Answering Objections to the Gospel of Grace: Confession of sins, is it for the Church?

 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 AMP

 On this site, I have addressed many concerns and objections concerning the message of Grace. I have even allayed some myths about grace teaching. Recently I came across a concise list of objections to the message of Grace. 

 With such a concise list of objections, I felt compelled to give a detailed response. So far I began addressing the issue of who 1 John was addressed to and answered if it was to Christians or not. Today, I would like to address this issue of confessions of sins so we may be forgiven of our sins. 

 On this site, we have addressed this issue several times. Each time, addressing different perspectives on the issue of confession. I will proceed with fresh insight on this matter of confession but want to allow you to study the issue further. You can find further study here, here, and here. 

 Are confessions of sins so we may be forgiven of our sins the system God designed in the New Covenant? Think of how this reflects on Jesus' once for all sacrifice for all of our sins. If we no longer have to offer lambs as a sacrifice for our sins to be covered but still must offer the "sacrifice" of apologizing, acknowledging, and admitting that we sinned to receive forgiveness for that sin, what does that say of Jesus' sacrifice? It says His sacrifice, His shed Blood,  is insufficient and we must add our apologies and admission in order to be forgiven.

 Let's use the Word as the final authority on this subject. If we wish to believe in a "doctrine" that says after conversion, acceptance of Jesus' and being born again, each and every time we sin thereafter we must confess it or acknowledge it so we can be cleansed from unrighteousness and receive forgiveness for it, we must consider some important truths. What truths? Let's look closer at the Word as a whole.

 For one to believe the premise of confessing to be forgiven, one has to overlook, disregard, and ignore some important Bible facts. First fact, we are only forgiven of sins by the shedding of blood not our apologies or admissions of guilt. Look at the Word;

In fact we can say that under the old agreement almost everything was cleansed by sprinkling it with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22 TLB 

 Let's look at the second Bible fact. We as believers are forgiven of all our sins once and for all time. This is Jesus' sacrifice alone not His plus ours equaling forgiveness. 

12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, Hebrews 10:12 NASB

 Let's look at the third Bible fact. We are forgiven of all our sins. Not just forgiven of our past sins. Not forgiven only up towards the time of conversion. No, we are forgiven of all our sins past and present and future. 

14 who bought our freedom with his blood and forgave us all our sins Colossians 1:14 TLB

13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:13 NLT

12 I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]. 1 John 2:12 AMP

 Let's look at yet another Bible fact. Truth is established in the mouth of two or three witnesses. 1 John 1:9 is the only place that tells us to confess our sins so we can receive forgiveness. If we must admit it before we are forgiven, this concept should be repeated throughout the entire New Covenant. 

This will be the third time I am coming to you. “By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” 2 Corinthians 13:1 NKJV

When we allow the Word to be the complete truth and final authority we can see how some ideas can't hold up to scrutiny. Another truth we must look at is the context of the Epistle. John is not contradictory as an Apostle.

 Look at his words in the second chapter of 1 John. John specifically addresses Christians who have sinned. Why didn't he tell them to admit it? Why didn't he tell them to acknowledge it? Why didn't he tell them to apologize? 

 Doesn't John know if they don't apologize they won't be forgiven? Doesn't John know if they don't admit it their sin will go on being unforgiven? What is John thinking?

 The Apostle John is not contradicting himself. In 1 John 1:9, he points sinners to their admission of sins, so they will see the need for a savior. He points to the acknowledgment of sins so they will receive the Grace of once for all forgiveness. In 1 John 2, John points believers to Jesus and not themselves. He points those who have sinned to Jesus and reminds them of His sacrifice, not theirs. 

 In summation, the facts are clear. 1 John is not teaching believers we must confess in order to receive forgiveness. The second chapter of John proves this. John reminds us of Jesus' sacrifice. He reminds us of our forgiveness in Jesus. We don't confess to be forgiven under the New. 

