(1 John 1:8 NKJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
John didn't want his readers to be led astray by the Gnostic heresy of sinless perfection.
Last time we learned that the fact is, we do sin, and continue to say we have no sin is a sign of self-deception. The fact is, continuing to say we have no sin is proof that the truth is not in us.
If the truth is not in you, Jesus is not in you because Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life…" (John 14:6)
John wanted his readers to stop denying their sin and to start confessing their sins.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Today we’re going to look at what it means to confess our sins. Today we are going to look at:
1. The Meaning of Confession
2. The Method of Confession
3. The Mark of Confession
1.) The Meaning of Confession
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The word “confess” is a combination of two Greek words, homo, meaning "same," and lego, meaning "to say."
Literally it is "saying the same thing as another or agreeing to what another has said. It includes a recognition that sin needs to be forgiven and an acknowledgment of specific sins.
In other words, John is teaching that one must come to the point of realizing they are a sinner who needs to be forgiven. Remember, some in John's day were saying they had no sin.
Not only should there be a recognition that sin needs to be forgiven, there must also be an acknowledgment of specific sins. John is teaching that once you agree with God that you are a sinner you need to agree with God about how you have sinned.
We have lost our grip on the art of confession in our society. We no longer confess in the biblical sense of the word; we say something like, "I'm sorry." But this isn’t a confession.
A confession is "saying the same thing." It is agreeing with what God has said about who you are and what you have done.
Confession is more than saying, "I'm sorry." It is acknowledging the fact that you have broken God's Law and rejected His authority. It is a heart attitude that says: "Lord, I am nothing without you. I've blown it; I've messed up; I've disobeyed you; I need You to change me."
Many try to confess their sins all in a big lump by saying "God, I'm sorry if I've sinned."
Imagine a man going to his wife whom he had mistreated and abused for years and saying candidly, "Honey, I'm sorry if I've done anything wrong in the past."
What an insult! Instead, we should confess our sins to God one-by-one...as specific as possible and with a heart attitude of desperately wanting to turn away from our sin (repentance).
Sometimes we use the "I'm sorry" utterance to deflect the blame to someone or something else. We want to blame externals for our sins:
"I'm sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night."
"I'm sorry, but my alarm clock didn’t wake me up, and so I’m late."
"I'm sorry, but I have just been having a bad day."
"I'm sorry, but I've been so busy."
In each case, it is the situation that is the problem, not my own thoughtlessness
It is my circumstance that is the problem, not my own inability to love or to think about others.
It is my environment that is the problem, not my own lack of faithfulness to keeping my word.
Even if we will acknowledge a particular sin we want people to think it is the rare exception.
“I hardly ever say that word.” Yeah right.
“I don’t know how I forgot about you. I always pay my debts.”
"I'm sorry" doesn't acknowledge sin--Saying “I’m sorry” is simply an admission that some less than desirable state has occurred;
"I'm sorry" is one-sided--Saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t require a response. It doesn't necessarily imply repentance.
Some of us have even reduced our apology from an "I'm sorry" to "Sorry…" in an attempt to further distance ourselves from taking personal responsibility for what we’ve done.
What is needed is a biblical confession.
What is needed is an acknowledgment of the fact that you have offended someone. You do this by naming the offense or offenses.
What is needed is a heart attitude that says: “I’ve blown it, I've messed up, and I need your forgiveness." "Will you forgive me?"
An example of a biblical confession:
This is where David confessed that he sinned after having an affair with Bathsheba and murdering her husband Uriah in an attempt to cover up his sin:
(Psa 51:1 NKJV) Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
(Psa 51:2 NKJV) Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
(Psa 51:3 NKJV) For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
(Psa 51:4 NKJV) Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
Whether confessing to God or man you need to "say the same thing" with an attitude of humility and repentance.
When God says you have lied, say, “I have lied, please forgive me.”
When God says you are bitter, say, “I am bitter, please forgive me”
When God says you are rebellious, say, “I am rebellious, please forgive me.”
Say the same thing.
2.) The Method of Confession
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The word "if" means "a possibility, condition, or stipulation."
Since the Gnostics thought they had no sin there was little or no possibility there would be confession of sins from those in the church who had begun to follow their teachings.
John doesn't let their self-deception deter him from telling them the truth. Since they had little or no truth in them, he would tell them the truth and the "truth would set them free." Truth always wins out over error.
John is saying in effect, "You may say you have no sins but if God brings them to your attention and you confess them, He is faithful and just to forgive you."
Never let the condition of a person's heart discourage you from sharing Christ with him.
Never let the condition of the world keep you from doing the will of God.
Some years ago I told a fellow pastor that if one teaches his congregation the Bible God will begin to move people to do His will and live clean lives.
To this he responded with something like, "We are living in the last days and the world is evil and people are following after the world more than Christ."
While his answer is correct, it is not reason enough to cease from preaching the Word and encouraging Christians with the truth. The Apostle Paul penned these words for Timothy, a young pastor:
(2 Tim 4:2 NKJV) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
(2 Tim 4:3 NKJV) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
(2 Tim 4:4 NKJV) and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
(2 Tim 4:5 NKJV) But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Paul also tells Titus, another church planter, that an elder must hold fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict. (Titus 1:9)
I believe that John was doing just that in our text. He was by sound doctrine, both exhorting and convicting those who contradict.
In John's day there were those who were saying that they had no sin. Perhaps there were even church members who would readily admit they were sinners but have difficulty admitting when they have sinned.
Is it hard for you to confess when you have sinned? I will confess to you now that it is hard for me to admit that I have sinned. No one likes to admit they have sin in their life.
Let me share with you the method of confession:
1.) Humble yourself.
Proverb 29:23 says, "A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor."
Let me let you in on a secret. You aren't humbling yourself to a person as much as you are humbling yourself before Almighty God.
"Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Pet 5:5-7)
Peter tells his readers to submit to one another with an attitude of humility because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Then he writes, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…"
If I humble myself under the mighty hand of God, it is going to change my attitude with respect to my brother or sister in the Lord.
Peter tells us that God “gives grace to the humble.” In other words, God gives us His grace or favor which is the power and desire to do His will.
What is it that usually keeps a person from confessing when they’ve done wrong? PRIDE! When you and I humble ourselves, God gives us the grace to confess.
Not only should we humble ourselves, we should do it without delay.
2.) Do it without delay
The Bible teaches that Satan can take advantage of the Christian who is not in fellowship with God and the brethren.
(Heb 12:14 NKJV) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:
(Heb 12:15 NKJV) looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;
Cain was bitter and his bitterness led to the murder of his brother Abel.
Joseph’s brothers were jealous. Their jealousy led to bitterness and their bitterness led to the murderous scheming.
Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad; he hated Amnon because he had disgraced his sister Tamar. Two years later, he invited all his brothers to a party. When his brother Amnon got drunk Absalom got his men to kill him. (2 Sam 13:22-23) For two years bitterness grew in Absalom’s heart until, like Cain, it blossomed into murder.
Haman’s bitterness led to plans for mass murder, and he even built a huge gallows on which to have Mordecai hanged. But the plans backfired, Mordecai was given a place of honor in the kingdom, and the bitter Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for another man.
It was the teasing, ridicule, and rejection that brought about aggression, anger, bitterness and frustration in the heart of Eric Harris (one of the shooters at Columbine Highschool).
This is why we need to confess our sins without delay before any root of bitterness springs us and causes trouble, and by this many become defiled. Jesus says:
(Mat 5:25 NKJV) "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.
Some of us are in emotional and spiritual prisons because of unconfessed sins; we need to confess and be delivered.
3.) When confessing to people, do so without expecting anything in return.
Some make the mistake and confess for selfish reasons. For example, when one confesses in order to "become friends again" it is a noble reason but many times self-gratifying. This is why when some have confessed and asked to be forgiven, when the person doesn’t want to forgive them they get angry.
We confess because God commands it. Whether the confession brings the desired results is not the issue. The issue is obedience to God.
Consider now the kind of attitude the Christian must have. Jesus is talking about the attitude we should have when lending money. But I believe we must have the same attitude when confessing our sins to people we have offended. Listen to the words of Jesus:
(Luke 6:34 NKJV) "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.
(Luke 6:35 NKJV) "But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
When confessing, humble yourself; do it without delay. When confessing to people, don’t expect anything in return.
4.) When confessing to God, do so expecting Him to forgive.
This is the crux of 1 John 1:9:
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Why should we expect God to forgive? John tells us that He is faithful." In other words, God honors His promises to forgive sin.
