Results 1 - 8 of 8
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Is 1 John 1:9 applicable to Christians? | 1 John 1:9 | Lifer1J511 | 2876 | ||
Is 1 John 1:9 applicable to Christians? Or is it addressing those in 1 John 1:8? Are Christians forgiven by Christ's blood at the cross shed 2000 years ago or by just asking for forgiveness now? Did Jesus forgive all our sins at the cross or does He only give the ones we confess to Him? | ||||||
2 | Is 1 John 1:9 applicable to Christians? | 1 John 1:9 | reformedreader | 2877 | ||
Lifer, Your question has plagued Christians for a long time. It will undoubtedly receive much attention. (I hope) Let's start with the conclusion. As Christians, we are either forgiven for all sins or for only some sins. If "all" sins, then would our asking for forgiveness imply we do not believe we are forgiven and if only "some" sins, then are we still under the condemnation of God for "unforgiven" sin? And, if we die before we confess and ask if God will forgive us for at least one sin that might have been either overlooked or ignored or forgotten, would we still spend eternity as one who has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb? What do you think? Sam Hughey |
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3 | The inevitable BUT... | 1 John 1:9 | Lifer1J511 | 2899 | ||
Thanks for your reply. I hope my question gets attention, too, because I'm really struggling with this issue. Your conclusions definately has merit. BUT (I hate using this word) why does John seem to say that forgiveness is conditional upon our confession? "IF we confess...He is faithful and just TO FORGIVE..." This seems to imply that if we don't confess, He won't forgive. Please don't think that I'm trying to argue your conclusion. Your answer seems right. But how does this verse fit in? I've been taught (right or wrong) that we don't have the truth until all scriptures dealing with a subject correlate and do not contradict. I even tried looking at the Greek behind the text and it doesn't seem to help. Thanks. | ||||||
4 | The inevitable BUT... | 1 John 1:9 | reformedreader | 2902 | ||
Lifer, Our salvation is conditional upon nothing we do or not do for we are saved by grace which is God's unmerited favor (love) for those who can do nothing for themselves. The forgiveness of sin is as much a part of our salvation as our salvation itself. In fact, you cannot have one without the other. I do not see John making statements that would lead us to believe if we fail to confess but one sin, we will not be saved. And, lest we forget, salvation without forgiveness is impossible. I believe John is addressing an audience much like our congregations today. There is a mixture of known and unknown lost and saved. Many who profess to be saved are not and the message would naturally be applied to them. I thank God my sins are forgiven and the praise of thanksgiving not only solidifies my belief and faith but glorifies God in that He alone can and has forgiven sin. The reasoning is really very simple when we conclude the most logical antithesis of John's words. If we do not confess our sins, He is not faithful and not just and will not forgive. But we do know God to be faithful and just to forgive and it is never based on a human condition but His grace alone. However, not a single Christian has ever or will ever say truthfully they confessed to God every sin they ever committed in order to be forgiven in order to be saved. We are saved in spite of not confessing our sins. Our salvation should be a settled matter. On the otherhand, if we acquire the desire to sin and not confess, seeing no importance in confessing usually requires seeing no wrong in sinning, then we fall into the 8th verse of 1st John. We have deceived ourselves and most often because we never responded to the true gospel. Hope that helps, Sam Hughey |
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5 | Where is the message found? | 1 John 1:9 | Lifer1J511 | 2906 | ||
Thank you, Sam. That does help. Other than scripture itself, do you know of any other resources that I might be able to use to help others like me with this question? Every time our church has communion we are expected to sit quietly and confess all our sins to God in order to be forgiven and stay in fellowship with God. Plus, it keeps God from striking us dead for taking communion unworthily (with unconfessed sin). But then our pastor will turn right around and preach to unbelievers that all our sins are paid for at Calvary. I have spent 30 years of my life keeping short (and not-so-short) accounts with God, trying to stay in fellowship with Him. But, on the way home from church, a careless driver cuts me off and 'Raca' is the first thing out of my mouth. Suddenly, I'm out of fellowship with God again and I can't always pull over to stop and pray for God to forgive me. Then I'm haunted by 'What if I die in this car on the way home with unconfessed sin?' 1 John 1:9 has been my 'thorn in the flesh' for a long time but I know it's God's Word and that it's inspired. Thanks again for all your help. Want to be my new pastor (ha ha)? |
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6 | Where is the message found? | 1 John 1:9 | wdc | 2973 | ||