 When we sin, we confess what Jesus did about our sins. We confess who we are because of Jesus despite our sins. We confess our Righteousness and redemption in Christ when we sin. Because we are forgiven we can freely admit when we have failed and know we are not condemned.  This is the Good News of Grace. 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Objection?! Answering objections to the Gospel of Grace

For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17 AMP

 Grace and truth came through Christ. Take note that Grace and Truth are listed together. They are on the same side if you will. Some religious minded say preach Grace but we also need truth. As if Grace isn't speaking the truth. As if Grace opposes truth. 

 If Grace and truth are together, which John 1 clearly demonstrates, then Grace and truth are not opposites. It means that Grace is the truth. That truth is also Grace. They go hand in hand. With this understanding, I want to look at some serious objections some Christian leaders have concerning Grace.

 There may be many objections you have heard previously. On this site, I have spent considerable time answering concerns about the Gospel of Grace. That said I recently came across a concise list of objections to the message of Radical Grace. It was so detailed I felt a detailed response to each objection was warranted. With that let's begin.

 The biggest objection to Radical Grace is the concept of confession of our sins and 1 John 1:9 being written to believers. The Gospel of Grace has revealed that 1 John 1:9 is not to believers but rather to unbelievers. This is a strongly controversial point to some. 

 This objection must be responded to by tackling two questions.  Is 1 John 1 written to Christians or sinners? Is confession of sins (in order to be forgiven of sins) for the believer? Let's answer objection one part one, who is 1 John chapter 1 addressing? 

 Let's look at the first chapter in full context here. Take note of how John the Apostle begins the Epistle. Look how there is no greeting. Every Epistle in the New Covenant begins with a greeting. Even in the Epistle to the Hebrews though it begins with a statement, this statement is clearly addressing those in the Faith. 

 In John's other two Epistles, he specifically addresses the believer with a greeting. Looking at 1 John 2:1, we can see the standard greeting begins here. So why no greeting in the first verse or two of this Epistle? This should make us pause, and ask why there is a deviation from every Epistle in the New Testament. 

 Next, let's look at some of the passages in the first chapter. 

 3. we declare to you that which we have seen and heard, that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things to you so that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:3-4 MEV

 Now let me take this passage and highlight some words that indicate who John is addressing. 

 3. we declare to you that which we have seen and heard, that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things to you so that our joy may be complete. 1 John 1:3-4 (emphasis mine).

  Have you noted the pronouns being used? We (those in Christ) are addressing you (those not in Christ yet), and telling you (those without Christ) about Jesus. If this first chapter is to believers why is John distinguishing himself from the audience? Who are the "we" and who is the "you?"

 I trust you are tracking with me. Tradition is such a powerful force. It creates a stronghold in the minds of believers that can be a struggle to pull down. This stronghold of tradition is so strong it makes the Word of no effect. 

 The Word being of no effect means that even when reading and seeing clear passages presented from God's Word, the clouded mind of tradition cannot see the light of it. Tradition won't allow the person to grasp the truth of the Word. In fact often times it causes them not only to reject it but to aggressively fight against it. 

 If not written to believers who is John addressing? John is addressing the Gnostics who have infiltrated the Church. Understand the Church is in its infancy growth stage when the Scriptures were given. The Scripture must address certain mindsets attitudes and issues that pose a threat and hindrance to the development of the Church. 

 This is exactly what John was doing in writing the Epistle of 1 John. The Gnostics believed flesh was evil and therefore rejected Jesus being a flesh and blood man. This is why John went to great lengths to describe Jesus in the first two verses of this Epistle. John describes perfectly both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.

 When we understand that this first chapter is written to the Gnostic lost, the rest of the chapter makes more sense. Verses 5-10 have been a source of condemnation and shame to the Church for generations. Look at them again. The passages seem to suggest we can walk in and out of fellowship with God when we sin.