There was a man who was consumed with guilt and remorse over an adulterous affair that had occurred years before. He was asked why he had not confessed it to the Lord and received His forgiveness and cleansing.
His response was that he had asked the Lord to forgive him a thousand times. Isn't this like us?
How many times have you asked the Lord to forgive you for a sin that you committed against Him a few days ago or weeks, months or years ago?
The Apostle John tells us that God is faithful.
The word faithful is pistos in the Greek. What the Holy Spirit is saying is that God is "true to His own nature and promises."
Paul says it like this in 2 Tim 2:13: "If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself."
God's faithfulness is described as "fidelity to that nature of truth and light, related to His own essence."
In other words, for God not to keep His promise would invalidate His deity. He would cease to be God if He were to break His promise.
The counsel to the man who had asked God to forgive him a thousand times would be that he should have confessed his sin once and then thanked God 999 times for His forgiveness and cleansing.
Many times we remain in bondage because we do not in simple childlike faith take God at His Word.
When He said, “If we will confess, He will cleanse and forgive," that is just what He will do.
We've looked at the definition of confession and the probability of confession. Let's look at our last point, "The Mark of Confession."
3.) The Mark of Confession
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
In response to confession, God is "faithful" and "just."
He is "faithful" by honoring His promises to forgive sin (e.g., Jer. 31:34).
He is "just" because the death of Christ provides the moral grounds for divine forgiveness. In other words, God doesn’t forgive nonchalantly. His forgiveness is based upon a price that was paid in order that you and I can be granted “forgiven.” This price was the death of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches there are marks or benefits that come to those who confess:
1.) Forgiveness (1 John 1:9) –
Did you ever have a debt that was cancelled? Forgiveness means "cancellation of debts or obligations." It literally means “to send off or away.” And this, throughout Scripture, is the one fundamental meaning of forgiveness - to separate the sin from the sinner. Pardon
2.) Cleansing (1 John 1:9) - katharizo, kath-ar-id'-zo; to cleanse; make clean; purge, purify.
It is not enough to pardon if all you are going to do is leave the prison system only to be locked up again. God not only separates the sin from the sinner and pardons us; He takes away our moral weakness. He takes away the taste of sin from our mouths.
3.) Healing (James 5:16)
(James 5:14 NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
(James 5:15 NKJV) And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
(James 5:16 NKJV) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
From the context (see vs. 19-20), James is more than likely speaking to the person who is sick as a result of unrepentant sin in his life. The Bible teaches that God disciplines habitually sinning believers; some with sickness others with death. (1 Cor. 5:5; 11:30)
James is teaching that healing is connected to confession of sins if indeed the sickness came as a result of God's chastening.
4.) Spreading of the Word of God (Acts 19:18-20)
In the Bible there is an example of what can happen when one confesses or "says the same thing" as the Lord.
In John chapter four Jesus encountered a woman who was at a well getting some water. After a few words, Jesus let this woman know that He knew that she had been married five times and the man she was currently living with was not her husband. She was stunned.
After hearing Jesus' offer to drink of the living water, this woman ran into town saying, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" (vs. 29). The townsfolk came running out to see Jesus and subsequently were saved.
Listen to what John writes about this event, "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."" (vs. 39)
When there is biblical confession; when one agrees with what God says about their sin, the Word of God spreads in a mighty way.
(Acts 19:18 NKJV) And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.
(Acts 19:19 NKJV) Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
(Acts 19:20 NKJV) So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
History shows that revival normally followed periods of biblical preaching, public confession and repentance.
In the The Great Awakening of (1725-1760) meetings were marked by passionate praise for Christ and public confession of sin.
Hawaii's Great Awakening of 1835-1840
"…repentance over sin was expressed openly. The people desired to be righteous. At times such emotion was evoked that the missionaries did not know how to handle it.
The pastor of the Hawaiian church Titus Coan reports such an incident. He was holding an outdoor meeting in Puna while preaching on "Repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus." One man burst out in the middle of the meeting with much emotion and tears saying, "Lord, have mercy on me; I am dead in sin." Titus Coan goes on to record how his "weeping was so loud, and his trembling so great, that the whole congregation was moved as by a common sympathy. Many wept aloud, and many commenced praying together. The scene was such as I had never before witnessed. I stood dumb in the midst of this weeping, watching, praying multitudes, not being able to make myself heard for about twenty minutes.''
