I John 1:9 - Confession and Forgiveness

Status
Not open for further replies.

AVBunyan

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,131
74
70
Visit site
✟17,676.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
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.

All right, let’s talk about it. I will take the verse as it stands with no reference to the “original Greek”. This is verse is often misapplied and robs saints of their blessings in Christ.

Statement – I believe the verse is not doctrinally for the blood-bought, redeemed saint today. It may apply more for tribulation or kingdom age saints but doctrinally not for us today. One says, “Oh, it is doctrinally for us today, we have to confess our sins or God won’t forgive us!” OK, let’s see. Below is a bit long but try to suffer thought it if you are one of those who use this verse today.

The issue of I John 1:9 is forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness. According to the strict and plain sense of the verse in order for you to get forgiveness and cleansing is by confession. No confession – no forgiveness – no way around it. Your forgiveness here is based upon whether you confess your sins or not. If you do confess you get forgiveness. If you don’t confess them then you don’t get forgiveness – plain and simple. One is not getting into heaven as unrighteous or with sins on them.

Some say, “What it really means is if I confess then God will restore my fellowship with him for when I sinned I lost my fellowship with the Father.” Sounds good but that is not what the verse says. It says FORGIVENESS not FELLOWSHIP. Don’t make application out of it until you get the doctrine right.

How do I know this verse is not doctrinally for me today? Real simple. I consider what Paul says first (II Tim. 2:7). Paul says I am forgiven based upon Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 and many others. When Christ died for me 2000 years ago he died for all my sins (past, resent and future). When God justified me based upon the faith of Jesus Christ (not faith “in” like every new version) then God declared me as though I had never sinned or ever will. This is my position and standing in Christ. Why should I ask God to do what He has already done?

So, when I sin (and I do often) then I don’t ask God to forgive me for I am forgiven already. After I sin then I look at Eph. 1:7 and see that I am forgiven no matter what I do – this is called GRACE. Should I feel contrition? Yes. Should I repent? Yes. Should I thank the Lord for the forgiveness I already have? Yes. Claim the power that He has given me and go and sin no more! Grace teaches you to live godly in this present evil world (***. 2:11,12). The fact that God has done so much for you should cause you to want to walk holy before him out of love and gratitude for the grace and mercy He has shown you.

How do people misapply this verse? To some it gives them a license to sin. Ex. “I can go get drunk because all I have to do is just confess it!” Exaggeration but you get the drift. Sounds kind of like indulgences or confessional booths. I call I John 1:9 the “Baptist Mass”. “No big deal, all I have to do is confess it and all is ok.” If you are saved you are forgiven but you are living like the devil and grieving the Spirit of God.

Some say, “My confessing the sin restores my fellowship with God”. Sounds good but the verse doesn’t say that. It is sad to think that by us sinning God withdraws from Him. I just don’t believe He does. We will reap what se sow. We will lose confidence and not go to him in boldness but God will not put anything between Him and us because we sinned. He sees the saint in Christ!

Is confession good for the conscience? I would say it can but don’t confess to get forgiveness. Is acknowledging your sin to God healthy? Yes, and it can clear your conscience. The good news is regardless of what you do with your sin and conscience it won’t change your standing. Bad application makes for bad doctrine.

Now, somebody sometime will have to confess in order to get forgiveness and cleansing but it won’t be the saint today unless you believe Christ’s work at Calvary was not sufficient.

The saint's forgivenss today is based on what Christ already did at Calvary not our confessing sins.

Your thoughts?
 

Philip

Orthodoxy: Old School, Hard Core Christianity
Jun 23, 2003
5,619
241
51
Orlando, FL
Visit site
✟7,106.00
Faith
Eastern Orthodox
Marital Status
Married
AVBunyan said:
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.

All right, let’s talk about it. I will take the verse as it stands with no reference to the “original Greek”. This is verse is often misapplied and robs saints of their blessings in Christ.

Statement – I believe the verse is not doctrinally for the blood-bought, redeemed saint today. It may apply more for tribulation or kingdom age saints but doctrinally not for us today. One says, “Oh, it is doctrinally for us today, we have to confess our sins or God won’t forgive us!” OK, let’s see. Below is a bit long but try to suffer thought it if you are one of those who use this verse today.

If it is not meant for us but for someone off in the future, why does John say "we"? When the letter was originally written, wouldn't the people reading the letter assume it applied to them?

If you do confess you get forgiveness. If you don’t confess them then you don’t get forgiveness – plain and simple. One is not getting into heaven as unrighteous or with sins on them.