Lifer, let me get in on this. I want to address two things here. First 1 Jn. 1:9. This is something all Christians should do. When we sin, it hinders our fellowship with God. The meaning of confess is to agree with God. When we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with Him that what we did or didn't do is wrong, like He says it is, and that we now agree with Him on it. All our sin was paid for on the cross, but we still have to confess our sinfulness to Him and call upon His as Savior (Rom. 10:9-10) before we can be saved. The main problem with unconfessed sin is the consequences we face here in this life and that goes farther than lost followship, you can cut off your arm, and be forgiven for it, but you want have an arm anymore. So we confess our sin to put ourselves in agreement with God and to help us see more clearly the area's of our lives we need to work and get His help. Cmpare also the teaching of Jesus to Peter in John 13:1-15, esp. verse 10. The second is the Lord's supper or communion. I think there is a bad error in our teaching here. In the context of 1 Cor. 11, Paul is pretty much scolding them about the big parties they had turned the Lord's supper into and the factions and groups that had come out of it. Remember also the problems they had the gifts of the Spirit and spiritual pride. When he tells them they are partaking in an unworthy manner, he is not talking about that they hadn't confessed every known sin, but rather the actual way they were serving the supper. Notice verse 29: (1 Cor 11:29) "For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." Not discerning the Lord's body. The Lord's body is one, not many groups and factions, as they had split into. Also discerning the Lord's body is understanding why He died on the cross for our sins and shed His blood. We cannot come to the Lord's table on our own merit, even if we could confess every sin we had committed since the last time we confessed to Him, and we can't, we still would not be worthy to stand before Him. But when we come to the table, understanding that the only way we are worthy is because He took our sin and imparted to us His righteousness, 2 Cor. 5:21, and He secured this for us by giving Himself on the cross, then we can partake at the table in a worthy manner. I don't see any problem with confessing any sin you know of before the Lord's supper, but do not think you are worthy because you have done so. Know that you are only worthy because Christ is in you, and you stand by His blood and His righteousness. Notice also verse 31, "For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged." How do we judge ourselves-- not worthy of what He has done. But when by faith we stand "in Him", God sees us in the righteousness of Jesus, and we are then worthy in God's eyes. So let us never be remiss in confessing our sin, 1 John 1:9, but let us never forget that we can stand before God only because of what Jesus has done for us. Hope this helps. later...wdc |
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7 | Is fellowship with God conditional? | 1 John 1:9 | Lifer1J511 | 3016 | ||
Thanks for your response. I have a question about a statement you made. You said, "When we sin, it hinders our fellowship with God." What does this mean? What is fellowship with God? I see in Rom 6:23 that 'the wages of sin is death.' As I understand it, when I sin (and, unfortunately, I still do) I deserve death. James says that if I've broken the least of the commandments, I've broken them all. Where does the Bible negate Rom 6:23 and state that, for the Christian, the wages of sin is broken fellowship. Even 1 John 1:9 DOESN'T say, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to restore fellowship." Please don't think I'm trying to be argumentative. I appreciate what you said in your reply. Especially about taking communion. But we're not generally taught this view. I agree that we stand before a holy God only because of what God has done. But I want fellowship with Him. I want to 'know' Him. And if I'm always bouncing in and out of fellowship with God (because of my sin), how can I be secure in my relationship? Is being in fellowship totally dependant upon me and my confession? Thanks. | ||||||
8 | Is fellowship with God conditional? | 1 John 1:9 | KBurgee | 3160 | ||
The only proven way of "knowing" God is to study His word. We all do sin; it's part of our nature. God looks at one sin no differently than another. He looks at lying the same way as killing someone; it ain't good, and it goes against His nature (Think of it as ways you can get fired from your job; stealing money is looked at the same way as slugging your boss, in a sense). We all deserve death; it's only with God sacrificing His Son do we now have an escape from death, as well as a way to get closer to Him (symbolic of Matthew 27:51, as the curtain that symbolized the separation of God from man was ripped). Part of our fellowship and our walk with God starts with understanding who we are, and that we are, in fact, all sinners, and deserving of going to Hell. But we also must know of God's unfailing love towards all of us, which shows His grace and mercy, as well as His concern for us. What He desires is to be close to us, to be intimate with us, to be more than our "best friend", sibling, whatever. When we sin, it separates us from God a bit (God is perfect and hates sin), and therefore, our fellowship with the Lord is hindered, at times by our own guilt. In that way (not only that way, just focusing on that way), when we confess to God about our sin, He basically says "OK. It's all good. Let's move on." It's because of that sin (and guilt) that it hinders our fellowship. But always remember 1 Cor. 10:13. It will help you to escape the temptation that sin is famous for, and it may also keep you from "bouncing" too much :-). Jesus is the solid rock from which I stand, and I know it won't bounce, hehe. I hope this helps. If there's anyway else I can help (or if anyone has constructive arguments about this), email me! |
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