Welcome to another Thursday UNFILTERED blog post, the only blog that thinks Jonah didn’t trust the ocean because he knew something fishy was going on.
In 2015, I created what has become my most valuable resource, The Deeper Christian Life Network. Beyond dropping conference messages that have never been released publicly (they are called “Master Classes”), Inside Peeks, Scriptural Game-Changers, Sneak Previews, New Songs, Free eBooks, Profound Quotes, Hot Seats, and Prayer Requests, we have a Monthly Q & A segment.
One of them from the past had to do with 1 John 1:9. Since there’s a lot of confusion around this text, I felt it would be valuable to make this particular question from the Network public along with my answer.
Here it is. If you find it helpful, let me know.
How does confession of sin work in the Christian life? Some teach that 1 John 1:9, after receiving Christ, is bad theology due to the efficacy of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, i.e. “once and for all forgiveness.” Do you think those who teach that a believer should never confess their sins are off base? Second, if not, why is ongoing confession for forgiveness such a deeply held doctrine?
Clearly, John is writing his letter to believers, but he’s combating false teachers and their teaching.
The verse preceding the one you are asking about says,
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).
This is one of the claims that the false teachers were making. I assume they were saying, “Because you have the Spirit of God, you are incapable of sinning” or something along those lines.
John then rebuts this teaching by saying the following:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
John finishes that particular thought in 1 John 2:1-2 saying,
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
That’s how he closes his thought in 1 John chapter 1, and it’s all good news.
Before going further, we need to identify two camps on this question:
Camp 1: Those who teach that if a believer sins, she must confess that sin to God or else she won’t be forgiven for them. So she must remember every sin she commits or else she will be unforgiven by God. Meaning, He will hold those sins against her forever.
Camp 2: In reaction to the first camp, there are some who teach grace in such a way that it means there is no place for confessing one’s sins at all. These folks say that 1 John 1:9 refers to unbelievers and not to believers.
In addition, many in this second camp teach that a believer should never experience the enlightenment of the Spirit (some call this “conviction”) when it comes to sin, and their conscience should never be troubled because they are already forgiven.
In my view, both camps are missing important elements.
Let me try to break it down in small bits.
- The book of 1 John is written to believers, not unbelievers. That’s crystal clear if one reads the letter as a whole. So to say 1 John 1:9 is addressed to unbelievers is inaccurate.
- If we say the text is speaking to unbelievers, it’s hard to find anywhere in the New Testament (including Acts) where unbelievers are asked to confess their sins.
Interestingly, when Peter speaks to Simon Magus, he tells him to ask God to forgive him. (Simon is said to have believed and was baptized, but many believe he didn’t have biblical faith.)
Note Peter’s words:
“Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart” (Acts 8:22).
Peter isn’t urging Simon to confess, but to repent and ask for forgiveness.
- Asking for forgiveness doesn’t appear in 1 John 1:9. Confession does.
- The concept that a believer should never sense the displeasure of the Spirit in his conscience when he sins is a false teaching. Scripture speaks about “grieving the Spirit” (which is written to believers – Ephesians 4:30).
There’s also a great deal about the conscience in the New Testament. (I address a lot of this in my book Jesus Now, which is written to both of the camps I mentioned at the beginning.)
- A believer can silence her conscience. And when that happens, she won’t sense the Spirit when she sins. She’ll unwittingly live in the flesh, yet use the banner of “grace” to justify her fleshly conduct.
- Wrong teaching about grace produces the above condition. Bad teaching always kills spiritual instincts. (I know a few people who have this kind of fruit in their ministry, and I’ve spoken to them about it to no avail.)
- If a believer has sinned and doesn’t give a formal confession, it doesn’t mean that God is going to damn him forever. Indeed, Jesus has taken care of our sins, all of them.
- Confession of sin per 1 John 1:9 is biblical for the believer. Consider James 5:13-16, which confirms the same idea:
“Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
In context, James is saying that some people fall ill because they’ve committed sin. James then links the healing of that kind of sickness with confession of that sin.
James is clearly speaking to believers. He writes, “If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” That statement would make zero sense if the first camp is right (that is, if a believer is never to confess his sins).
From this text, we learn that confession of sin is something that brings healing. If the confession is genuine, it also strengthens our will to be freed from besetting sins.
Consequently, the benefit of confession is for the believer’s walk in the here and now.
- In the Greek, the word “confession” means to agree with or to say the same thing. So to confess a sin means to own it. It means to acknowledge that a particular practice is displeasing to God. It is not a plea to ask God for forgiveness (though I see nothing wrong with doing that as Simon was instructed to do by Peter).
- The Greek word for “forgive” in 1 John 1:9 and “forgiven” in James 5 means to send away or to set free. I believe the word has in view the act of setting one free from the present consequences of a sin, namely, a defiled conscience and/or sickness.
Putting it all Together
While Jesus made provision for all the sins of the world to receive forgiveness, people must repent and believe in order to receive that forgiveness. Forgiveness is not automatically reckoned to the account of every human. Scripture is clear about this. One must “repent and believe” to receive it.
In a similar way, if a person professes faith in Jesus but persistently walks in darkness (to use John’s language), never confessing (acknowledging and owning) their sins, their forgiveness is in doubt.
According to Paul in Galatians 5, 1 Corinthians 6, and Ephesians 5 (three times), those who continue to practice certain sins will not inherit the kingdom of God. (That’s a warning written to God’s people.)
The issue isn’t about trying to remember every sin one has committed. The issue is about acknowledging (confessing) and owning it. Rather than to keep walking in it without being bothered. That’s what John is getting at.
In addition, I believe the cleansing (or purification) in 1 John 1:9 refers to the conscience being cleansed from unrighteousness. This is the same language that the writer of Hebrews uses with respect to the cleansing of sin.
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14)
This view brings clarity to both camps by setting the discussion in a different context.
All told, confession of sin is an important practice for believers. It should be specific where you “call it in its face.” By confessing your sins to God, whenever they take place, you are dragging them out of the darkness and bringing them into God’s light where your conscience can be cleansed by the blood of Christ. And hence, there will be no cloud between you and the Lord in your fellowship.
Jesus and James add another layer, indicating that if the sin was committed against another believer, confession should be made to them (James 5:16; Matthew 18:15). The circle of offense is the circle of confession.
Summary
Confession is part of the ongoing life of the renewed people, not a means of repeatedly getting re‑justified. Justification happens once. Confession to God maintains integrity and fellowship, without denying the all-sufficiency of the cross of Christ to cover all sins.
Therefore, 1 John 1:9 has in view “family‑forgiveness” and “conscience‑cleansing” instead of repeated justification. At conversion, God grants judicial forgiveness of all sins. There is now “no condemnation” for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1).
– Judicial forgiveness: One‑time, once‑for‑all pardon based on Christ’s finished work, removing sin’s penalty and securing eternal acceptance (Rom 8:1; Col 2:13–14).
– Parental forgiveness: Ongoing, within the family; when believers sin, fellowship with the Father is disturbed, not their status as His children. Confession restores that fellowship.
NEW ONLINE SEMINAR – Reimagining Scripture, Prayer, and Discipleship.
It’s All Gonna Burn Up One Day