This is flawed logic. Consider the following argument.

If it is raining, then it is cloudy. I think that we can all agree that this statement is (for illustrative purposes, at least) true. Now, consider its inverse: If it is not raining, then it is not cloudy. This statement is obviously not true. In the same manner, while Scripture promises that if we confess our sins, then we will be forgiven, it is wrong to conclude that if we do not confess our sins, then we will not be forgiven. (Please note that I am not making a theological statement. I am only commenting on the formal logic.)
 
Upvote 0

Philip

Orthodoxy: Old School, Hard Core Christianity
Jun 23, 2003
5,619
241
51
Orlando, FL
Visit site
✟7,106.00
Faith
Eastern Orthodox
Marital Status
Married
AVBunyan said:
Philip - thanks for your comments.
Question - are you forgiven according to what Paul said in Eph. 1:7 and Col. 2:14?

I believe that Christ achieved all that is necessary to make forgiveness availible to us. I think this is what St Paul meant in Ephesians. I think that we must still accept that forgiveness through repentence.

I think that Colossians 2:14 refers to the Old Covenant.

Question - according to I John 1:9 what would be the result of one not confessing their sins?

I think 1 John 1:10 answers that

1John 1:10
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.​

If we willfully hide our sins and do not confess them, then we have not truly repented. Without repentence, we are unable to accept the forgiveness that Christ has prepared for us.
 
Upvote 0

AVBunyan

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,131
74
70
Visit site
✟17,676.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Philip said:
I believe that Christ achieved all that is necessary to make forgiveness availible to us. I think this is what St Paul meant in Ephesians. I think that we must still accept that forgiveness through repentence.

I think that Colossians 2:14 refers to the Old Covenant.
If we willfully hide our sins and do not confess them, then we have not truly repented. Without repentence, we are unable to accept the forgiveness that Christ has prepared for us.
Philip - my bad on Co. 2:14 you are right - that was Old Testament - I meant to say Col. 1:14 - In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgivenenss fo sins.

You also said "make forgiveness availible " - This is where we disagree - I believe according to Eph. 1:7 and Col. 1:14 and others that our forgivness is not just available but DONE. Right now you are forgiven. Our forgiveness does not come from an act of repentance now. This shows just how wonderful God is for He forgave all that we have done or will do already through Christ at Calvary! Because God ahs forgiven us it should make us desire to live the position we are - Eph. 4:1.

Again, I am trying to show how good God in that we have already obtained forgivness.

Again you said: "Without repentence, we are unable to accept the forgiveness that Christ has prepared for us". The work has already been done. My repentance can't bring me something I already have. Philip, when Crhsit died for your sins 2000 yrs ago He died for all of them including the ones you haaven't even done yet. Because you are in Christ God sees you as forgiven already! Why ask God to forgive you when He already has? Your or my confession doesn't have enough power with God to give us forgiveness.

Again, there should be contrition and repentance but NOT TO GET FORGIVENESS FOR YOU ALREADY HAVE THAT. Trust my motive here. I am trying to get you to see your true position in Christ and that is forgiven and perfect, seated in heavely places in Christ Jesus at the right hand of the Father. Just for grins go to the Sotierology thread and there is a post called "Postion vs. Practical". It is a short read but I think with this you may grasp what I am trying to show you.

Believe it or not I'm not just trying to debate "confessing of sins" - I was trying to lead people to see that we, as saints, are forgiven based upon what Christ did at Calvary and not by our confession.

Not only was Calvary good enough for our justification but so we don't have to try to continue to earn favor with God by acts of repentance. Right now you are already accepted in the beloved - Eph. 1 - and nothing will change that! God is good, amen?

Also, the "we" you commented on. I'll be honest - I John is a tough book - I admit. I'm not exactly sure where it fits in doctrinally. It could have been written early in Acts before the body of Christ was revealed to Paul. If this is the case then the "we" would fit for church age doctrine would not have been complete and Israel would have been waiting around for the tribulation to start. But we know in God's plan that wasn't so - so the book turns from historical to prophetical. I'm thinking out loud here. I just believe I John is doctrinally for a future time and that is why we don't have the udnerstanding that we should have for it. At least I am admitting I have trouble with I John. It sure has a "tribulation" flavor to it (antichrist, testing of real believers, etc.).

The point I am trying to make is the confession for forgiveness doesn't fit Paul's doctrine of forgiveness for us today so the book must be for another time period. What is wrong with that thinking? I am just trying to get some grounded in forgiveness today and not get wrapped up in future tribulation or millineal kingdom doctrine.

