“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.”
This is by far one of the most misunderstood Scriptures in the Bible and the one that trips so many people up in their faith. People quote it and use it as a way to show that we are always required to confess our sins and to get cleansed for our unrighteousness. When you take a Scripture out of context you destroy its meaning! It is so important for us to rightly divide God’s Word and understand what is being said before we make a bold confession stated as fact. This verse of Scripture is one of those times. In I John, John was writing to the leader of the leaders who were his followers. Some of the leaders had come into the fold and were teaching false doctrine and professing to be without sin.
So John addresses these teachers boldly with the truth. First he explains who Jesus is in verses one through five and in verse six and seven he says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” In other words to say one is without sin is a lie because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But what sin is he speaking of here in 1 John? It is the sin of unbelief not the daily sins that are committed in the flesh. These teachers of the day were actually making a claim that they were without sin of any kind.
We see this is true because in 1 John 1:10 John says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” The sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ is the only unpardonable sin and the only sin that can keep a person separated from God because if they do not believe in Jesus Christ they will not inherit eternal life which means they will never have fellowship with Jesus on this earth or in eternity. So John is trying to make it very clear that teaching people that they are without sin of any kind is wrong and he is rebuking them for the false teachings that are being spread throughout the congregation of his followers.
Out of his love for his followers he tells them the truth of what they need to do, “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) He IS NOT SPEAKING TO BELIEVERS HERE! HE IS SPEAKING TO THE FALSE TEACHERS WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT BELIEVERS! It is really that simple to understand when you put this verse in context. We know this is true because in 1 John 1:10 he says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” A believer never says they have not sinned because they understand that they have and they understand that it was our sin that caused Jesus to die on the Cross!
They also understand that when Jesus died on the Cross and was resurrected He paid the price for all man’s sin past, present, and future. In his letter John made this very clear when he said, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” Propitiation literally means atoning sacrifice! Jesus Christ was the atoning sacrifice for not only the believer’s sins, but the entire world’s sins. John was really trying to get a message across to the leaders who were teaching falsehood to his followers.
But today people who do not understand the Bible read 1 John 1:9 and blow it way out of context as a way to show that we are to continually confess our sins and be cleansed from unrighteousness. This is nothing more than a false teaching. To say that we need to do this is to say that the blood of Jesus was insufficient and tainted because it is saying that His work on the Cross wasn’t a complete work! When Jesus died on the Cross you and your sins died with Him! And at the moment you said yes to Him you were cleansed from all unrighteousness! At that moment two thousand years ago every sin you have committed or ever will commit, were atoned for by Jesus Christ! He is NEVER going to atone for them again no matter how many times you confess them! His work is finished and He is seated on the throne at the right hand of God!
He is NEVER going to come back to earth and die for your sins again! He will only come back to earth to receive us unto Himself at the day of His Second Coming! For many this is a very hard truth to accept because they have been conditioned to believe a lie and because of it they are blinded to seeing the truth. It is easier for them to live in a comfortable lie so they turn a deaf ear to anyone who speaks the truth. But for those who do not turn a deaf ear they are liberated and set free from the binding chains of false doctrine and they walk in the fullness of the joy that John speaks of when he says, “that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:3-4)
May your joy be made full today as you accept your fellowship with the Father through your fellowship with Jesus Christ and may you come to the fullness of the knowledge of the finished work of the Cross; so that you will no longer believe the lies of false teachers who tell you that you need to continually confess your sins and be cleansed from unrighteousness! May you come to know the truth that makes you free, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever! Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment