Why do we need to confess our sins if we are saved by grace?

[ihavefoundgod951]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

1 John 1:9 ESV / 106 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 ESV / 99 helpful votes
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV / 50 helpful votes
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 John 2:1 ESV / 30 helpful votes
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John 20:23 ESV / 27 helpful votes
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

 

[AbbaLove]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

When Paul says the "law of sin and death" we need to understand where it all began when Adam & Eve disobeyed the instruction(law) of God.

Genesis 3:3 ... but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."
Genesis 3:22 ... Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”
​

The Ten Commandments were meant for good not for evil. To go so far as to conclude that what God intended for good (Ten Commandments) is now null and void is bad theology. David's Psalm is just as applicable now in understanding God's Grace.

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Past, present and future sins are forgiven when we confess our transgressions ... not cover them up.

James 5:14-16
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
​

 

[HebrewVaquero]

Why?
Because we are not saved by grace in the traditional understanding of that verse.

Grace gives us the opportunity to be saved, without grace we could never be saved because we would of never had the opportunity.

Repentance and obedience needs to be practiced for sanctification by which we take a hold of this great opportunity.
Just going through the motions won't cut it, it has to be from the heart.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesied a New Covenant where God's instructions are in our heart

 

[oi_antz]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

1 John 1:9 ESV / 106 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 ESV / 99 helpful votes
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV / 50 helpful votes
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 John 2:1 ESV / 30 helpful votes
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John 20:23 ESV / 27 helpful votes
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Confess is much like admit, accept. If we admit and accept that we have sinned, then we are also inviting God to forgive, heal and teach us to overcome that sin. Conversely if we deny our sin then we also excuse and justify the sin. We do not exercise repentance by doing so. As we are called to be a holy priesthood in truth, we should not be hypocrites appearing blameless while concealing sinful tendencies. Consider too that this speaks about vices, sins which we struggle to control (eg greed, gluttony, pride, lust). Specifically 1 John 1:9 says that He will cleanse us from unrighteousness if we confess our sin.

Have you ever observed a Christian who is refusing to acknowledge their sin and is desperately resisting the truth that convicts them? It can be shocking and it can be heart breaking and it is dangerous. Therefore St John encourages us to remain accountable in good faith, even to each other.

 

[patricius79]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

1 John 1:9 ESV / 106 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 ESV / 99 helpful votes
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV / 50 helpful votes
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 John 2:1 ESV / 30 helpful votes
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John 20:23 ESV / 27 helpful votes
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Christ sent his disciples to hear confessions and forgive sins because we have to actively receive the salvation that Christ offers us.

 

[stuart lawrence]

Christians are saved by grace and kept by grace, but the law God desires you to keep remains, only a law of righteousness has been removed, hence you are under grace.
If you as a child broke one of your parents rules you would confess you have done so to your parent and ask their forgiveness for doing so. Why? Because you love them and want a damaged relationship with them to be put right, then you have your peace back.
Your place in the family is not threatened until you ask forgiveness for grieving them for they love you. But you have no rest, no peace until you do ask their forgiveness for breaking one of their rules. It is the same in your relationship with God

 

[stuart lawrence]

Why?
Because we are not saved by grace in the traditional understanding of that verse.

Grace gives us the opportunity to be saved, without grace we could never be saved because we would of never had the opportunity.

Repentance and obedience needs to be practiced for sanctification by which we take a hold of this great opportunity.
Just going through the motions won't cut it, it has to be from the heart.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesied a New Covenant where God's instructions are in our heart

And because Gods instructions are on our hearts, we in our hearts want to obey but our flesh doesn't. And when we give into the flesh, follow the flesh rather than the spirit our conscience is seered, our hearts grieved for we have wilfully gone against the law placed on our hearts.
Thank you for mentioning this, for the law being placed on our hearts cuts out a licence to sin under grace

 

[Tiny Bible]

What verse in the New Testament calls the redeemed in Christ, Sinner? (This is not saying we do not sin)
We're called The Elect in 1 Peter 1:1. In 1 Peter 2 we're referred to as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. And throughout the New Testament we're referred to as Saints. We're called Faithful Brothers (and of course Sisters is a given for women) in Colossians 1:2. We're called Beloved in 1 John 2:7.

If we're Saints how can we continue to keep the self-title of Sinner? God remembers our sins no more. They are forgiven us before the eyes of an omniscient grace filled God.

 

[Steeno7]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

To confess means to 'say the same thing as', to 'agree with God". Why would we not agree with God and say the same thing as He about anything?

