Clearing up misunderstandings concerning, repentance vs. confession of sins, and remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God

Clearing up misunderstandings concerning, repentance vs. confession of sins, and remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God

STATEMENT:

You say, “we do not practice confession of sins because our salvation and fellowship with God are not dependent of OUR performance”, and further in the post you also say, “How many times can we be forgiven of "all unrighteousness?" Only once. In Christ, now and forever, we are forgiven of all sins ----past, present, and future!” 

So, answer me these. 

1- If Paul is the apostle of the Gentiles, why did he write, “…and then to the Gentiles, that they should REPENT and turn to God, and DO WORKS meet for repentance”, Acts 26:20. You should know that repent is also known as ‘confession of sins’. 

2- Future sins? “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins THAT ARE PAST, through the forbearance of God” Rom 3:25

RESPONSE:

Conditional instructions versus grace

Conditional instructions versus grace

STATEMENT:

The Bible is clear that we must confess our sins. Please read 1st John 1:9 which says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sin …".

RESPONSE:

The verse you reference in 1 John is applicable to the believers that live during a different dispensation. It is not the dispensation you and I live in today. So, although we can learn from what John writes, concerning their doctrine and life, it is not something that applies to us today. I can validate what I say by pointing you to the very nature of the words used by John in the verse you quote. Let’s compare:

Comments and questions concerning confession of sins according to right dividing.

Comments and questions concerning confession of sins according to right dividing.

The following post contains comments made by an individual in response to this post. I separated out the comments (enlarged blue text) and provided my responses accordingly. I believe that there are some valuable things to learn from the conversation, hence publishing it here.

I think this is a dangerously flawed view.

Believe me when I say that I get this warning a lot. I hold a dispensational view of scripture which appears to challenge the views of many people and how they interpret various topics in scripture. I’d have no doctrine left to write about if I submit to the many views where people say I’m wrong or mislead. Dispensationalism has brought me out of a 40-year mould of wrong biblical orientation. In the 10-years I’ve studied scripture rightly divided (2Tim.2:15), it has opened the scripture to me in deeper ways than in all 40-years of kingdom theology, and similar that I have been exposed to.

Why does Paul, writer of two-thirds of the New Testament, not mention confession of sins?

Why does Paul, writer of two-thirds of the New Testament, not mention confession of sins?

According to doctrine

Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul, never commands that members of the Body of Christ must confess sins. Paul received a deeper truth from the ascended Christ for grace believers, and unlike the Old Covenant and the Kingdom program, this does not contain instructions regarding the confessing of our sins. Paul only mentions the word "confessing" (Gk, homologeo, "acknowledge") in the context of "acknowledging Jesus Christ is Lord", as we see in Romans 10:10.

Since we are not under the law, we do not practice confession of sins because our salvation and fellowship with God are not dependent of OUR performance. We are forgiven, apart from anything we have done. In Colossians 2:13, our Apostle Paul tells us that we are "forgiven of all trespasses [in Christ]". In Ephesians 4:32 it is written, "God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you", and Colossians 3:13, "even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye". We are forgiven (past tense), not because we confess our sins, but because of Christ’s finished cross work on Calvary. In Christ, we have unbroken fellowship with God forever and ever. How many times can we be forgiven of "all unrighteousness?" Only once. In Christ, now and forever, we are forgiven of all sins ----past, present, and future!

Concerning SIN, the confession of sin, and defeating sin

Concerning SIN, the confession of sin, and defeating sin.

IN RESPONSE TO THIS MEMBER’S COMMENT:

We will sin until we are in eternity with the Lord, when sin will no longer exists. It’s important to confess our sins to Him daily, perhaps begin each day surrendering our will to His. It’s possible to sin less and less though…

ANSWER:

I agree that we certainly will sin less as our minds and hearts get renewed by the living Word of God and our thoughts and actions are brought under the obedience of the Word.

As concerning confession, it is good to sense remorse for sin and come to God with a contrite heart, but there is no need (or law) dictating the importance and ‘must’ regarding daily confessing our sins. Please don’t misunderstand me. I come to God with remorse and sorrow for falling in moments of weakness, but it will not affect my relationship with God if I do not confess my sins every day. Why? Because God already sees you as absolutely righteous because of Christ. His righteousness has already been applied to you. Your flesh remains corrupt and prone to sin, but your spirit is perfect in His sight. If one places oneself under a law (or under a rule) to confess sins, as with any other rule to try to work out your own righteousness, all it will do is bring condemnation. We must be careful not to have laws dictate our relationship with God. We should aim to come out from under law as children and to grow up in the truth of the Word and walk in the liberty of the spirit as sons of God. To be bound by the dictates of laws which can never be perfectly followed anyways is not the way God indented for us to walk.

How do I confess a sin that I don't feel bad for?

A person that blatantly sins and does not feel bad about it is (1) either not saved, or (2) they have responded to the gospel but have a badly seared conscience (1Tim.4:2), or a rebellious mind that desperately needs to be renewed by the life and love of the Word of God.

To start answering your question, I must draw your attention to the fact that we have the known moral (or universal) sins like, murder, stealing, adultery, bearing false witness, coveting, etc. The Bible is clear that these are sins and any spirit-led believer will know that they sin if they do these, whether they feel bad or not!

Understanding the New Testament Gospel Differences (Part 6)

Understanding the New Testament Gospel Differences (Part 6 --- Call upon the name of the Lord or confess His name)

We continue with the comparison of the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ by looking at key elements that distinguish them from each other. I recommend to start at the beginning of this comparison to gain the necessary context of this series of posts.

Call upon the name of the Lord or Confess the Lord

In the Old Testament and the four Gospels, it was required by Jews to call upon the name of the Lord or confess His name. The purpose for this was to make a positive identification of Him based on the signs the scriptures gave about their Messiah, and in so doing individually proclaim their faith in Him. To call upon the name of the Lord, or to confess Him as their Messiah, was a necessary requirement of salvation during the law dispensation and in the Kingdom gospel and the gospel of God.

Must I Audibly Confess "Jesus Is Lord" To Be Saved?

What About Romans 10:9-10? Must I Audibly Confess "Jesus Is Lord" To Be Saved?

I have had this question asked to me many times within my circle of influence, indicating that there is a lot of misunderstanding around what the 'confession of Jesus with the mouth' means. The key to understanding this passage is to read it in context and to know who the target audience was that Paul was writing to. This article will clarify the context, but as for the target audience, that is easily cleared up by simple going to the first verse in this tenth chapter of Romans. It reads the following,

Rom.10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

So, we know that Paul is addressing Jews and that the context will thus be according to their customs and beliefs. 

Shawn provides a much more detailed explanation of this question on his website here, but this excerpt of his article below gives an excellent summary explanation to bring one to a clear understanding of this often misquoted passage.

Q-A: Must we confess our sins

Q-A: Does the Bible instruct us to "Confess our sins?"

Q-A: What was the Gospel in Jesus' day (Part.1)?

Q-A: What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.1)

John the Baptist and Jesus preached the "gospel of the kingdom." The good news was to get ready, (to repent and get baptized), as the prophesied Millennial Kingdom was at hand. Why? Because the King of the kingdom had come.

Mark 1:14-15 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled (Gal 4:4), and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel".