1 John 1:8-10
Sin and Confession
“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
Introduction
The subject of confession can be difficult and dangerous. When confession is understood wrongly, it can lead to spiritual abuse from clergy and severe despair among the laity. For example, when Martin Luther was still a Catholic monk, he obsessed over confession. On one occasion, Luther stayed in a confessional booth for over six hours, naming every conceivable sin he could possibly think of. It was as if he was trying to dig up all of his iniquity only to find it still being a pit with no bottom. This continued until his priest rebuked him and said, “Look here. If you expect Christ to forgive you, come in with something to forgive - parricide, blasphemy, adultery - instead of all these peccadilloes.” Luther’s problem at the time was that he wasn’t saved. He was trying to earn heaven with his own holiness and religious determination. He was yet to rediscover the truth that salvation is a gift of God’s grace, only to be received by faith, and faith alone. That does not mean however that confession has no purpose in the life of a believer, only that it must be practiced Biblically through faith in the finished work of Christ alone.
The ultimate sign of conversion is not perfection, but progress; not peace, but war. Often, failures with sin and signs of remaining inner corruption cause us to doubt our salvation. This is not uncommon, even Paul mourned “when I will to do good, evil is present with me (Romans 7:21).” Contrary to some teachings, the struggle with sin is one of the greatest pieces of evidence for true conversion in our lives. Lost people do not mourn their sins, they enjoy their sins; unregenerate people do not confess their sins and long for righteousness, they boast in their sins and hope to get away with them. The assurance of our salvation is not dependent on the absence of our sin, but the proper response to our sin. The proper response to the knowledge of sin in our hearts is confession to God, and others (when the situation calls for it). In this chapter we will explore the character of sin (the indwelling sinful nature along with the manifest actions), the confession of sin (when and how to do so), along with the cleansing of sin (God’s grace toward those who come to Him). I pray that you would find the confidence to run to God’s throne of grace whenever you need it, as well as joy in the blessing of recognizing and confessing your sin.
The Character of Sin
The Gnostics had many different teachings regarding our relationship with sin. Some of them believed it was possible to obtain a spiritual experience that would elevate them to a state of perfection. Others believed their sin wasn’t really wrong because it was only a substance dwelling in the flesh while their spirit’s remained pure. Either way, to the Gnostics, sin wasn’t really sin; the reality of it was always denied or ignored.
These Gnostic teachings have not faded with time, they’ve only reinvented and hidden themselves behind misinterpreted Bible verses and misinformed teachers. For example, there’s the famous heresy known as Pelagianism: Pelagius taught that original sin didn’t affect our nature, and it is therefore possible to obey God’s law without God’s grace. Next, while not heretical, there is another dangerous teaching from one of my heroes of the faith John Wesley. Wesley taught what’s called Christian perfectionism. He believed it was possible to reach a state (through an experience he called the “second blessing”) where it was possible never to sin again. Holiness and other Charismatic groups have adopted this teaching as well; some will attest they haven’t sinned in years! There are also humanist teachings that man’s sin is not criminally deserving of punishment, only flawed and in need of help. Lastly, there is the antinomian heresy. That God’s moral law is in no way binding on human beings; that sin is not really sin anymore because of the work of Christ.
While some of these teachings are completely heretical and others are just misinformed, none of them can find any safety in the words of John here; all of them are completely rebuked and refuted by this passage. John’s reference to “sin” in verse 8 is in the present tense, and the “we'' plurally refers to John and all true believers. He’s talking about the present state of every Christian’s nature. As if to say, “We true Christians still have sin dwelling in our nature, if you deny it, you’re deceiving yourself!” Next, in verse 10, John refers to sin in the past tense as individual acts. This means that if you say your actions were not really sinful after you commit them, the Word of God does not dwell in you. Again, verse 8 refers to the present nature Christians still have; verse 10 refers to the individual acts of sin that are still considered such.
I believe the Biblical picture of a Christian’s nature was summarized best by Martin Luther when he said we are, “simul justus et peccator.” At the same time, we are both righteous and sinful. Our individual sinful acts have been pardoned, and in Christ our sinful nature has been mortified. Through faith, we are covered in the imputed righteousness of Jesus Himself and are counted just as obedient to the law as He is. However, the nature of sin we inherited from Adam at birth still dwells within us, making us prone to temptation and sinful actions. Though the nature is weakened, and the actions are fewer and far between, we still sin daily in thought, word, and deed. Not until we reach a final state of glorification will we be freed from the presence or possibility of sin.
Please take it from me: I believed in perfectionism for many years during my time as a charismatic. It offered me no hope. If you believe it is possible to live in absolute complete obedience to God’s law on your own, you are in for despair or self deception. You’ll end up like Martin Luther trying to dig up all your sin only to never find the bottom, or you’ll end up chasing a “second blessing” that doesn’t exist. Every day, you’ll still find new sins lurking around the corner, and only have yourself to condemn, because you really believe it’s in your power to stop. That’s the route of despair. If your denial of sin doesn’t end there, it will end in self deception. You’ll stop caring about sin altogether, and assume that because you’re merely a saint and not a sinner, you have no need of repentance anymore. This will make you a Pharisee by definition. Or it will harden your heart over time, and eventually, you will deny the faith all together. The Christian life wasn’t meant to be lived without an awareness of sin, and daily need of renewal and grace.
The Confession of Sin
I have to confess that I probably watch too many true crime documentaries. I’m always fascinated by how human depravity can affect certain people to commit acts of sin that would never enter the minds of others in their worst nightmares. There’s one documentary I saw recently where the killer insisted on his innocence up unto his last moments in the electric chair. This criminal had been trained in law and looked outwardly like a conservative person. He went against all the counsel he was given to plead guilty, and instead he fired his lawyers to defend himself in court! It was incredible to watch this man who everyone knew was guilty beyond any shadow of doubt fight to convince himself and the world of his innocence. The truth will come out one way or another. We can either confess our sins unto mercy, or we can conceal our sins unto damnation. Cleansing only comes to those who confess now, before it’s too late.
Confession literally means to repeat back. Although we can justify ourselves in a hundred different ways, or convince others of our supposed goodness, God knows exactly who we are and what we’ve done. To confess sin means to repeat back to God what He says about us in our fallen condition. This is much easier said than done! In fact, Hosea describes confession as “the calves of our lips (Hosea 14:2).” It is a sacrifice to confess sin; it hurts and costs something to do so. But when the sacrifice of confession is made, great freedom always follows.
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus gave us a template for our daily prayers. In that daily template, He included a line for confession, “forgive us our debts…(Matthew 6:12). Jesus expects His disciples to have a daily confession of their indwelling sinful nature, along with any sinful acts they may have fallen to recently. It doesn’t surprise Him to hear of your brokenness. He knew what He was getting into when He chose to save you. Don’t let your sin and guilt keep you from Christ, that’s the goal of satan. Let your shame for sin push you to Him all the more! That is His desire!
First, confession primarily meant to be made to God. God is the ultimate offended party when we sin, therefore confession must ultimately be made to Him. In Psalm 51:4, David confesses “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” Here, he agrees with God’s conviction against him for the worst sin he had ever committed, and plainly confesses to God his guilt. Again, Psalm 32:5 reads “I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.” These are confessions made in private, only to God. This is where each of our confessions should begin. As born again believers, we have direct access to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). No other mediator is necessary than the man Jesus Christ, who made a way by His own blood for us to enter the holy place of God’s presence.
Next, confession of sin should also be made to other people at the appropriate times. A general rule to follow would be for our confession to be as public as the sin was when we committed it. If an entire church sins in accepting a false doctrine, they should confess publicly as one people. If you wrong an entire business in the misuse of money, the confession should be to the entire business. Other times, the sin was private, but confession to God alone doesn’t seem to comfort the conscience. When this is the case, James 5:16 gives a wonderful solution, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” There are times when we confess to God, and are forgiven, but we still need to confess to others in order to be healed. Although a sin is covered by God’s grace, we can still carry the wound of it until we confess it to another believer and pray with them.
This is a far cry from the Roman system where confession is made to a priest, and certain prayers and acts must be offered in response to propitiate God. Biblical confession involves a recognition of Gospel forgiveness on the front end, and an acknowledgment to God that your acts were in fact sinful. The only reason confession is made to a pastor, or fellow believer in Christ is so that there can be a mutual reminder of the cross, and aid in prayer. John Calvin said:
“Let every believer, therefore, remember, that if in private he is so agonized and afflicted by a sense of his sins that he cannot obtain relief without the aid of others, it is his duty not to neglect the remedy which God provides for him, i.e., to have recourse for relief to a private confession to his own pastor, and for consolation privately implore the assistance of him whose business it is, both in public and private, to solace the people of God with Gospel doctrine.”
When was the last time you did this, dear friend? John expects this to be a normal part of the Christian life. If you don’t feel the need to confess your sins, it’s not because you haven’t committed any; it may just be that your heart is too hard to feel conviction. Find a solid pastor, a mature Christian brother or sister (depending on if you are male or female), and ask them to take some time to hear a confession from you. After you speak your heart, let them remind you of the gospel and the blood of Christ that was shed for you. Finally after that, pray together. This is the Biblical method for forgiveness and healing.
You will never be able to confess all your sins, Luther is a perfect example of that. John is advocating for a general confession over our fallen nature, and specific sins as they are brought to our attention. This is the “mourning” spoken of that comes as a result of the blessing of salvation in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:4). Now with that said, I once had a professor who would counsel believers to confess their sins when they wanted to grow in their faith. When they would ask, “which ones?” He would straight-facedly reply, “All of them. I have my schedule cleared for the next several hours; if we don’t get them all today, you can come back tomorrow and the next day.” That might seem extreme to you, but I can attest the greatest freedom I have felt as a Christian has come after confessing and repenting of my sins as specifically and individually as I committed them. Again, you won’t be able to confess them all, it’s not possible; and confession alone will not save, you only need the cross. But to confess every sin your mind can remember would bring great freedom.
The Cleansing of Sin
There are always a number of roadblocks in our minds keeping us from God’s mercy in this area. We may think, “I’ve already repented of this sin, but I’ve fallen and He wouldn’t want to hear it again. Surely, I’ve reached my limit on forgiveness.” Or, “My sin is too wicked, there couldn’t possibly be mercy for this crime.” None of these excuses ought to keep us from God. Heaven has no “cancel culture.” God doesn’t look through the file He has in our lives for our worst sin, and then write us off forever because of it. He knows the darkest parts of our hearts, and still loves us enough to die a gruesome death in our place. One preacher said we are more sinful than we could possibly imagine, but we are loved more than we could possibly imagine too!
John tells us two things about God’s forgiveness in verse 9. First, God is faithful to forgive. This means that He is consistent, unchanging, or trustworthy. God won’t be kind to you one time, and then unexpectedly flip with rage the next time you come to Him for grace. Peter asked the Lord how many times he should forgive his brother when sinned against. He assumed seven times must be the limit. However, Jesus responded, “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22).” Keep in mind, this is Jesus’ expectation for fallen people. If God expects broken people like us to forgive up to seventy times seven times, then how much more forgiveness is there in the eternally perfect and faithful God who loved us before we ever loved Him? The point is that there are eternal amounts of forgiveness with our eternally faithful God! If we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13). Don’t ever think, “I’ve reached my limit, I can’t go back to God.” He is faithful to forgive. He expects you to constantly need more.
Second, John says that God is just to forgive. Sometimes the crime is so bad, it feels wrong to be forgiven. Someone needs to be punished, and to be shown mercy seems like injustice. To some extent, these feelings are not wrong. In fact, to be shown eternal amounts of mercy from our faithful God would be wrong if it were not for the cross. A punishment must be paid for sin, and it was. Jesus took all of the handwriting of ordinances that were against us, and nailed them to the cross! The wrath that was revealed from heaven against our ungodliness (Romans 1:18) was forever removed and satisfied by what took place there on Golgotha. God does not merely pity us and forgive out of the good nature of His will. When we need forgiveness, God first looks to the cross, and at the sight of His mangled crucified Son, He is able to return His gaze to our lowly estate and say, “your penalty is paid in full.” It is a just thing for God to forgive us, because the demands of justice have been met by Christ in our place. The hymn Before the Throne captures this beautifully in the second verse:
“When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within
Upward I look and see Him there, who made an end of all my sin,
Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free
For God the Just is satisfied, to look on Him and pardon me.”
If this were not enough, the results of confession don’t end here. God doesn’t merely forgive our debt, He cleanses our consciences of guilt. There is no sinner who is too far gone. There is no stumbling saint who could wear out the glories of God’s infinite grace. He doesn’t give up. He loves us unto the end (John 13:1). You would never guess that certain Christians were the most notorious rebels only years earlier. The reason for this is that God cleanses of all unrighteousness. He doesn’t just make us better, He makes us new.
Conclusion
If we can’t be completely free of sin in this life, then what’s the point? What is God’s purpose in keeping us partially bound while still on this earth? The goal is for us to see a little bit of our sin at the beginning of our Christian lives and run to Christ for mercy; then we have a little bit of gratitude for the small amount we received. As we stay in church and mature in our faith, we commit what may have been considered a small sin before, but it seems like a horrible sin now. We then run to Christ for mercy again, and have more gratitude and love for Jesus for the greater measure of mercy we received. This continues throughout the Christian life until at the end, we see nothing in ourselves but sin, and nothing in Christ but the wellspring of all life and goodness. God’s aim is that we would love Him more than we ever thought possible at the end than we did in the beginning. This is the goal of Christianity: for you to treasure Christ above all, and have no hope in your own flesh or good works.
