When we read the Bible, we need to look at the context in which each

book was written. If we don’t do that, it’s easy to misinterpret what a

particular book or chapter is really saying. When that happens, we can

easily come to wrong conclusions, which can then cause a lot of

misunderstanding about the work of Christ on our behalf.

One example of this is that many people believe that although their sins

have been forgiven prior to salvation, after salvation it is up to them to

obtain forgiveness and stay in fellowship through their confession. Others

believe that all their sins have been forgiven at the cross; however, they

cannot experience forgiveness and fellowship unless they confess each

time they sin. The verse both parties use to defend their belief is I John

1:9. Let’s read the first chapter of 1 John, and keep in mind two

important questions: “Who was John’s audience?” and “What was he

trying to accomplish in this letter?”

The audience was a confused church in Asia made up of lost and

saved people, just like the congregations of today. The saved are built

up in their faith, and the lost have the opportunity to see their need for

salvation and come to faith in Jesus Christ. The pastor there asked

John to write a letter to help clear up some major doctrinal heresy

called “Gnosticism.” Gnosticism comes from the Greek word

“gnosis”, which means knowledge. The Gnostics were a group of

people who believed they possessed superior spiritual knowledge.

They believed that all flesh is evil and that only spirit is good. They

also believed that because sin had to do with our flesh, there really

wasn’t any sin – sin was just an Illusion. (That’s similar to doctrines

taught today through such groups such as Christian scientists and

other new age churches.) The church in Ephesus was filled with

people who didn’t believe Christ came in the flesh, due to them

thinking all flesh is evil, so they concluded that Jesus was just an

illusion or myth that people held and sin was not real.

NOW, THINK ABOUT THIS, if Jesus did not come in the flesh,

what happens to the gospel message? If he did not die physically, we

are still under the condemnation of sin and death, if he was not raised

physically, we are still spiritually dead, separated from the life of God.

So, to deny that Jesus came in the flesh is to deny the Gospel.

John was addressing this issue in his first letter. Notice how he

begins:

“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 ” (I John 1:1). In other words, John is

establishing that he was an eyewitness to the fact that Jesus

truly did come in the flesh. He did this to convince the

Gnostics that Jesus was not an illusion.

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you

also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with

the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ” (verse 3). This

verse says two things. First, John repeats the fact that he,

the rest of the apostles and other people saw Christ in the

flesh. He wanted the Gnostics to realize that there were

many people who could testify to the reality of Christ.

Second, he is saying that there are some people in the

audience who were not in fellowship with Christ.

John’s message in verse 5 is very clear: God is light and in

Him there is no darkness. We are either in the light (saved)

or in darkness (lost). Scriptures are full of this comparison

between light (saved) vs. darkness (lost). John writes: “This

message we have heard from Him and declare to you:

God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all “(verse 5).

Then he writes: “If we claim to have fellowship with Him

yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth”

(verse 6). In other words, if someone says he has fellowship

with Christ, but is walking in darkness (lost), he is lying

and not practicing the truth. The Gnostics claimed to be in

fellowship with Christ (saved), and yet were actually living

a lie and therefore weren’t practicing the truth.

“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have

fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His

Son, purifies us from all sin” (verse 7). In other words, if

we walk in the light (are saved) we have fellowship with

one another and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

To put it another way, once we are saved, we are

permanently in fellowship with Him because the blood of

Jesus continually cleanses us from all sin. Therefore, we

aren’t forgiven because we confess our sins. We are

forgiven because of what Christ did for us on the cross.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and

the truth is not in us” (verse 8). John is now addressing the

belief the Gnostics had regarding sin, because they didn’t

believe it was real and therefore believed they had no sin.

John is identifying with sinners when he says “if we claim

to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not

in us. Because they claimed to be without sin, then they

were only deceiving themselves and the truth (Jesus) was

not in them.

However, verse 9 says that “If we confess our sins, He is

faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us

from all unrighteousness.” In other words, John

identifying with them, gives to those unbelievers an

invitation to come into the true fellowship in Verse 9: if we

confess our sins, he is faithful and just to what? forgive our

sins and cleanse us from how much unrighteousness? All

unrighteousness. You may say that refers to a Christian

and if a Christian confesses his sins, then he's forgiven.

