Sounds Good, But Is It The Truth? (4)

 

 

In the previous post I wrote: “…the idea that all we must do is to “confess our sins” and that we are then “saved” and can go our merry way is simply not true – confession of sins is not the same as repentance; in fact, 1 John 1:9 is often misunderstood and misquoted.”

 

Let’s please consider 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

What does this mean? To whom was John writing? Does the audience it was written to make any difference to its meaning? Was the Apostle John writing to people who were in a relationship with Jesus Christ or to a people who were not in a relationship with Jesus Christ? Was he writing to both? Does it matter?

 

More than once I have heard someone say, “I told my friend Frank that if he would confess his sins to God that God would forgive him and he would be saved.” But is this true? And if it isn’t true, how much damage are we doing to others when we tell them this?

 

On the face of it, First John was written to Biblical Christians, to those already in a relationship with Jesus Christ (see 3:1 as an example). Therefore, the context of 1:9 is that of living in a relationship with God. When we sin, and when we confess our sins, our intimacy with God is maintained and we live in His light (1 John 1:5 – 2:2). This is all thanks to our Advocate and propitiation – our Lord Jesus Christ; we cannot help ourselves in any way, shape, or form.

 

Those of us who are not living in a relationship with God in Christ, with Jesus Christ as our Lord, with the new life of God living within us, need more than having our sins forgiven – we need God’s gift of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we need God’s very life in Christ within us – we need a new birth. We can’t really separate the elements that comprise Biblical salvation – they are all found holistically in Jesus Christ. That is, we can’t separate forgiveness of sins from repentance from new birth from the reception of the Holy Spirit from our “baptism” into the Body of Christ…and so forth and so on. We can’t separate them, but we can ponder them as they relate to one another in Christ and our life in Him.

 

Many confuse confession of sins with repentance – they are not the same. To “repent” is to change direction, to turnaround, to stop going in one direction and to go in the opposite direction – it is a change of life. In a Biblical context it is to stop going in the direction of sin and self and to follow Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:34 – 35).

 

Can we see that what Jesus is saying entails more than someone simply “confessing” his sins in the sense of acknowledging his wrongs and being sorry for them? Repentance will include confession of sins, but confession of sins does not, in and of itself, include repentance. The difference is between life and death – it is no small matter.

 

Peter tells the people in Acts 2:38, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” How is this different than simply saying, “Confess your sins and you will be forgiven”?

 

Consider the life-changing images of the following:

 

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God….Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:3 & 5).

 

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor. 5:17).

 

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5 – 7).

 

“…for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23).

 

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4:13).

 

Living in a relationship with Jesus Christ is a vibrant experience, it is knowing God as our Father so that we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Holy Spirit testifying with our spirit that we are truly the children of God (Romans 8:15 – 16). Can we see how much more this is than simply “confessing our sins” and going about our merry way, our own way, of life?

 

When we read in John 3:16 that, “…whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life,” the idea of believing means more than giving mental assent or recognition to Jesus Christ, it means that we throw our entire lives onto Him, it means that we exchange the breath of this world for the breath of God (by God’s grace and enabling – God is really the One doing the exchanging). It means that we pass from darkness to Light, from death to Life (Col. 1:13; Eph. 2:1 – 10).

 

The reason that, in the context of repentance, our forgiveness of sins is so glorious is that it carries with it our justification, and our justification brings with it an open door into an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ – for in Christ, God sees us as having never ever sinned and as having always kept His Holy Law. No wonder Paul writes:

 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1 – 2).

 

O dear friends, we are called to understand and transmit the Bible as it is written; holistically and not piecemeal…and Jesus Christ is the Message of the Bible…He is always and forever the Message.