 This is not what this passage is saying. Think of it this way. Replace the word light with the word morality. If we walk in morality as He is morality we have fellowship with God and the blood cleanses us from sin. Wait, if we are walking morally then why would we need cleansing from sin? We would only need cleansing when we are immoral.

 Yet tradition creates a doctrine from this one passage that says if we sin we have no fellowship with God until we say I am sorry. Is this right? Again, who is this addressing? It is talking to lost Gnostics who think they are in the light because of knowledge. 

 If we think we are in the light because of our doing, and our thinking, then we are deceiving ourselves and actually walking in darkness. This passage is an invitation to accept Christ, to walk in true fellowship with Him, and to receive continual cleansing from the blood. This is not addressing the saints who have sinned.

  In Christ, we are forgiven once for all time. He declared we will never be forsaken or abandoned. He didn't say oh wait, let me add a clause here. You're only unforsaken if you don't commit sin. 

 No, we don't lose fellowship with our Father when we sin. Whenever we do sin, our Good Father draws us closer. He doesn't run from us. He doesn't distance Himself from us. He doesn't disown us. He runs to us and reminds us of who we are in Him. We are the Righteousness of God in Christ. We are forgiven of all our sins. 

 With this truth established of who the audience is, we can know that 1 John 1:9 does not address Christians but unbelievers. If we rightly divide the Word apart from tradition we can clearly see it. If we allow the Scriptures themselves to establish precedence, we can see how this Epistle is distinct. 1 John 1 is not addressing believers it is speaking to the Gnostic lost. 

 In summation, relinquish tradition and embrace truth. If we embrace Grace we embrace truth. Let's not man's understanding lead us astray from this Gospel of Grace. Next time we will address part two of this objection. Must we confess our sins? 

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Discover Grace: Forgiveness and Confession

 9 God saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace in King Jesus before all time and ages, 10 but has now made it visible through the appearing of our saviour King Jesus, who abolished death and, through the gospel, shone a bright light on life and immortality. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 NTE 

 God is calling. He is heralding the Good News of Jesus Christ. He is shouting it from the mountaintops and the highways and byways. Jesus has paid it all. He is proclaiming I am satisfied with Jesus' work. It is all paid in full, and the work is complete. God is saying discover Grace!

  The amazing Grace of God is limitless in scope and eternal and unchanging. The Grace of God reveals how loving our Father is and also the entirety of Jesus' redemptive work on our behalf. Grace invites us on a journey to enter and grow up in an eternal relationship with a Good God. 

 One of the most amazing works of Grace is the revelation of the complete and total payment for all sins once and for all time. This means once we receive Jesus as Savior we receive the free gift of the forgiveness of our sins that He paid for. Our sins are forgiven forever.

 So what if we sin after we receive Jesus? Are our sins just forgiven up to the point of conversion? Is our fellowship broken with the Father because of our sins? 

 Grace is so amazing, God has the answer to all these questions and more. Let's answer these questions one at a time to receive a greater understanding of what Jesus' Finished Work accomplished. Let's not be in a hurry and simply skim the surface of all that Jesus has done on our behalf.

 Through Jesus' work of redemption, all our sins were paid for. In other words, there is nothing left for us to do concerning our sins. Think of it, if sins can only be forgiven by the shedding of blood, what else could we possibly do to contribute to ensuring our sins are forgiven? 

Do we need to confess our sins? 

 Perhaps we may still be thinking there must be something we must do whenever we sin in order to receive forgiveness for that sin. That may sound rational and reasonable. We must, however, yield to the final authority of Scripture and see what it says. 

then he says, · “Their sins and · their lawless acts I will never again remember.” Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Hebrews 10:17-18 MOUNCE 

 God has declared something to be true. He has declared something to be finished. He has stated truly and eternally that forgiveness is a completed work. 

 Take note that He said, not man, not denominational creed, not the "Grace Message", not a Grace preacher, He said that nothing can be added to His completed work. Once there is forgiveness for all these sins and lawless deeds, there is nothing to be added. That means our sacrifices are adding to the work of Jesus.

