Theres a teaching going around, I think from several different sources, that says that believers dont need to confess sin. It deals with 1 Jn 1:9 and claims that verse isnt meant for believers, but for unbelievers. I think the heart of that teaching is to direct believers to be grace conscious, not sin conscious (which is a noble aim). Let me just say - that is completely and totally incorrect. Its a letter written to believers, by a believer. The context is an instruction to believers about walking in the light, and the specific practice that gives expression to what that means is that we should confess our sin. When we blow it, dont hide it, dont pretend it didnt happen. If WE [believers] say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us. When we discover a powerful truth of scripture, like forgiveness, being made his righteousness, like having our sin nature buried and receiving a new identity, its very easy to fall into the trap of trying to explain away other verses that might seem incongruent with that truth. This is error. Truth often lives in tension and mystery, and the goal of our scriptural study isnt to fit everything into neat tidy little rows and columns. Our study is more about finding ourselves within that tension and mystery than it is to try to compress truth in order to squeeze it between our ears.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:38:11 +0000