not addressed to the Christians, but in an “inclusive” manner addressed to the Gnostics.
how do you explain John 1.john2.19
1 John 2:19 -They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.
if John is stating the gnostics had left, how can he still be adressing them.
It’s quite amazing if we realize there are no other verses in the entire new covenant that tells us we should confess our sins to God! …. so the concept expressed in 2tim3.16 is mentioned only once, does that mean it is not valid?
I have this final proof that Christians have to confess their sins because they retain their sin nature that is neve forgiven. sin = your sin nature: sins are the consquences of your being a sinner. You are not a sinner because you sin; you sin because you are a sinner.
now take this simple scriptural challenge: where in the entire NT is anyone ever forgiven of their SIN. Once more, find one verse where anyone is forgiven of their SIN.
next scriptural challenge: Find one verse where anyone is freed from their SINS.
so what is the conclusion: for Christians their sins are forgiven by the blood shed at the cross. We are freed from the power of sin by living the ascended life of Christ when we excercise the power of the Holy Spirit. But we can never live totally in the spirit so when we sin (we all sin, we all fall short of the glory), then we are told exactly what to do … if you confess your sins, =God is faithful and just, He will forgive you your sins and purify you of all unrighteousness so that your fellowship with God via Christ as your advocate via the Holy Spirit is restored.
that’s what is in the gospels ….
Hi Marco
If you believe that God will only forgive your sins from the day you were born up to the time you confess them, and that you have to confess EVERY subsequent sin afterwards to receive forgiveness again and again, then you are in big trouble. Because let’s say you have just confessed your sin, but forgot to confess the one time you looked lustfully at a woman, and you walk out the door and get hit by a truck, that means you are going straight to hell, because you forgot to confess that one sin! No Marco, the Christian life is not lived from confession to confession, it is lived from faith to faith and grace to grace. Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. John 1:16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
Our forgiveness is not based on our own fluctuating ability to confess and remember every sin we have committed, it is based on the perfect obedience of Jesus on our behalf and receiving forgiveness & righteousness as a gift. The moment you are born again, all your sins past present AND FUTURE are wiped out completely. When do you think your sins were forgiven?? More than 2000 years ago at the cross. But when you get born again, you RECEIVE that forgiveness.
Christians do NOT have a sinful nature anymore, you can see our previous article on this subject here: http://www.newcovenantgrace.com/christians-sinful-nature-indwelling-sin/
Proof from scriptures that Christians are forgiven ALL their sins (and these are only a few, there are many more):
Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Rom 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
8 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin”
Col 3:13 … even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
1 John 2:12 Little children, I write to you because you have been forgiven your sins through His name.
2 Cor 5:19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…
I can go on and on, but I think you get the picture. If God broke His rod on the back of Jesus, why would He have any punishment left for you? God wants us to be conscious of our righteousness, and not of our mistakes. Going around everyday, trying to remember all the mistakes you have made so that you can confess them, is not the way God meant for His children to walk in, because being conscious of our mistakes robs us of our confidence before God. But Jesus came and offered ONE sacrifice for all people for all time, and by faith in Christ we receive complete forgiveness through the finish work of the cross.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
So this is exactly what 1 John 1:9 tells us – When we admit we are sinners and confess our sins, God wipes away ALL our sins: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. From that moment onwards we don’t have anymore unrighteousness, and even though our behaviour sometimes does not line up with this, our position of righteousness before the Father does not waiver or ever falter.
What is the definition of sin? Well under the old covenant sin is defined as falling short of the requirements of the law, breaking the law. But then Jesus came and took away the requirements of the law: Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Now since there is no more law, we can not break the law anymore. Rom 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
In Grace
Andre van der Merwe
Hi Marco
Yes we have reconsidered this and also heard from various other trustworthy people that 1 John 2:19 implies that the Gnostics had already left. At some point we will revise this message and publish it again. Thank you very much for also bringing this under our attention.
