Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | If our sins are forgiven, why repent? | 1 John 1:9 | argenkoreano | 152261 | ||
Romans 4:6-8. If once we accept Jesus into our hearts, our sins are forgiven completely, then, why do we need to keep confessing our sins daily? Thank you so much for answering! |
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2 | If our sins are forgiven, why repent? | 1 John 1:9 | kalos | 152262 | ||
'Why must I confess my sins if I'm already forgiven? 'Why does the Bible teach we are to confess our sins if we are already forgiven? What is the role of confession? If we are already forgiven, it seems unnecessary, doesn't it?. . . 'The Greek word we use for confess means "to agree with." When we confess our sins to our heavenly Father, we are agreeing with Him. We are agreeing with His attitude about sin; that is, sin is against Him, it is destructive to His purpose for our lives, and it carries with it consequences that will prove painful. 'Confession also implies that we are assuming responsibility for our actions. We are not blaming our actions on others. Confession means that we see ourselves in relationship to our deeds of sin just like God does. '1 JOHN 1:9 'Undoubtedly, the most often-quoted verse regarding confession is this one: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). When taken at face value, the verse would seem to indicate that our forgiveness is conditional upon our confession. This raises all kinds of questions: What if we forget to confess a sin? What if we don't realize we have committed a sin? And on and on we could go . . .' To read more go to: http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/exploring/ bible_says/forgiveness/confession_151407.html |
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3 | If our sins are forgiven, why repent? | 1 John 1:9 | Aixen7z4 | 152264 | ||
It is true that our sins are forgiven at the time of salvation. It is because we repent of sin and put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. All of our sins are forgiven at that time. When we have repented, we have turned away from sin, and it is no longer a habit (1 John 3:9). But we do sin (Galatians 5:17). Even David sinned (1 Kings 15:5) and needed to confess it (Psalm 51). Even the apostles sinned, and needed to admit to the fact and to confess their sins (1 John 1). It is quite like a person who has bathed himself thoroughly and yet finds at the end of the day that his feet are dirty (John 13). He needs to have his feet washed in order to maintain fellowship with the Lord (Isaiah 59). What shall we do then? Shall we tolerate the sin that has come into our lives? (As in 2 Peter 2:22). We should rather seek to be cleansed from it lest we allow it to continue and to grow (as in 1 Corinthians 5). The way to be cleansed from it is to confess it and forsake it (Proverbs 28:13). Or shall we say that that sin is already covered since we are saved? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (See Romans 6). Then we might well ask ourselves whether we do in fact have an abhorrence of sin that would have led us to repent in the first place. Sin ought to make us sad, and we should be sad about the fact that we still sin. We should resist the devil and draw nigh to God so we can live with him in holiness. Some say we should simply thank God that our sins are forgiven. We should thank him always and forever, for our salvation with the forgiveness of sin, the washing, and all else that it entails (Revelation 1). But the occasion of sin is not the time for that (James 4). There is a time to weep (Ecclesiastes 3). Some say we should confess our sins every day. Better perhaps to say we should confess every time we pray. When we come into the presence of a holy God, we recognize also our sinful nature (Isaiah 6). It is an opportunity to be touched and cleansed again. The fact is, we sin without knowing it (Psalm 19:12). We should not justify ourselves, but rather avail ourselves of searchlight of the word of God (Psalm 119) the knowledge of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8) and the love that causes the Lord to wash our feet. It is a good example that the apostles set for us in 1 John 1, and that David set in Psalm 139. David has a prophet who would come to him, and we have the Holy Spirit who lives within. We can do even better than he did (2 Samuel 12) and confess our sins immediately, as we are convicted without the need for human instrumentality (John 16). Sin, after we are saved, will not keep us from heaven (Romans 8). But it will continue to beset us, and we must strive against it (Hebrews 12). We can overcome it too (1 Corinthians 10), but is not by ignoring it or by minimizing it. While we are here on this earth, we are in the presence of sin (John 17). We spare ourselves some trouble, and save ourselves from God’s judgment and chastisement by recognizing and confessing and forsaking sin (1 Corinthians 11). We can copy a prayer of confession, I suppose, as Jonah did. Even when we are not aware of any particular sin, we can say as David did, in Psalm 139: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting“. |
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4 | If our sins are forgiven, why repent? | 1 John 1:9 | DocTrinsograce | 152267 | ||
Dear Dr. Aixen, You have posted some very good thoughts. They elicited two of my own: 1) Growth in sanctifcation for the beliver means that he/she will have an increasing loathing for sin, and a remourse for it. If the only sin the world had been my last sin, it would have necessitated the death of Christ. That is why I am very hesitant to use the word "mistake" when speaking of sin. 2) My dear, sainted mother always used to say, "Keep short accounts with God, son." She insisted we should confess to Him and seek His forgiveness the very moment we recognized a sin. In Him, Doc |
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5 | If our sins are forgiven, why repent? | 1 John 1:9 | Aixen7z4 | 152269 | ||
I appreciate your thoughts. And thank God for mothers who say things like that. I can understand your hesitation to use use the word "mistake" in reference to sin. Yet it may be that, at the one end of the spectrum, there are mistakes. At the other end, there are willful, premeditated, deliberate, perhaps persistent transgressions. Where does my sin fall? I chose the particular word because I was at that very moment aware that, in spite of my best intentions, I had made a mistake. Even now I am wondering if it was a mistake to use the word “mistake”. If everyone understands the idea of secret faults (Psalm 19) then I would feel better. If anyone thinks that the idea is to excuse sin, then it would have been a mistake. I do not know how to avoid it. “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults” (Psalm 19:12). I think of James’ point (James 3) that we offend with our words. And sometimes we offend without intending so to do. That is what I mean by “mistake“. Since it is not like me to write a short response, and at the risk of making another mistake, let me add this: I am meticulous in my preaching, (though perhaps not as much so as I think) and I worry about making a mistake. I sometimes fill my outline with annotations and references and try so hard to stick to them. Yet I often find myself including things I had not planned to say. I take these additions as from the Spirit, and yet I worry about not having had the opportunity to clear all points through Scripture in advance. What if I say something wrong??!! Last week I preached at a certain church and got carried away with the subject. It was an interactive exercise and everyone seemed to enjoy it. More than that, they actually practiced the word, which I try to include in all my messages. I thought in the end that it had gone perfectly. But then someone pointed out that we had gone beyond the allotted time. That was my mistake. I had offended someone, and I apologized and asked forgiveness. It is not my intention to garner sympathy here. I realize that some will think it was no mistake. Some might say it was the Spirit leading us beyond the man-made time slot, and the complainer was at fault, etc. But the point is that we make mistakes, and it is often wise to simply apologize, when someone is offended. I do not mean either to defend use of the term “mistake”, though I do think that we make mistakes, and I am not sure we can avoid them. There is something in the definition that includes that. But I agree that we should hesitate to call sin a mistake; someone may get the wrong idea. Many sins, perhaps most sins, are anything but mistakes. Usually, there is manageable time in the progression from being tempted, to sinning, and to death (James 1) and it can be short-circuited. But sometimes there is little time, as between thinking and speaking, and we do not make a right response. We should be quick to hear and slow to speak, but sometimes we do not take the time. That in itself is a mistake, and it may lead to sin. Thank God for the provision of forgiveness. We may not be able to avoid sin completely, but we can confess it when it happens, and be cleansed from all unrighteousness. |
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