10 1-18 Questions 1 John 1 9
Hebrews Series- Fellowship Baptist Church
Passage: Hebrews 10:1-18
Theme: Some questions regarding forgiveness & 1 John
Proposition:
Question :
Doesn’t 1 John 1:9 teach that we should confess our sins with the result being that God will forgive our sins?
Isn’t confession required for forgiveness of sin for the believer?
Isn’t the believer required to keep “short sin accounts” with God through daily confession?
Do I lose fellowship with God if I don’t confess my sins?
What happens if the believer dies with unconfessed sin?
What if I can’t remember all the sins I committed today and therefore cannot confess them?
What was John’s purpose in writing 1 John?
1:1-4 –
To ensure fellowship with the community of believers
To ensure fellowship with God
To ensure joy
5:13
To produce surety of one’s salvation
Overall, John’s purpose was to allow the reader to determine their true spiritual standing before God in the area of salvation. His method was to present behaviors associated with the way a believer lives versus behaviors associated with how unbelievers live.
He presents a very black/white view of Christlikeness vs. paganism.
His pattern is to repeatedly state how a believer thinks and/or acts then state how an unbeliever thinks and/or acts.
Example:
2:3 – we know Him if we keep His commandments
v. 4 – those who claim to know Him but do not keep commands are liars
v. 5 – God’s love is perfected (completed) in those who keep His commands. Can be sure that they are in Him.
2:8 – darkness is passing, true light shining
v. 9 – those who hate brother are in darkness
v. 10 – those who love brother are in the light
Additional note – John writes with a Jewish mindset and experience. His is a community view, thus he uses inclusive language. Also, he is writing to the church in which all assume that they are believers, even though it is evident that some are not.
1:5 – Premise statement: God is light and in Him is no darkness at all
Application of premise statement:
v. 6 – those who walk in darkness have no fellowship with God
v. 7 – those who walk in light have fellowship with God and the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin.
Two views:
Life of the disobedient Christian vs. the life of the obedient Christian. Walking in darkness refers to disobedience after salvation and walking in the light refers to obedience after salvation. According to this view, when I sin as a believer, I lose my “family relationship” with God (and most of the benefits of salvation), but not my salvation.
This position also seems to argue a view that jumps from verse 6 with its problem of the disobedient, sinning Christian to verse 9 as the remedy to restore the lost fellowship with God.
Problems:
1. does not fit the theme and pattern of thought in the letter.
2. If, according to this view, verse 7 states that while the individual is walking in the light (obedient), then you have to conclude that he is also being cleansed from sin while obedient. This is not possible because, since if I am walking in obedience, (according to them) there is no sin to cleanse. Since sin itself is disobedience, (i.e. walking in darkness) you cannot be sinning and walking in the light at the same time.
3. If walking in the light refers to the life of the obedient Christian, the last statement would be unnecessary.
The life of the unbeliever vs. the life of the believer
According to this view, walking in darkness refers to the habitual sinful lifestyle of the unbeliever who claims to be saved (or at least religiously involved with God). On the other hand, walking in the light speaks of those who have come to know Christ and have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
Interpretational notes:
1. Walking in the light does not mean that we never sin. That is why the necessary work of cleansing the believer of sin through the blood of Christ continues (progressive sanctification).
2. There is no thought of required forgiveness of sin in this passage. The forgiveness already has been accomplished.
3. There is no conditional statement that confession and asking forgiveness is required prior to the cleansing taking place. The cleansing continues as sin occurs without any conditions.
What is the relationship of verses 8-10 to verses 6-7?
Verses 8-10 are linked to verse 6, which describes the unbeliever who thinks that he has a relationship with God even though he has never recognized his sin, asked for forgiveness, been forgiven by the blood of Christ, and entered fellowship with God as his Father. This again fits the context of the letter which contrasts believers and unbelievers.
The three deceptions of the unbeliever:
I walk in darkness but have fellowship with God – I lie – I do not practice truth
I have no sin – I am self deceived – I have no truth in me
I have never sinned – I make God a liar – His word not part of me
The remedy for the unforgiven unbeliever:
Confess sin
Forgiveness of sin
Cleansing from all unrighteousness
There are many who argue that 1 John 1:9 is a mandate for Christians when they sin. Thus they teach the following:
Sin must be confessed every day, to keep short sin accounts with God, and to maintain fellowship with God.
That if sin is not confessed, God responds (in varying degrees according to the teacher) by turning His back, not hearing prayer, not blessing, leaving us on our own, allowing us to walk away, withdrawing from us (or some other form of distancing Himself from us), punishing the unrepentant believer, and ultimately taking the life of the believer.
That when a believer dies, he will face judgment for all unconfessed sin. This creates a dilemma for those who are more sensitive or introspective, in that they worry about sins they commit but are not aware of. The answer is either that they God only judges you for known unconfessed sin but not those you can’t remember, or that you should confess the sin as soon as you commit it so that you won’t forget, but there is no solution offered for the problem – so no hope.
Problems with these teachings:
1. They have based a requirement for Christians on one verse in the epistles with no other support anywhere in the writings to the church.
2. They choose to compartmentalize scripture because they cannot reconcile these teachings with the plentiful scriptures in the Epistles which clearly teach:
that sin is forgiven at the point of salvation without conditions after salvation.
that a person’s acceptance with God is based solely on the person and work of Christ.
That the epistles do not teach that believers will be judged for their sin after this life. There does seem to be some evaluation of ministers and their faithfulness to God’s word, as well as judgment of unbelievers for their sin.
3. They create insecurity for the believer because true believers are aware of their continuing sin problem and thus can never be completely sure if they are up to date with their confession.
4. Because their system requires all sin to be confessed and not practiced in order to enjoy fellowship with God, by their logic, only those who can reach some state of sinless perfection will ever enjoy the reality of God’s fellowship.
5. They fail to recognize the reality of the presence of sin in the believer in this life. Even if I confess my sin, am I ever really free of sin in this life? Otherwise, would I not have reached a state of sinless perfection?
So, to answer the questions that have been asked:
Doesn’t 1 John 1:9 teach that we should confess our sins with the result being that God will forgive our sins? No
Isn’t confession required for forgiveness of sin for the believer? No
Isn’t the believer required to keep “short sin accounts” with God through daily confession? No
Do I lose fellowship with God if I don’t confess my sins? No
What happens if the believer dies with unconfessed sin? He stands blameless before the Father because of the work of Christ.
What if I can’t remember all the sins I committed today and therefore cannot confess them? Don’t worry, pursue obedience, focus on Christ, and live for others.