 We may think when we sin we must therefore offer a confession of our sins in order to receive forgiveness for the sins we have committed. We may feel compelled to offer some form of sacrifice for our unlawful deeds. We may feel the need to apologize or confess, because of a sense of guilt and shame on our part.

 Some of this compulsion stems from a misapplied and misunderstood interpretation of 1 John 1:9. We can see 1 John in context here. Look at the famous verse. 

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NKJV

 These few isolated passages in 1 John may appear to be teaching that we break fellowship with God whenever we sin. It appears that it is telling believers whenever they sin they must offer a sacrifice of confession in order to be forgiven of all sin. It also may appear to reveal we are forgiven judicially but not familial.  

 Rest assured when seen in the full context of the entire Epistle these concerns are readily cleared up. Again stay with the final authority of the Word

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22 NLT

 I believe God knows what He was saying. Grace was revealed in and through the work of Jesus. Why do we think we can improve on it? 

 God's Word isn't contradictory. He declared in Hebrews 10, where there is forgiveness of sins, the work is complete and there is no more offering for sin. He then declared that only through the shedding of blood is forgiveness received. So why would we add a separate or private interpretation to 1 John 1:9?

 Believing that we must confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness, would counter what God already declared about our sins. John wrote his Epistle years after Hebrews was written. John would have known what was written in the Word before he penned his Epistle.

 What then is John talking about? John was addressing a segment of unbelievers that were corrupting the Gospel message. They were of a sect called Gnostics. They were a mind science type of religion. They concluded all things natural are evil.

 They, therefore, rejected the notion Jesus came to earth as a physical man. They also thus concluded that sin isn't a reality because life is more realized on the spiritual plane not the natural. Therefore they would say they are without sin. If one is without sin why does he need a Savior?

 With that understanding, look at the passages again. Look at the first chapter and you will see John dismantling the heresy of Gnosticism. When he mention confession of sin, he was telling them by acknowledging their sin they could receive the once for all forgiveness of sins and the gift of Righteousness as the believers had. 

 John is not instructing us to confess or speak out to God each and every time we sin in order to receive forgiveness. How can we get more forgiven? We need to cease finding ways to add to Jesus' work and trust in Christ alone.

 What must we do when we sin? Thank God for Jesus. Thank God for having paid the price in full. Agree with God that our sins are already forgiven because of Jesus' shed blood. Confess our Righteousness in Christ. The price is paid in full.

 In summation, as we discover Grace we see just how amazing God is. We are discovering how forgiven we are. We are discovering we can't add to His work, we can't add to His blood. We need not confess or say we sinned aloud every time we blow it. We can rest in His work that we are forgiven. Keep discovering Grace, and we will find the answers to the other questions soon enough. 

Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Great Grace: What About the Confession of Sin?

33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33 NKJV

We've been in an ongoing study detailing the great Grace of Almighty God. We have seen His Grace is greater than our failures. His great Grace has freed us from the observance of Old Covenant rituals and brings us out of performance rooted religion and has forever forgiven us of our sin. Today, I want to continue looking at our forever forgiveness in Christ.

 Now you may be saying, brother, we have heard all this from you before. We read about His Grace, our forgiveness in Christ, our righteousness, and our eternally secure salvation constantly on your posts. Got anything new? Let God's Word respond to this objection.
 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it Hebrews 2:1 NRSV
We must consistently feed on the truth of God's Grace and His work in our lives less at anytime we lose sight of Grace and revert back to self-efforts and performance. That is why we share these marvelous truths of our perfect redemption Grace purchased for us.

 In our last study, we began detailing our forgiveness in Him. We also looked at the religious checklist that men created to deal with personal sin. To sum it up, it is basically when we sin, there is a penalty or punishment coming to us. God can't fellowship with us until we repent, (defined as to turn around, to cease the action), and confess the sin. 

