Of all of the subject matter available in the New Testament, only one verse states that we are to confess our sins to God to get forgiven. Even seminaries states that doctrine should never be based on a single reference, else we would all be passing our Christian certification by handling poisonous snakes, drinking poison, and . . . There is the place in James, but it says to confess our sins to one another for the sake of healing. That’s another story.
The standard diatribe is that we need to 1Jn1:9 to restore our fellowship with God. Again, it’s the only place in the NT that would be indicating to do so, if indeed it means that.
Let’s consider the context of the passage. To begin with–&1:8 says “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Certainly, no rational Christian would ever make such a claim. Especially considering that the text clearly states that the truth (Jesus is Truth) is not in that person.
And then there’s 1Jn1:10, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” Again here’s that outrageous claim that no Christian would make. They would be stating that they had no place for the word (Jesus is the Word) in their lives.
So verses 8 and 10 are definitely not speaking to Christians. Why would verse 9 be applicable to a Christian and be sandwiched between two non-applicable verses? (Let’s leave that as rhetorical for now.)
Then there’s verse–&1: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I’m not a Greek prof., but the information is all over the place (including secular language experts) about how that little word “will” is a weird tense that carries the meaning of being “always, continuous, forever”. And then there’s the word “all”. Between them, they present a problem with our Christian interpretation.
God is the One who is faithful and just –not me. So let’s make the case that He forgave me and purified me at some point in time –per chance the first time I read 1Jn1:9 out loud to Him in a prayer asking for forgiveness. Since it’s a continual process of Him doing the forgiving and purifying, I need not ask again. And if He forgave and cleansed me from “all” unrighteousness (past, present, future), what unrighteousness did He miss? And of course, the forgiveness took place at the cross when “all” of my sins were still in the future.
So if He forgave and cleansed me of all unrighteousness, why would I go back for more? Sure, “it feels good to get it off the chest”. And we do have all those human examples about us and our human fathers –and they are indeed factual examples –but nonetheless human examples.
Let’s consider a different father (the Father). That father had two sons (a Son and a son). When the second son did wrong, the Father took His anger and frustration and hurt out on His other Son. And this went on for a large number of transgressions. After each beating that the first Son got, the second son would go to the Father and say “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, please forgive me.” The Father would say “My punishment was vented, why are you reminding Me of something that I have put behind My back never to remember again?” “Why are you asking for forgiveness when every one of your sins requires the shedding of blood?” “Are you asking My other Son to die again to pay for this last ‘mistake’?”
His ways are higher and greater and different and grander than our human ways. Heb10 says that continuing to live in unbelief –that the first covenant has gone and the new one is now in effect– has “trampled the Son of God under foot, treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and are insulted the Spirit of grace”.
It’s an insult to God to continue to ask. We are asking His Son to climb back up on that cross and repeat the performance.
Then there’s the lead in from 1Jn1:1-7. Please allow me a bit of latitude to add likely context.
John [and reference to the other apostles he spent the past many years with] speaking to the audience: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” –Doug’s version: John and the other apostles saw and touched Jesus in person, up close.
John speaking to the audience: “The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” Doug’s version: John learned that Jesus was God on earth and was the only source of life –He was (is) life.
John speaking to the audience: “We [the apostles standing in front of the audience] proclaim to you [the audience] what we [the apostles] have seen and heard, so that you [the audience] also may have fellowship with us [the apostles]. And our [the apostles’] fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” Doug’s version mixed in with brackets.
John speaking to the audience: “We [the apostles] write this to make our [the apostles’] joy complete.” Again, mine mixed in.
John speaking to the audience: “This is the message we [the apostles] have heard from him and declare to you [the audience]: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” Mine still in brackets.
John speaking to the audience: “If we [the apostles and anyone else for that matter] claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.” –They would not have Jesus.
John speaking to the audience: “But if [can be translated ‘in as much as’] we [the apostles] walk in the light, as he is in the light, we [the apostles] have fellowship with one another [the apostles –who are in front of the audience speaking], and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us [the apostles] from all [that nasty little word again –past, present, future] sin.
The goal of the first part of the chapter (and more) is to gain other believers into the body. 1Jn1:1-10 is an appeal to unbelievers to come to faith in Jesus, the One who John met and knew personally.
Yet this little verse (1Jn1:9) has become the “bar of Christian soap” that is used to make us feel better when we live out our unbelief.
So are we never to talk to God about our unbelief? No way; we should always be in communication with Him about everything –easy times and struggles. It’s by His renewing our minds that we increase in faith, trusting Him even more.
Is that confessing? Well, confessing means “to agree with”. So, yes it’s good to be in agreement with God about our lousy thoughts that led to bad attitudes and manifested as hurtful or faithless actions.
But it’s not confessing to get forgiveness. That was all accomplished at the cross.