(This message series is inspired and excerpted from Heaven is Now by Andrew Farley)
“For just $1.99 you can download ‘Confession: A Roman Catholic App’ on your smartphone. The creators of this best-selling app claim it’s an inexpensive and convenient way to get right and stay right with God, using your mobile device. The user checks various boxes under each of the Ten Commandments to keep a running tally of their sins so no sins remain unforgiven. While the Vatican seemed to support the idea at first, spokesperson Frederico Lombardi later told the media, ‘Under no circumstances is it possible to confess by iPhone.’ [What others ways have you seen legalism repackaged?]
. . . But while we chuckle at this method, it seems that many of us Christians have bought into something quite similar. Maybe we don’t download the app, but we still believe it’s our ongoing confession to God that keeps us forgiven and cleansed ‘once for all,’ we opt for a word-based economy that turns our confession into the catalyst for God forgiving and cleansing us. And for many of us, it seems that a misinterpretation of one single verse—1 John 1:9—has been the entire basis for this belief system.” (loc. 1146 of 2138)
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 ESV)
“It seems pretty clear doesn’t it? If we don’t confess each and every sin, we won’t be forgiven by God—right?
Multiple books and teachings on forgiveness have camped on this single verse as the landmark passage for justifying a two-tiered belief system concerning forgiveness. The system goes something like this: Yes, we have been forgiven (past tense), and yes, it was once for all. But that’s from God’s vantage point. First John 1:9 was written to tell us Christians that we need to remember to confess each and every sin throughout our lives in order to remain forgiven and cleansed down here on planet earth. If we refuse or fail to confess all of our sins, then they remain between us and God, and we are consequently ‘out of fellowship.’ Some even go further by claiming that God can’t hear our prayers if there are any unconfessed sins in our lives.” (loc. 1157 of 2138)
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. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8-10 ESV)
“To dispel this popular ‘me-centered’ teaching on forgiveness, let’s examine the true context of 1 John 1:9.
. . . Notice that John is addressing people who were saying, “We have no sin” (vs. 8) and “We have not sinned” (vs. 10). So what’s John’s solution to their heresy?
. . . John is using ‘we’ to politely combat Gnostic [most closely related to our New Age movement] heresy by essentially saying, ‘If any one of us hanging out with the church is claiming to have never sinned, then we lie and do not practice the truth. In fact we are making God a liar, and his Word has no place in our lives. But if we confess our sins, then he will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’
Notice that John uses the word all to describe the kind of forgiveness and cleansing we receive once we have admitted our sins and accepted Jesus Christ (the living Word) into our lives. Also notice that John says his purpose in addressing his readers is so they can have fellowship:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—[2] the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—[3] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1-4 ESV)
Many people reading the letter did not yet have fellowship with Christians, or with the Father, or with Jesus Christ. In other words, many reading the letter were not yet saved. John’s hope was that they would, by reading and understanding what he wrote, come to salvation. How could they come to salvation? Specifically, by confessing that Jesus did come in the flesh, that sin is real, and that Jesus is the answer to their sin problem. When they do this, Jesus forgives and cleanses them from all unrighteousness—past, present, and future sins. John never intended Christians to use verse 9 to build a theology of one-by-one confession to get one-by-one forgiveness of sins. That’s old covenant forgiveness dressed up in 1 John 1:9 clothing!” (loc. 1184 of 2138)
***”Elephant in the Middle of the Room”***
Please comment about how your feeling about this message which is so different from the dominant Roman Catholic culture of confessing to a priest for penance and absolution. Frankly, most churches promote this in one way or another. A popular twist now is accountability groups. Are you ready to let go of how you were raised, or originally taught?
And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
[11] And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. [12] But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [13] waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. [14] For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:10-14 ESV)
“Confession is not a formula to get forgiven and stay forgiven as a Christian. In fact, heaven announces the opposite—we have been forgiven and made holy ‘once for all’ (Heb. 10:10) and ‘by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified’ (Heb. 10:14). So let’s confess our sins. Let’s agree with God that sin is wrong. Let’s agree with God about everything. . . . The blood of Christ cleansed us from every imaginable sin. It’s not about our ability to remember every sin and confess them all. It’s about Jesus’s blood shed two thousand years ago. And it is finished. Wow! Now, that’s great news we can really celebrate. And that’s what heaven would have us do—celebrate.” (loc. 1196 of 2138) Consider some ways you can celebrate the finished work of Jesus.
Heaven Speaks (What Jesus might say if he were sitting right here)
“I have forgiven you for my name’s sake. There’s nothing else that needs to be done to make it so. No asking, no pleading, no begging—it is finished. You’ve been washed. You’ve been justified. You’ve been sanctified. Yes, even while your behavior is under construction, being sanctified little by little, you as a person have already been fully set apart, sanctified for me.
My forgiveness is real, and my forgiveness is now. So you lived in a permanently cleansed state. I don’t want you to continue on feeling guilty for your sins. Regret them, yes. Turn away from them, yes. But I have cleansed you once for all so that you need not feel the weight of them. I want you motivated by my love, not guilt.
Remember that I canceled your debt against me. I bought you and reconciled you completely to me, not counting one single sin against you. They’ve all been taken off the books, and you don’t owe me. The only way you can enjoy the present with me is to acknowledge my work in the past.
I took away your sins so that you could walk with me, fixing your eyes on my smile toward you. You’ll only get tripped up when you look back at where you once were instead of where I’m taking you.
If you find yourself lacking the character and self control you need, simply take in a fresh reminder of my ‘once for all’ sacrifice. As you remember that you are clean and holy before me, you’ll find yourself gravitating toward clean thinking and holy, set apart choices. And as you recognize your closeness to me, you will naturally act like me.
I love you, and I delight in all that you are. – Jesus (inspired by 1 John 2:12; 1 Cor. 6:11, 20; 7:23; 1 Peter 1:15; 3:18; Heb. 4:16; 7:27; 10:2; 12:2; 2 Cor. 5:19; 7:10; Rom. 6:12; Rev. 2:5; Psalm 103:11-12; John 1:29; 17:24; 2 Peter 1:8-9; Prov. 23:7; Eph. 3:12.) (loc. 1220 of 2138)
Awakening (a sample closing prayer)
“Thank you Jesus for taking away my sins—past, present, and future. I see your finished work for it truly is. I believe it was enough. Now that I see just how forgiven I am, I can only be eternally grateful for what you’ve done for me. Thank you for making me clean and drawing me close to you forever and no matter what. Your love and forgiveness inspire me to live the way you’ve intended—from my unbreakable union with you. I look forward to waking up every day and walking with you, in confidence. You’ve given me a new hope, a new joy. You’ve given me the greatest gift I could ever receive. You’ve given me yourself. I love you too.
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