 Now, this "punishment" differs depending upon what denominational background you have. Usually, it centers around God not answering your prayers. Or that you're temporarily unable to access a portion of His favor or receive any blessing in your life. In Charismatic/Faith circles it could mean God won't bring you financial prosperity or you won't receive your healing. 

 What they can't grasp is the two-fold issue this view creates. First, it discounts the perfect price Jesus paid for our sins, see here. This means Jesus already paid for all sins. He already bore the punishment for sins in His body on the tree. He paid the price once for all time;
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, Hebrews 10:12 NASB
We shouldn't let religion dishonor and discount the once-for-all all perfect sacrifice Christ paid for our sins by accepting some man-made guilt concept where we also must pay for our sins. Holding to a concept where we must also receive some form of punishment for our sins is, in reality, saying God isn't satisfied with Christ's once for all sacrifice for sins.

Second, it places the burden of receiving answers to prayer, favor, any blessing or healing upon our perfect performance, conduct, and actions. In essence, we orchestrate our own healing or redemption. If we could actually do this, why do we even need Jesus or His Finished Work? (For the religious and foolish-minded, certainly, sin carries natural consequences and makes for a miserable and fruitless way to live.)

Confession of sin, is it for the Believer?

Now that we addressed the "punishment" aspect of sin, let's address the confession of sin. What about the confession of sins in order to be forgiven of sin? Is it His blood or our apologies that bring forgiveness?

 Imagine if you will, a newly converted believer living in an oppressive nation where Christianity is outlawed. Imagine a nation known for persecuting Christians. Now, what if this new believer were only given sections, one at a time of the New Testament? Over the period of let's say a year, he received the four gospels, Acts, all of Paul's Epistles to include the Book of Hebrews, Peter's two Epistles, and James and Jude. He had not yet received John's Epistle or the Book of Revelation. Would this new believer then find a passage instructing him to confess his sins in order to receive forgiveness?

 The answer is a resounding no! This makes the hairs on the back of our necks stand up. We get a sense of astonishment and then a strong sense of concern. This is borderline heresy in most circles. This is downright blasphemy to some. 

 Confession of sins is a practice we see in the Old Covenant. See here and here and here. Yet these confessions weren't what brought forgiveness, it was the sacrifices they had offered to the Priests. In essence, what we see occurring in these instances were people simply acknowledging their misdeeds, and failures, and sins. 

 It is the same in this New Covenant. It isn't our apologies that bring forgiveness it is only perfect shed blood that purchases forgiveness of sins. 

22 In fact we can say that under the old agreement almost everything was cleansed by sprinkling it with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22 TLB

So confession of sins, is it for the Believer? That depends on your understanding of confession of sin. Do we confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness? No, this confession is not for the Believer. However, if you define confession of sins in the sense of acknowledging our failure or misdeeds, and simply agreeing with what God said about them then that is acceptable for the Believer.

 Heresy, false teaching! Some may be crying out. Hold it now. What did Paul say that confirmed Jesus' own words? He said in the mouth of two or three witnesses will something be established, here. Now in this New Covenant can you find two or three places where the Word instructs us to confess our sins, in order to receive forgiveness of our sins? The answer is a resounding no. 

 The problem is we have this stronghold in our minds involving 1 John 1:9. It is not that the Word is wrong and is a stronghold but the religious misapplication of this passage is. John was teaching the Church about the Gnostics that had infiltrated the Church and denied that sin existed. If sin doesn't exist then what need is there for a Savior? John is evangelically speaking here and telling them to acknowledge their sin and agree with what God says about their deeds (they were indeed sinful) and that He offers once for all forgiveness through Jesus shed blood. 

 Yet religious tradition resists this interpretation. They insist this passage is for the Christian just in case they sin after conversion. You see what the results of denying and discounting future sins being forgiven are? Before salvation, all your sins were dealt with by the Blood of Jesus at Calvary. After conversion, the forgiveness of your sins are left up to you to ensure you confess each and every one of them or you will find yourself having unforgiven sin on your "spiritual account". 

