NO CONFESSING OF SINS REQUIRED.

Wednesday 4 December

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 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. 1 John 1:8-10 (NKJV)

Nowhere in the New Testament is the believer ever instructed to confess their sins! You might be shocked about that fact considering our opening passage of scripture seems to indicate the exact opposite. What some even call the sinners prayer is actually the salvation prayer.

Romans 10:9 says ‘that if you will confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Nowhere in this prayer is there any requirement to confess your sins to be saved. Confessing Jesus is Lord, yes, but confessing sins a resounding no! So why do so many Christians believe it to be true and will even try to defend it with their very lives? The answer is simple. Misinterpretation of 1 John 1:8-10. Remember there are no contradictions in the word of His grace So let’s unpack these verses and solve the mystery.

When Apostle John wrote this epistle, he had an audience of two groups in mind. Believers and agnostics. The definition of an agnostic is as follows: ‘a person who holds the view that any ultimate reality (such as God) is unknown and probably unknowable. One who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the non-existence of God.’

These were the ones John was referring to in his letter. This is why he said in verse 8 ‘if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’. The truth was not in them because Jesus the Spirit of truth was not in them. As every Christian is in Christ and Christ is in them, it’s clear that this could not have been referring to the Christians.

Verse 9 needs a little more explanation to be properly understood. When it says ‘if we confess our sins’ there is only one sin that the Holy Spirit came through convince the world of. The sin of not confessing and believing in Christ. If you study carefully you will find that this is what John was referring to when he said ‘confess your sins’. As I mentioned earlier there is no need for this practice for the believer. ‘

The next part says ‘He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’. Again this part makes sense when you realise to whom it was written; the agnostics. The word ‘forgive’ is synonymous with the word ‘justify’ but has a more personal application to it. In other words, salvation is impersonal because God simply loved the world and so He gave, but your acceptance of the gift activates the justification and therefore your personal forgiveness.

Coming to verse 10, ‘If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.’ This also holds true to the context of the particular audience that John directed his letter to. The agnostics amongst the believers. Think about it. How could His word be in us if we are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins? The believer is born of the word i.e. born of the Spirit. The Word, Christ Jesus, that is Spirit, could not be in us which means his words could not be in us. I hope that brings clarity to you on this passage

One more scripture that would be remiss of me not to mention is James 5:16 (NIV) it says ‘Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.’

The word for sin here is ‘paraptoma’ in the Greek which means a slip, lapse, deviation, error or transgression. It also means fault or offence. Confessing faults or offences to a Christian brother or sister is the contextual meaning here. It is not to set up a confessional booth like certain denominations have done and confess to someone all your sins. This has created the wrong mindset amongst believers.

Jesus paid for all sins once and for all time back-dated from the cross to Adam and forward-dated from the cross to the end of the age. Stop confessing your sins and start confessing your righteousness in Christ Jesus!

APPLICATION

Come to the realisation that you don’t have to be sin conscious because Jesus both washed you of your sins in His own blood and carried your sins away forever, never to be remembered anymore.