Finally Philip I don't think you really answered my simple questions:
Question - are you forgiven according to what Paul said in Eph. 1:7 and Col. 2:14? Yes or no
Question - according to I John 1:9 what would be the result of one not confessing their sins? Would they be forgiven? Yes or No.
Your answer of using I John 1:10 for the above does not answer the question
in my opinion.

May God bless
 
Upvote 0

JohnStevenson

Member
Jul 20, 2003
77
7
Hollywood, Florida
Visit site
✟7,747.00
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Trying to take the words of 1 John 1:6-10 and make them apply to some future "dispensation" is forcing the text into a mold that clearly isn't there. John is very clearly speaking of a present reality. This is clear from both the Greek text as well as from our English translations.

John is contrasting two kinds of people in this passage.

There is the one who is of God.
- Walks in the light as God is in the light (1:7).
- Cleansed by the blood of Jesus (1:7; 1:9).
- Agrees with God concerning his sin (1:9).
- Has an advocate with the Father (2:1-2).

There is the one who is not of God:
- Claims to have fellowship with Him and yet walks in the darkness (1:6)
- Denies the presence of sin (1:8).
- Truth is not in him (1:8).
- Says he has not sinned (1:10).
The believer is one who agrees (confesses) with God concerning his sin and who is cleansed from all unrighteousness. This is true in 1 John and this is true in Paul's epistles. There is no conflict.
 
Upvote 0

AVBunyan

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,131
74
70
Visit site
✟17,676.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
Thanks JohnSteveson - I think I made it clear that I stick with the text as it stands in a 1611 AV - I've seen people take the "Greek" and make it mean anything. If you stick with the text as it stands it is real simple - no confession - no forgiveness which is contrary to Paul. I'll take Paul's word on forgiveness.
 
Upvote 0

pmarquette

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2003
1,045
34
72
Auburn , IL.
Visit site
✟8,938.00
Faith
Protestant
Look at :
1 John 5.14 - 18 speak and belive & have what say , if not in a sin unto death
2 Chronicles 7.14 repent and returen
1 John 1.8 if we say we sin not we lie ... when we sin 1 Jn 1.9 He is faithful
and just to forgive us
Mat. 7.7-8 all who ask receive , all who seek find

Yes grace covers our lives , but we still have to ask for what has
been made available for us ( grace and mercy ), to receive ...
 
Upvote 0

AVBunyan

Senior Member
Dec 4, 2003
1,131
74
70
Visit site
✟17,676.00
Faith
Baptist
Marital Status
Married
pmarquette said:
Yes grace covers our lives , but we still have to ask for what has been made available for us ( grace and mercy ), to receive ...
According to Eph. 1:7 and Co. 1:14 I already have forgiveness in Christ without asking for it and even before I sin. :clap:
 
Upvote 0

pmarquette

Well-Known Member
Nov 17, 2003
1,045
34
72
Auburn , IL.
Visit site
✟8,938.00
Faith
Protestant
According to Eph. 1:7 and Co. 1:14 I already have forgiveness in Christ without asking for it and even before I sin. :clap:

not so ..... these verses speak of being redeemed from the curse of the Law & the
deliverence of the sin of Adam , not a " carte blanche " sin gold card ....
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
AVBunyan said:
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.

All right, let’s talk about it. I will take the verse as it stands with no reference to the “original Greek”. This is verse is often misapplied and robs saints of their blessings in Christ.

Statement – I believe the verse is not doctrinally for the blood-bought, redeemed saint today. It may apply more for tribulation or kingdom age saints but doctrinally not for us today. One says, “Oh, it is doctrinally for us today, we have to confess our sins or God won’t forgive us!” OK, let’s see. Below is a bit long but try to suffer thought it if you are one of those who use this verse today.
what verses in 1 john does this apply to those groups?



The issue of I John 1:9 is forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness. According to the strict and plain sense of the verse in order for you to get forgiveness and cleansing is by confession. No confession – no forgiveness – no way around it. Your forgiveness here is based upon whether you confess your sins or not. If you do confess you get forgiveness. If you don’t confess them then you don’t get forgiveness – plain and simple. One is not getting into heaven as unrighteous or with sins on them.

Some say, “What it really means is if I confess then God will restore my fellowship with him for when I sinned I lost my fellowship with the Father.” Sounds good but that is not what the verse says. It says FORGIVENESS not FELLOWSHIP. Don’t make application out of it until you get the doctrine right.
As I understand it ....the verse is for are frame of mind to change and realize that we are not living up too what God says....