 There is a major concern this type of teaching seemingly ignores. It goes back to their man-made checklist. They redefined the punishment for sin. Recall, it was unanswered prayer, and God breaking fellowship with you. Problem is that is man's definition of the punishment of sin. It isn't God's. The wages of sin is one thing and one thing only. Spiritual death. 

This means if our future sins aren't already forgiven by the shed blood, then when we sin we must then be partaking of spiritual death over and over again until we confess our sins. What if we forget to confess? Well, don't fret religion created a loophole. They say well the Blood covers you until you confess it. So wait, is the sin forgiven or not? Oh, it is just covered? Wait, isn't that how God dealt with sin in the Old? What this proves is tradition lacks serious understanding of the New Covenant. 

 They go through these mental gymnastics and blending portions of the Old and New together in order to combat what they see as a concept that gives people a "license to sin". If future sins are already forgiven and there is no need to confess in order to receive forgiveness then what is stopping us from pursuing lust? 

 So they created this concoction of Old and New Covenant style redemption. Where we are forgiven in installments. Where after conversion, God's method of forgiveness shifts away from the once for all sacrifice of Jesus perfect shed blood to our up to date apologies. 

 What some religious folk fails to grasp is that the use of 1 John 1:9 has become a ritualistic "bar of soap", for some cleaning them up when we fail. This can become a "license" for some. Some in religious circles realize this. This is when it gets real harsh. They begin espousing teachings that even if you confess your sins it is potentially possible that forgiveness will allude you because you may not be sincerely remorseful. Or they say you may be sinning the same sin once too often. Confessing that sin you habitually engage in, runs the risk of you breaking the "Grace limit" and thus God choosing not to forgive you. 

 Some religious leaders set themselves up as God's spiritual accountants doling out His forgiveness as they seem fit. Often times this forgiveness is withheld because the sincerity of your sorrow, regret, and penitent attitude for your sin comes into question. They will finally bestow this forgiveness upon a believer when in their eyes they have satisfactorily shown sincere regret and remorsefulness for their sins and transgression. 

These concepts are pure rubbish and need to be tossed aside in the waste bin! These ideas are a disregard of the Finished Work and New Covenant. Confession of sins? If we understand we don't confess sins in order to be forgiven, but simply as an acknowledgment of our misdeeds, there isn't an issue. In fact, it is good and healthy to come to God when we miss it. Concealment only feeds the problem. Exposing our whole life to Christ is what brings freedom. The truth is it also reveals to us just how much He loves us. He sees and knows of all our flaws and faults and habits and addictions and still sees as holy, righteous and eternally saved and secure. Remember His word;

18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. Hebrews 10:18 NLT

When we realize we are forever forgiven we can walk with God our Father, honoring the great and wonderful sacrifice of Jesus. We honor and revere that precious shed blood. It isn't our apologies, our commitments to fulfill spiritual disciplines or our promises to do better in the future that bring us righteousness, forgiveness and eternal redemption. It is only His precious shed blood. 

SaveSave

Understanding Grace: Confession of sin

18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18

 Grow in grace. To grow in this wonderful free gift we need to understand grace. God's Word teaches us from old in all our getting, get understanding. With that admonition we have been studying on understanding grace over the last few posts. 

 I want to continue in furthering our understanding of grace by going deeper into the reality of our perfect forgiveness. In doing so we will also address another mistaken idea about sin and confession. 

 When grace and complete forgiveness is mentioned inevitably the concept of confession of sin in order to be forgiven is brought up. Before we address the confession of sin, lets again set the foundation that we are completely forgiven.

