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, lets 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 wont forgive us! OK, lets 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 dont confess them then you dont 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. Dont 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 dont 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 doesnt say that. It is sad to think that by us sinning God withdraws from Him. I just dont 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 dont 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 wont 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 wont be the saint today unless you believe Christs 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?
All right, lets 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 wont forgive us! OK, lets 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 dont confess them then you dont 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. Dont 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 dont 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 doesnt say that. It is sad to think that by us sinning God withdraws from Him. I just dont 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 dont 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 wont 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 wont be the saint today unless you believe Christs 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?