Thus by changing are mind we get to excape Hebrews 12:3-11

Thus it is true that God died for all Sins at the Cross ......

and since we are Baptized into Christ romans 6:3

and Jesus is one with the Father John 10:30

therefore when we sin John 1:8,10 we cannot get rid of God John 10:28

How do I know this verse is not doctrinally for me today? Real simple. I consider what Paul says first (II Tim. 2:7). Paul says I am forgiven based upon Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 and many others. When Christ died for me 2000 years ago he died for all my sins (past, resent and future). When God justified me based upon the faith of Jesus Christ (not faith “in” like every new version) then God declared me as though I had never sinned or ever will. This is my position and standing in Christ. Why should I ask God to do what He has already done?

So, when I sin (and I do often) then I don’t ask God to forgive me for I am forgiven already. True After I sin then I look at Eph. 1:7 and see that I am forgiven no matter what I do – this is called GRACE. Awesome... isn't it
Should I feel contrition? Yes. Should I repent? Yes. Should I thank the Lord for the forgiveness I already have? Yes. Claim the power that He has given me and go and sin no more! Grace teaches you to live godly in this present evil world (***. 2:11,12). The fact that God has done so much for you should cause you to want to walk holy before him out of love and gratitude for the grace and mercy He has shown you.

How do people misapply this verse? To some it gives them a license to sin.
this is called lawlessnwess
Ex. “I can go get drunk because all I have to do is just confess it!” Exaggeration but you get the drift. Sounds kind of like indulgences or confessional booths. I call I John 1:9 the “Baptist Mass”. “No big deal, all I have to do is confess it and all is ok.” If you are saved you are forgiven but you are living like the devil and grieving the Spirit of God.

Some say, “My confessing the sin restores my fellowship with God”. Sounds good but the verse doesn’t say that. It is sad to think that by us sinning God withdraws from Him.
Impossible for God to leave one who is saved but it is possible for christians to ignore God

I just don’t believe He does. We will reap what se sow. We will lose confidence and not go to him in boldness but God will not put anything between Him and us because we sinned. He sees the saint in Christ!

Is confession good for the conscience? I would say it can but don’t confess to get forgiveness. Is acknowledging your sin to God healthy? Yes, and it can clear your conscience. The good news is regardless of what you do with your sin and conscience it won’t change your standing. Bad application makes for bad doctrine.

Now, somebody sometime will have to confess in order to get forgiveness and cleansing but it won’t be the saint today unless you believe Christ’s work at Calvary was not sufficient.

The saint's forgivenss today is based on what Christ already did at Calvary not our confessing sins.

Your thoughts?
One more thought

confession is obeying what God TOLD US TO DO this WHEN WE DO SIN {not yelling...like some people think}1 john 1:9 but God is not saying he did not pay for sins ......its that we need to change are minds since we rebelled against God's word......

confession is equal to changing ones mind
 
Upvote 0

SavedByGrace3

Jesus is Lord of ALL! (Not asking permission)
Supporter
Jun 6, 2002
19,640
3,658
Midlands
Visit site
✟551,529.00
Country
United States
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
1Jo 1:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.


This is a verse that I did understand for a number of years. Something was wrong, and I could never quite comprehend what was being said. On the one hand, I knew we were new creatures, created in Christ Jesus into good works, partakers of the divine nature, after the image of God (
2 Cor 5:17-21, Eph 2:10, 2 Pet 1:4, Col 3:10)
. I knew that because we have this new divine nature, which is the spiritual seed of God, we cannot sin (1 John 3:9, 5:18). We are good trees that cannot put forth evil fruit (Matt 7:18).
So it bothered me for a long time. One night, in the wee hours of the morning, I was in
fellowship
with the Lord and He just opened up something to me.
Read the verses leading up to 1 John 1:8:

1Jo 1:
5 This is the Message which we have heard from the Lord Jesus and now deliver to you--God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness.
6 If, while we are living in darkness, we profess to have fellowship with Him, we speak falsely and are not adhering to the truth.


The key word is IF.
If
we are in darkness and say we still are in fellowship with God, then
we are lying. But we are not always in darkness. The normal Christian life is to be in the light with Him.

1Jo 1:
7 But if we live in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

These verses about being sinful as well as those that follow, only pertain to people who find themselves in darkness. If you find yourself in darkness, and claim that you did not get there by sinning, then the truth is not in you. The only way believers get into darkness is by sinning! That is why he says:

1Jo 1
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In other words, if you find yourself in darkness, and if claim that you have not sinned, then you deceive yourself!