May I just add that 1 John 1:9 still does not imply that Christians have to go soul searching and confess each and every small sin in order to be forgiven. As mentioned in many of our other messages, all the sins past present and future of a Christian were forgiven over 2000 years ago at the cross, and we RECEIVE this forgiveness the day we are born again. If confessing sins were such an important part of the walk of the Christian life, why did the champion apostle of grace, Paul, that wrote half of the New Testament not mention it anywhere? Yes there is a place for confessing sins if a person “feels” that they need to tell God they have messed up, but I can guarantee you that everytime you confess, and you then listen to the Holy Spirit speaking, you will always hear the answer: “You have already been forgiven – I don’t remember your sins anymore.” Heb 10:17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
God wants us to be conscious of our righteousness, and not of our mistakes. Going around everyday, trying to remember all the mistakes you have made so that you can confess them, is not the way God meant for His children to walk in, because being conscious of our mistakes robs us of our confidence before God. But Jesus came and offered ONE sacrifice for all people for all time, and by faith in Christ we receive complete forgiveness through the finish work of the cross.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; Also see Heb10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. If your conscience has been cleaned of your sins, and if God does not remember them anymore either (v17), why then do YOU still want to bring them up?
So this is exactly what 1 John 1:9 tells us – When we admit we are sinners and confess our sins, God wipes away ALL our sins: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. From that moment onwards we don’t have anymore unrighteousness, and even though our behaviour sometimes does not line up with this, our position of righteousness before the Father does not waiver or ever falter.
Unfortunately the confessing of sins has been made into such a distorted & ugly thing by certain churches to put people under the fear of man, to control the church and to make people feel guilty so that they can come back next Sunday to try and feel better again.
In Grace
Andre van der Merwe
hi Marco.
Romans 8:1There is therefore now NO condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
how can i be condemned of something if I’m in Christ Jesus and not in the Law like it is written in Rom 5:13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
now I’m in Christ so how can there be a law if Christ freed me from it!
Rom8:2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath MADE ME FREE from the law of sin and death.
See it says made me (past tense)
so if i was made free from the Law of sin and death
and I’m in Christ then there is no Condemnation.
Rom8:8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Sinners are people who are not in Christ! not in the Spirit but in flesh! That’s because they were not made righteous for Christ doesn’t dwell in me.
Why? Because they didn’t let the Truth set them free from the Law! and still think that they should ask forgiveness to earn righteousness!
you’re saying that every time a believer sins in the flesh is cast out from the presence of the Lord because if God sees them they’ll die! They won’t be able to stand boldly in His presence until they ask for forgiveness..you know that we can’t stand in the presence of God if we have sin in us. so if i forget to ask forgiveness for one of my sins what would happen to me?
Romans8:14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15For ye have NOT received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of ADOPTION, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
If i believed and received Christ I’ve been adopted! I’m a child of God! not a servant anymore!
16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the CHILDREN of God
read these verses please and notice that they’re all in the past tense! all done already.
Romans8:29For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
31What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.
34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38For I am PERSUADED, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, NOR NOTHING PRESENT, NOR THINGS TO COME!!! see that!!
Even future things could separate us!
Romans8:39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1Peter1:23Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
A very good friend of mine, Cornel Marais (Charisma Ministries) has written a brilliant message on this topic, shedding a clear light on this often misunderstood and heavily contested matter. May God open the eyes of our understanding to grasp the wonders of His Grace.
Click this link to follow:
http://www.charismaministries.org/?p=288
In Grace
Andre van der Merwe
Hahah! Yes Rita, brilliant. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
I was taught on positional and experiential truth. I believe confusion can result from failing to discriminate between these two concepts. ‘Seated with Christ in heavenly places’ is positional truth. So is righteousness in Christ. These truths concern the eternal reality of how Christ has fully rdeemed us, meanwhile we live on in a mortal body which is vulnerable to government by it’s appetites (‘in the flesh’)rather than being controlled by the Spirit. One perspective is eternal reality. The other is temporal reality, which should reflect eternal reality but does not always do so. There is no contradiction, just two perspectives. We will be fully conformed to our positional status in Christ, but we are not yet. We are to be transformed. While we are being conformed there is contigency for failure.
I enjoy your excitement concerning God’s grace. I believe sometimes God is emphasising one lesson in particular so it soaks in.