OK..How much is he going to be forgiven of? What does it

say? ALL! In the Greek language, the words “forgive” and

“cleanse” mean past actions that have results today and will

continue to have results in the future. Also the word “ all ”

used in these verses means all.

“If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a

liar and His word has no place in our lives” (verse 10).

Basically, this verse is a repeat of verse 8. John is

identifying with sinners when he says “if we” To put it

simply, it means that the Gnostics can’t claim to be without

sin and yet be saved. John is saying that because the

Gnostics claimed they had no sin, they were actually

calling God a liar and therefore didn’t know the truth.

The purpose of the first chapter of 1 John was

to compare the truth of God to the error of

gnosticism.

John was addressing the Gnostics, who were

deceived by their own teaching. He wanted the

Gnostics to understand that what they believed

conflicted with what God said. He was not, however,

addressing believers. Now watch as he changes and

talks to the believers in verse 1 of chapter 2. "Now,

my little children, these little things I write unto

you."

Do you see a transition there? Sure. "That ye sin not,

if any man sin we have an advocate with the father,

Jesus Christ, the righteous one." Does it say that

we little children need to confess? Does it say that

there? It just says, now pointing to us little children,

we have an advocate. Do you see the difference? So,

that you don't stack up two sins in a row every time

you sin it's under the blood, just as fast as it happens.

Now look at verse 12 of chapter 2. I write unto you

little children because your sins-what? What's the key

word there? I write unto you little children because

your sins ARE forgiven because you confess them? Is

that what it says? What does it say?

"For his namesake"... just because of who

Jesus is and what he did.

John is not preaching a doctrine of human confession but a doctrine

of divine forgiveness.

Two types of forgiveness??

It has been my experience that forgiveness has been divided

into two types to make a place for 1John1:9 in the

believer’s life. The terms most often used to define the

different types of forgiveness are "judicial" and "parental"

I have also heard some use "positional" and "experiential"

John Macarthur is one of the most vocal teachers on this

position. In his book The freedom and power of

forgiveness, he writes that;

That divine forgiveness has two aspects. One is the

judicial forgiveness God grants as a judge. The other is a

parental forgiveness God grants us as our father. He is

grieved when his children sin and has displeasure over

our sin.. So forgiveness that Christians are supposed to

seek in their daily lives is not pardon from an angry judge

but, but mercy from a grieved Father. This is the

forgiveness Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s prayer.

Judicial forgiveness deals with the penalty of our sins.

Parental forgiveness deals with sin's consequences.

Judicial forgiveness frees us from the condemnation of an

aggrieved, omnipotent judge. Parental forgiveness sets

things right with a grieving and displeased but loving

father. Judicial gives us an unshakable standing before

the throne of divine judgment. Parental forgiveness deals

with the state of our sanctification at any given moment

and is dispensed from a throne of divine grace. As a judge

God is eager to forgive sinners; but as a father he is

equally eager to keep on forgiving and cleansing his

children from defilement of their sin.

No wonder why so many are confused about forgiveness.

The Bible doesn't teach two different types of forgiveness.

The forgiveness 1 John1:9 speaks of is no different than the

forgiveness in the rest of the bible. If you are in Christ, you

are a forgiven person. I ask you to read 1 John 1 and then

show me where in that passage it tells you that confession

nullifies God's fatherly displeasure over sin, or "sets things

right with a grieving and displeased but loving

father"

The conclusions Macarthur and others draw do not

come from the biblical text. He and others are trying to

make the passage say something that is just not there.

Think About this!!!

With this mentality of "in and out of fellowship",

what is it that breaks your fellowship with God?

If your sins caused you to be out of

fellowship with God, what then keeps you in fellowship with God?

How much of your life can you live

without sinning?

So, how much of your life would you be in fellowship with God?

Do you know of any place in the Bible that discusses being in and out of

fellowship?

According to 1 Corinthians 1:8-9, who has called you into

fellowship and who is able to keep you in fellowship?

“God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our

Lord, is faithful ” (1 Corinthians 1:9).

A person who is lost is not in fellowship with God. There is no bouncing

back and forth. You are either in fellowship with God (saved, walking in the

light) or you are not in fellowship with God (lost, walking in darkness).