 

[JerushaC]

We need to acknowledge our sin. If we accept God's grace but don't put forth any effort to become more Christ like after, then we are not saved. Our sins is the reason why he died on the cross, in order to receive that grace, repentance of them is needed. We shouldn't go on living like we have the freedom to do everything sin because of God's grace.

 

[Steeno7]

We need to acknowledge our sin. If we accept God's grace but don't put forth any effort to become more Christ like after, then we are not saved. Our sins is the reason why he died on the cross, in order to receive that grace, repentance of them is needed. We shouldn't go on living like we have the freedom to do everything sin because of God's grace.

"How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Gal. 3:3

 

[JerushaC]

@Steeno7

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

No where did I say that man does that by himself.

 

[bibledoctrine]

Do we have to confess our sins? Or is the debt the lord payed on the cross paid in full past present and future?

If we are under grace and not the old covenant law (mosaic law) as some advacate, why do we need to confess sin?

1 John 1:9 ESV / 106 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16 ESV / 99 helpful votes
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

1 Timothy 2:5 ESV / 50 helpful votes
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 41 helpful votes
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

1 John 2:1 ESV / 30 helpful votes
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John 20:23 ESV / 27 helpful votes
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Confess rightly means to 'say the same thing as' and to 'agree with God", but before we consider 1 John 1:9 and its meaning, we must first review 'confess' in the Old Testament. In these verses you observe that confession was a critical component for Israel to observer God's Law. Israel was required to confess their sins in order to be forgiven and cleansed, and in order to inherit the land. Lev, Numbers, Chronicles, Kings, Nehemiah, Psalms prove this truth out.

Lev 5:5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned

Lev 16:20-22 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness

Lev 26:40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity

Num 5:5-7 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass with the principal thereof, and add unto it the fifth part thereof, and give it unto him against whom he hath trespassed

1 Kings 8:33-34 When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers

2 Chronicles 6:24-25 And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers

Nehemiah 1:5-6 And said, I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned

Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah


1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us

Now to consider 1 John 1:9-10. When Christ the Messiah to Israel died on the cross, that event was not over 2,000 years ago and His resurrection was the full and complete atonement for all sins PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE. Now when Christ died & rose from the cross ALL YOUR sins were FUTURE to His cross. Therefore, since He is the ONE who forgives sins and imputes righteousness to each and every believer, then Jesus Christ has ALREADY “forgiven us our sins” and He has ALREADY “cleansed us from all unrighteousness”. In our 'old man', e.g., our body, which today is still in corruption, we do sin when we walk according to this world (Satan's course) or when we are not operating by the spirit, Romans 8:4-8, then we are not pleasing God. So let me ask you this question: if you sin by walking according to this world (Satan's course) or when you are not operating by the spirit, Romans 8:4-8, then what is that sin going to produce in you? The power of sin is death. Do you suppose that your sin will produce death? How so, if, since Christ died & rose for all sins and has ALREADY “forgiven us our sins” and has ALREADY “cleansed us from all unrighteousness”, what do you need cleansing from? Since my sins are ALREADY forgiven and I am ALREADY cleansed us from all unrighteousness, I am already sealed by God the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13, and God has already called me a saint and a son of my Father, then I no longer need to “confess my sins” in order for Christ to forgive my sins. I simply talk with God and agree with God that I have sinned and I thank Him for His Son who died on the cross to forgive my sin.

This verse only makes since if your are Israel and you need to confess your sin as did the patriarchs so did.

 

[brinny]

Why do we need to confess our sins if we are saved by grace?

Yes. We need to confess our sins, for there are, and will be, many. This is not a playground where we can just "coast" and not recognize that, as it is written, there is spiritual warfare raging, as we speak. As it is written, the devil, God's adversary, and ours, is walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. THIS is why we are admonished to put on the full armor of God.

Do we, as believers, still sin? Of COURSE we, believers, still sin. We are not perfect, just forgiven. Our flesh wars against our spirit. Paul spoke of this. If we examine ourselves, we KNOW that we are not perfect, and that we sin many times a day,. in thought, word, or deed. We acknowledge it to God, and pray all the more for His forgiveness, as we repent from all that bombards us and we fall prey to. That's why we are admonished to "examine" ourselves. We KNOW that we are weak, and that it is GOD Who is strong. It is HIM in us, that is strong, not us. And there are times we grieve the Holy Spirit as we follow our own wills and that ol' pride rises up in us, as we thing "we know best". THAT is sin. In looking even more closely, it is the "subtle" things we think, say, and do that are most damaging, because they are "hidden" and not seen from the outside, therefore we can prance along in all of our self-assured "righteousness" and be full o' not needing God and blind as an ol' bat. After all, if we're "righteous", what do we need God for. We've already "gotten there", right?