11Yet every day priests still serve, ritually offering the same sacrifices again and again— sacrifices that can never take away sins’ guilt. 12But when this Priest had offered the one supreme sacrifice for sins for all time he sat down on a throne at the right hand of God, 13waiting until all his whispering enemies are subdued and turn into his footstool. 14And by his one perfect sacrifice he made us perfectly holy and complete for all time! Hebrews 10:11-14 Passion Translation

 Jesus offered a once for all time sacrifice for all sin. We who receive this free gift are completely forgiven and made perfectly holy and complete for all time. Are we complete only until we mess up? Are we holy only until we slip up or sin? Here is some gospel good news, your actions or sins can't undo His holiness within you.

 Allow me to illustrate how forgiven we are. When I was a young man, my mother and I went to a parade. For a short time we were on the street level. We could only see a few floats to the left or right of us. Then we heard a building was open allowing people access to the roof. From the rooftop we had a complete view of the parade from start to finish. Friends, that's how God sees our life when we come to Him. He sees our life from our first breath to our last. He cleanses us with His blood and declares, forgiven!

 Now what about confessing our sins and faults and misdeeds to be forgiven? Does grace mean we never confess our sin? What about unconfessed sin? Allow me to dispel a mistaken idea and fully address the concept of confess in order to be forgiven.

The only sin that can't be forgiven is unconfessed sin?

 In traditional circles of the Body of Christ many believe we are only forgiven of our past sins. They actively promote this view in their messages or periodicals.  They cling to a concept, that all your sin, only up to the point of conversion is forgiven. For any future failures or sins you must confess each and every one of them in order to receive forgiveness for those specific misdeeds. 

 If you fail to confess these transgressions then you are living with "unconfessed" sin. When you have "unconfessed" sin within, you're opening your life for all forms of cursing and disruption and calamity to overtake you. Did you have a long bout of flu symptoms? You more than likely had some sin you hadn't confessed. 

 This is not the good news. This is not the Bible. This is religion and tradition attempting to pinpoint why something bad occurred. Tradition is teaching that because you didn't confess your sin, then it is not forgiven. If it is not forgiven then you open yourself to calamity, because sin carries a penalty. 

 So does confession forgive us? Does confessing our sin actually cause God to then forgive us? Many say yes. If this is so then God's forgiveness is an installment plan.

 What about 1 John? Glad you brought it up. 
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:8-9
Allow me to bring up another verse.

22 ... For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22b

 So which is it? Confession is what brings forgiveness or does the Blood of Jesus brings forgiveness? The Word of God never contradicts itself. I believe the blood is what purchased our forgiveness. It is not the blood that began the forgiveness and our confession that completes it or solidifies it. So what is the purpose of confession?

 This passage in 1 John is an evangelistic principle to the particular person who denies sin exists. It is not addressing believers. It teaches the lost one to acknowledge their sin actually exists and separates them from fellowship with God. It teaches them that when you receive the free gift you will be completely cleansed and made perfectly holy and righteous. Because all scripture is profitable we as a believer can see a principle here for us. 

 We don't confess our sins to be forgiven. Also, understand continually confessing our misdeeds and faults creates a failure mentality. Grace teaches us that when we acknowledge all we have in Christ we grow and experience victory. However, there is a principal of confession to find healing and recovery, (James 5). 
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13

 This is an Old Covenant statement however, there is a truth we can extrapolate from it. We shouldn't conceal our wrongs. The enemy loves darkness. When you are struggling with a habit or sin it is so freeing to find a trusted brother or sister in the Lord and confess this issue. To get it out in the light and see the darkness flee and lose its hold upon you. This is the confession of sin for the New Covenant believer. We allow the light to expose and heal our hearts. Let me say it another way.

 When the Spirit convicts us of our righteousness when we miss it, He is showing us who we already are, our true identity. This is when true repentance occurs. We change our minds about our actions. We confess or say the same thing as God does. We simply agree with God. We agree this action isn't profitable and not who we really are. That is all confession is for the believer. It is agreeing with God. We don't confess our sin to be forgiven. We are already forgiven. This is the good news. Rest knowing you are freely and completely forgiven.