This soon became a pattern in the meetings. The burden to be rid of sin, through confession of sin and restitution was real. Loud crying, shrieks, falling down, and wailing was not unusual in the meetings.
Titus Coan reports, "I arrived yesterday at 8:00 A.M. Found a large company of children collected...in the meeting houses besides several hundreds of adults. I was a little weary, but I felt the Spirit break upon my heart; so I went right in among the children and fell upon my knees and looked up to Heaven. The Holy Spirit fell instantly, so soon as I opened my mouth. The place was shaken. The congregation was all in tears, and there was such a crying out as I had not heard before. The overt expression of repentance manifested in the meeting continued for over two years. Some missionaries criticized Coan and Lyons for allowing such displays. But, to Coan the physical manifestations of repenters were a "token of the Holy Spirit".
What about today? Should we openly and publicly confess our sins?
The Greek word (homologeo meaning "to confess, i.e., to speak agreeable to fact and truth.") was typically used for a public confession. This sense comes out clearly in Matthew 10:32 and Romans 10:9 where it talks about the need to publicly profess Jesus before men or He will not publicly profess us before the Father.
In secular literature the word was used to confess to a crime, i.e. to admit guilt in a court of law (which would have been verbal). Vine's Expository Dictionary defines it as "to speak..." and "to declare openly..."
Perhaps even more important is the Old Testament pattern of the Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1-5:13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22) and the Trespass Offering (Leviticus 5:14-6:7; 7:1-6) which were used to atone for specific transgressions. A bull, goat or ram was brought to the priest. The worshipper laid his two hands on the head of the animal (signifying that his sin was transferred to the animal) and then confessed his sin to the priest.
The confession would be something like this one found in the Mishnah: "O Lord, I have committed iniquity, transgressed, and sinned before you, I and my house. O Lord, forgive the iniquities, transgressions, and sins, which I have done by committing iniquity, transgression, and sin before you, I and my house. 'As it is written in the Torah of Moses, your servant, For on this day shall atonement be made for you to clean you. From all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord (Leviticus. 16:30).'" Following this public confession, the priest then sacrificed the animal.
This idea of verbal confession continues in the New Testament where we are told to "confess our sins to one another" (James 5:16). I think the pattern is pretty clear that (generally speaking) confessions ought to be made to someone.
I believe the confession should be made at the same level of exposure as the sin. Jesus says in Matthew 18:15, "Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.”
If the sin was public knowledge it should be confessed at the same level. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 5:1 concerning a man who was sleeping with his stepmother, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you… And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned…”
In 2 Corinthians we learn that the Corinthians had dealt with the man guilty of incest. Word has now reached Paul that the man has repented. Therefore, Paul tells the Corinthian church that every effort should be made to comfort the repentant man and to reaffirm their love for him.
The mark of confession is forgiveness, cleansing, healing and spreading of the Word of God.
There is the story of a businessman whose shirts were dirty and needed to go to the cleaners. He threw the shirts into the trunk of his car and promptly forgot about them. He also forgot when he changed a flat tire the week before that he had left the jack laying loose in the trunk. Several days passed and the man remembered his shirts and took them to the cleaners.
When he opened the trunk to get the shirts out, they not only had the normal dirtiness but were also streaked by the grease from the jack. They were a mess! When the businessman walked into the cleaners with his dirty shirts, he began to apologize for bringing in such filthy clothes. The young lady at the desk broke in abruptly and said, “Don’t apologize. That’s why we’re here! If you could take care of them yourself, you wouldn’t need us.”
God feels the same way as that young lady at the cleaners: “Don’t apologize. God isn't concerned about
our "I'm sorrys" as much as He is about you and I coming to Him with a sorrowful and contrite heart.
The Bible says, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation…" (2 Cor 7:10 NKJV)
Psalm 34:18 says, "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit."
In Psalm 51:17 we find that "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise."
In Isaiah 66:2 God says "I will look on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word."
Like the young lady at the cleaners God says, "That’s why I am here. If you could clean yourself up, you would not need Me.”
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We come to God just as we are, and He takes it from there! We come. We confess. He cleanses. He forgives. That is God’s way of us dealing with our sins.
I challenge you to confess your sins to God and receive His forgiveness and cleansing.
I challenge you to seek the face of God and ask Him to reveal to you those persons you need to confess to—whether privately or publicly, do it without delay.
