Many of us who have grown up in the church know that God forgives us when we trust in Christ for salvation. Our beliefs are rightly justified by passages such as the following:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8
“I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.” 1 John 2:12
“When you were dead in your sins and in the un-circumcision of your flesh, God made you[a] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13
"…by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14
Such passages clearly show that we are indeed right with God by faith, or trust, in Jesus’ all sufficient work for us sinners. Many of us have perhaps even become Christians after hearing these passages. But the reality is that many of us are badly confused, and we don’t really know it. We believe that we are forgiven yet when we sin many of us come to our knees, and ask God to forgive us. At first, such an act might seem completely normal and healthy. But do we really understand that we are, however innocently, shrinking the impact of Jesus’ work?
The passage that all go to in the New Testament to justify Christian confession to God is 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.”
Many Christians have used this verse for daily cleansing from sin. We think “Oops, I messed up. Well, I will just ask God to forgive me, and he will do so while cleansing me from any un-righteousness that is left over from my sin.” But does this work for people that have already been declared righteous by God?
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.” Romans 3:22
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
Re-read 2 Corinthians 5:21. God made Jesus sin, so that we could have the righteousness, or moral justification, of God. Because of what Jesus did we ARE righteous. And if that isn’t enough, God has forgotten all of the Believer’s sins.
For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12
So exactly how should we interpret 1 John 1:9? If we are truly forgiven (past tense) and righteous, then why do we confess?
As with all books and letters in the Bible, there is a historical context. John the Apostle was writing to combat a very specific group of false teachers: the Gnostics. Among other things, the Gnostics believed that Jesus 1) never came in the flesh, and that 2) humans could sin as much as they wanted to in the flesh, and it wouldn’t matter to God because the flesh is left behind when we die. John was concerned for the early church, and to keep them from being led astray by these false teachers, he wrote this letter to show exactly who the true followers of God were.
1 John 1:9 is found in the introduction of the letter in which John immediately begins separating those who are of God, and those who aren’t.
“5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10
Notice the line that John draws here:
If we claim to have fellowship with God, but walk in darkness: we lie
If we walk in the light: we have fellowship with one another
If we claim to be without sin: the truth is not in us
If we confess our sins: forgiven and cleansed.
If we say we have not sinned: His word is not in us.
John is separating those who are believers, from those who are false teachers. He is also making a point to let the false teachers know that if they recognize their sins, and confess them (acknowledge them) before God, they will be forgiven.
It is amazing how confused we become when we don’t let God’s free gift be free. God has made it simple: we are saved by grace through faith. This is the essence of the gospel. Because of what Christ did, we are free from un-forgiveness, and separation from God. If we truly understand that we are saved by grace through faith, then confession for forgiveness has no place in our lives. It is simply an unnecessary addition to the simple Gospel of Christ.