Our realization that we NEED God is a GOOD thing. Otherwise, are we saying we can do this WITHOUT God?

Think about what that means.

Seriously. Self examination is a GOOD thing.

God bless you.

 

[bibledoctrine]

Why do we need to confess our sins if we are saved by grace?

Yes. We need to confess our sins, for there are, and will be, many. This is not a playground where we can just "coast" and not recognize that, as it is written, there is spiritual warfare raging, as we speak. As it is written, the devil, God's adversary, and ours, is walking about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. THIS is why we are admonished to put on the full armor of God.

Do we, as believers, still sin? Of COURSE we, believers, still sin. We are not perfect, just forgiven. Our flesh wars against our spirit. Paul spoke of this. If we examine ourselves, we KNOW that we are not perfect, and that we sin many times a day,. in thought, word, or deed. We acknowledge it to God, and pray all the more for His forgiveness, as we repent from all that bombards us and we fall prey to. That's why we are admonished to "examine" ourselves. We KNOW that we are weak, and that it is GOD Who is strong. It is HIM in us, that is strong, not us. And there are times we grieve the Holy Spirit as we follow our own wills and that ol' pride rises up in us, as we thing "we know best". THAT is sin. In looking even more closely, it is the "subtle" things we think, say, and do that are most damaging, because they are "hidden" and not seen from the outside, therefore we can prance along in all of our self-assured "righteousness" and be full o' not needing God and blind as an ol' bat. After all, if we're "righteous", what do we need God for. We've already "gotten there", right?

Our realization that we NEED God is a GOOD thing. Otherwise, are we saying we can do this WITHOUT God?

Think about what that means.

Seriously. Self examination is a GOOD thing.

God bless you.

Israel's program is to confess their sins for failing to obey God commandments. 1 John 1:9-10

The Body of Christ Church today is not to confess our sins but to forgive each other. All our sins as saints today are already forgiven by the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. 2,000 years ago He died& rose from the dead - at that time all our sins were FUTURE sins, we were not even born yet. Therefore 1 John is not scriptre for the Body of Christ to continue to ask Christ to forgive our sins - that is offensive to God since He has already sent His Son to die for your sins and you continue to ask forgiveness.

 

[brinny]

Israel's program is to confess their sins for failing to obey God commandments. 1 John 1:9-10

The Body of Christ Church today is not to confess our sins but to forgive each other. All our sins as saints today are already forgiven by the finished work of Christ Jesus on the cross. 2,000 years ago He died& rose from the dead - at that time all our sins were FUTURE sins, we were not even born yet. Therefore 1 John is not scriptre for the Body of Christ to continue to ask Christ to forgive our sins - that is offensive to God since He has already sent His Son to die for your sins and you continue to ask forgiveness.

The Body of Christ Church today is not to confess our sins but to forgive each other.

forgive each other for what?

 

[Goatee]

Of course we need to confess our sins! We may be saved by grace but we still need to confess our sins and gain absolution.

As a lot will know, in the Catholic church we have the wonderful Sacrament of Confession. It is such a wonderful experience to kneel down, with the priest, confess your sins and receive absolution by Jesus through the priest:

John 20:21-23
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

 

[bibledoctrine]

forgive each other for what?

 

[bibledoctrine]

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Notice the it says in Ephesians that Christ has hath past tense forgiven you. We forgive each other when we are not walking in the Spirit and are not kind to one another. We forgive each other for sins: we don't ask Christ to forgive us of our sin, that is what Christ has already done.

See this verse below it says "having forgiven you ALL trespasses".

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; [14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

 

[brinny]

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Notice the it says in Ephesians that Christ has hath past tense forgiven you. We forgive each other when we are not walking in the Spirit and are not kind to one another. We forgive each other for sins: we don't ask Christ to forgive us of our sin, that is what Christ has already done.

See this verse below it says "having forgiven you ALL trespasses".

Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; [14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

When we sin, it is GOD we are offending. We are "grieving" the Holy Spirit.

This should grieve us as well.

When we sin, our hearts are not right with God. We ask forgiveness for that, and we also ask for a Godly sorrow (not a worldly sorrow).

God does not take sin lightly and neither should we.