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NASB | 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. |
Bible Question: 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. |
Bible Answer: 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 |