Can you see the difference here? He is not saying that sinning and being in darkness is the normal state of the believer. He is just saying that sin is the only way a person gets into darkness.
 
Upvote 0
There are three groups in 1 cor 10:32 Jews, Gentiles and Christians

does God say only Jews and Gentiles are sinners and Christians are perfect?

romans 3:23 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

what is happening in John 1:8,10 is that we all sin....

But postionally God does not impute sin on Christians ....romans 4:8

this is once again God's soveriegnity vs Man's free will .....both are true
 
Upvote 0

orthotomeo

U.E.S.I.C.
Jan 2, 2004
226
0
Ohio
Visit site
✟350.00
Faith
Christian
AVBunyan,

I'm new here, and I thank you for posting this thread (my first stop). I agree with you that 1 Jn is not doctrinally applicable to believers today -- if it is meant for us, the Bible contradicts itself and we have much bigger problems to worry about!

Hope to comment more soon...this topic is of special interest to me; in fact, I'm giving a lesson on 1 Jn 1:9 tomorrow morning in Sunday school.

In Him,

o.
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums
orthotomeo said:
AVBunyan,

I'm new here, and I thank you for posting this thread (my first stop). I agree with you that 1 Jn is not doctrinally applicable to believers today -- if it is meant for us, the Bible contradicts itself and we have much bigger problems to worry about!

Hope to comment more soon...this topic is of special interest to me; in fact, I'm giving a lesson on 1 Jn 1:9 tomorrow morning in Sunday school.

In Him,

o.
so you disagree with romans too as well as 1 john

wow...
 
Upvote 0

orthotomeo

U.E.S.I.C.
Jan 2, 2004
226
0
Ohio
Visit site
✟350.00
Faith
Christian
A Brethren IN CHRIST said:
so you disagree with romans too as well as 1 john

wow...

I have not read all the posts on this thread so I don't know what ref to Romans you're making. Let me make my case (which differs somewhat from AV's), then decide, please?

Eternally safe in Him,

o.
 
Upvote 0
This site stays free and accessible to all because of donations from people like you.
Consider making a one-time or monthly donation. We appreciate your support!
- Dan Doughty and Team Christian Forums

orthotomeo

U.E.S.I.C.
Jan 2, 2004
226
0
Ohio
Visit site
✟350.00
Faith
Christian
Nearly all believers take 1 John 1:9 as the means of dealing with our sins. But does this traditional view hold up to an in-context examination of what John actually says? Nope.

What do we know about John and his letters?

(Gal 2:2-9) Peter, James and John are apostles to Israel. Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. That right there must be taken into account when reading the general epistles. John, Peter and James wrote to Kingdom Jews, not to the Body of Christ in which there is neither Jew nor Gentile.

Looking at 1 John up close. . .

1:8 "We" - John wrote to a group of which he considered himself a memeber...John was a Jew, an Israelite.

2:18 John wrote to those living in the last hour

5:1 Faith in Jesus as Messiah is central to his reader's faith and salvation [whereas the cross/burial/ resurrection of Jesus is central to salvation today].

WHAT'S PAUL SAY?

Eph 1:7 We HAVE forgiveness of sins, present possession. Not conditional like John says.

Col 2:13-14 "blotting out" literally means "to obliterate or wipe away," and Paul here uses it in reference to the Law (hence U.E.S.I.C., or Unconditional Eternal Security In Christ, Romans 8:1).

If 1 John 1:9 applies to us today, then John contradicted Paul, which means the Holy Spirit contradicted Himself and we have much bigger problems to worry about.

WHO SPECIFICALLY IS THE CHAPTER 1 OF 1 JOHN ADDRESSING?

I personally believe that the first chapter of 1 John is an evangelistic appeal to John's lost countrymen. Evidence for this:

* The tone matches perfectly with the opening of John's gospel. Compare them and see.

* What John says here about confession (homologeo) may have nothing to do with listing out one's individual sins of the past week, but rather is simply an acknowledgement on the part of an religious but unsaved Jew that there is a sin problem to begin with. That some texts read the "sins" (KJV) of 1:9 as singular ("sin") may support this.

* 1:2 "..we declare unto you..." John says this THREE TIMES in this first chapter. WHY would he declare unto believers the truth of Jesus as Messiah? They'd already know this, as that's the content of the Kingdom Jews' faith (again, see 5:1)!

* 1:3 "that you fellowship with us...our fellowship is with Christ and God..."
Is this an implication that the ones to whom John addresses here did NOT have fellowship with Christ? I think so.

* 1:6 "If we say we have fellowship with Him [God] but walk in darkness..." This would be esp. true of religious, unsaved Jews. Christians certainly sin but do not "walk" in darkness.

* 1:7 "If we walk in the light...His blood cleanses us from all sin..." Another way of stating what 1:9 says - conditional forgiveness. Does John imply his readers here are walking in darkness? Is he implying his readers at this point are not cleansed of sin? I believe he may be doing exactly that (very gently!).

* 1:8 "If we say we have no sin..." No intelligent, truly saved believer of ANY dispensation would say this. Self-righteous folks can and do believe it about themselves, however.

* 2:1 "My little children..." The first time John addresses his readers in such warm, familiar fashion. A shift in audience? I think so, because...

*2:12 "Your sins ARE forgiven..." But 1:9 is conditional! How can the same individuals have sin forgiven, and yet need to confess their sins IN ORDER FOR sin to be forgiven?

* 2:13-14 "Have known..." John says this three times. But he seems to imply that those in 1:3 DO NOT know Him.

Some commentators believe John's first letter is not so much a free-standing letter as (at least in spirit) a pre- or post-script to his Gospel. I do not know, but it makes some sense given the evangelistic tone of this first chapter.

In any case, I believe the first chapter of 1 John is addressed to unbelieving Jews, just as Paul seems to have made an appeal to unbelievers at the end of 2 Cor 5. Then comes a shift; believing Jews appear to be addressed from the 2nd chapter onward.

IMPLICATIONS OF PRACTICING 1 JN 1:9 TODAY

1. If one believes he/she must confess individual sins in order for God to forgive them -- AND THAT'S WHAT JOHN SAID!!! -- the implication is that the Cross provides only the *basis* or *potential* for complete forgiveness, but not at the moment of faith. The actual judicial wiping away of sins happens on a sin-by-sin basis, and THEN only if they're confessed. That is exactly the teaching of Rome.

2. If one believes he/she must confess individual sins in order for God to forgive them -- AND THAT'S WHAT JOHN SAID!!! -- then what happens to even the "smallest" sin one forgets to confess? Two common responses:

"Doesn't matter. God is gracious and He'll forgive it anyway."

To which I respond:

a) Then why confess ANY of them at all?

b) John said "confess or else," not "confess what you remember."

The second common response:

"Tell God you can't remember all your sins and He'll forgive them anyway"

a) How can you sincerely, genuinely confess and repent of an act you don't even remember? Should God take you seriously? Would you?

b) Isn't that a form of abusing God's grace?

3. If one believes he/she must confess individual sins in order for God to forgive them -- AND THAT'S WHAT JOHN SAID!!! -- then one is automatically throwing doubt on the complete efficacy of the Cross. Why? Because God deals with sin at only one of two places: AT THE CROSS, or IN THE LAKE OF FIRE. It's an ALL or NOTHING deal.

But if one has to confess a sin in order for it to be forgiven, then that sin is still "on the books" if you forget to confess it.

This means God's justice and holiness will FORCE Him to deal with unconfessed sins instead of "sweeping them under the rug" of grace.

So if the Cross does not apply to sins UNLESS they're confessed (and that is the logic of applying 1 Jn 1:9 to yourself), then forgetting to confess EVEN ONE SIN leaves that sin untouched by the Cross. That means it remains UNFORGIVEN and UNFORGIVABLE. Since God must deal with ALL sin, and since that forgotten, unconfessed sin can't be applied to the Cross, the only alternative is Lake of Fire.

SO IF YOU ARE CONSISTENT ABOUT APPLYING 1 JN 1:9 TO YOURSELF. . .IF YOU TAKE JOHN EXACTLY AS HE WROTE, WITHOUT TWISTING HIS WORDS. . .YOU'LL REALIZE THAT YOUR SALVATION ULTIMATELY DEPENDS UPON CONFESSING *EVERY* *SINGLE* *SIN* YOU COMMIT. That's YOU -- not God -- maintaining your salvation. That's salvation by WORKS (the "work" being confession). Even the cults see that, so it AMAZES me that most Christians don't.

In conclusion, I am convinced that applying 1 Jn 1:9 to Christians is, at best, Galatianistic, Spirit-grieving error, and at worst a very subtle false gospel.

THANK GOD WE'RE UNDER GRACE, NOT LAW!

Grace to you,

o.
 
Upvote 0
Status
Not open for further replies.