Scripture also doesn’t teach the idea of “keeping short accounts” Such

popular teaching makes confession a mindless cure-all, a “bar of soap” we

use daily to clean up our flesh. Macarthur's current view on forgiveness has

merely placed God's forgiveness on the level of ours toward each other. For

example, people will say, "Now, if my child goes out and does something

wrong, he needs to come to me and ask forgiveness.

In other words, rather than elevating our thoughts to God's form of

forgiveness, we pull God down to our way of thinking about forgiveness.

Incidentally, all of these theories are at odds with the overwhelming

evidence of the New Testament that our sins have been forgiven, past,

present, and future and there is no more sacrifice for sins.

“Then He adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice

for sin.” (Hebrews 10:17-18)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Eph. 1:7)

“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh,

but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18)

Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice

for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Hebrews 10:11,12,14

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away,

nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13,14

“I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake”

(1 John 2:12).

“You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

“So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who

eagerly await Him” (Hebrews 9:28).

What must be done in order to receive forgiveness

of sins according to Hebrews 9:22? “In fact, the law

requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and

without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness

What then are you asking God to do? Is Christ going to come back and die again according to

these verse?

What have we been given as a result of Christ’s death

according to the following verse? 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God

made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we

might become the righteousness of God.”

Where is righteousness found?

Are you in Him?

Do we make ourselves righteous or does God provide

righteousness according to Romans 5:17? “For if by the

transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, how

much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of

the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One,

Jesus Christ.”

Those who say that the result of their sin is falling

out of fellowship with God are watering down the

truth that the wages of sin is death. They're also

watering down the gift of God, which is life, the

resurrected life of Jesus.

The Bible says the punishment for sin is death,

not being out of fellowship. In the same way, His

gift of grace is not being in fellowship, it's Life

eternal. The assumption of those who promote

this "in and out of fellowship" teaching of 1 John

1:9 is that their confession brings about

forgiveness.

We initiate to God through confession, and He responds to us with forgiveness. But, remember, from God's point of view there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. He did that once for all at the cross. He initiated, we responded.

Old & New

Jesus said the following: [Matt 6:12 And forgive

us our debts, as we forgive our debtors] and in

another place [Mark 11:25 “And whenever you

stand praying, if you have anything against

anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven

may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if

you do not forgive, neither will your Father in

heaven forgive your trespasses”].

This implies that God’s willingness and ability to forgive us is directly related to our ability to forgive others, which means that if we refuse to

forgive others, God won’t forgive us either. And of course we know that nobody can go to heaven without having their sins forgiven… Take a moment

and think about this scenario: It entails that if there is even a single bit of unforgiveness in our hearts, even if it’s unintentional, it can keep a person on the rollercoaster of in and

out of fellowship or for some people condemn them to hell.

Question: When did the New Covenant begin? When did it

go into effect? Does what we commonly call the "New

Testament" begin with Matthew Chapter 1, Verse 1? Does

that mean that right off the bat, after we're done with the

last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, and begin with

Matthew, we're now completely in "New Covenant"

territory in everything we read from that point on?

Hebrews 9:16-17 reminds us of the fact that “In the case of a

will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because

a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect

while the one who made it is living” My conclusion, after

reading this and the rest of that chapter, is that the New

Covenant began with the death of Jesus. The shedding of

the Blood of Jesus, and His death, marked the beginning of

the New Covenant. Therefore, much of what is written in

Matthew through John refers to a time period that was

before the New Covenant.

God pointed to Jesus Christ as the centerpiece of human

history. However, where we point to his birth, God looks

at the cross of Jesus Christ as the dividing line of human

history. Why? Because Jesus’ death changed the basis of

God’s dealing with man. This gives new meaning to our

terminology, BC and AD. BC from God’s vantage point

means “Before the Cross,” and as I heard jokingly used,

AD means, “After De Cross.”

How He dealt with mankind before the cross is different

from how He deals with you and me today. Before the cross (even when Jesus walked the earth), the house of Israel lived

under a different set of rules than what we now have. This was called the Old Covenant and it mainly stated that God’s faithfulness and His blessings were dependent on Israel’s

ability to obey all the rules. If they failed (to forgive, to obey, to sacrifice, etc.) they would not be forgiven either and be

punished for their transgressions. Jesus also lived under this Covenant, which in essence consisted of the laws that were given to Moses and the Israelites. [Gal 4:4 But when the

fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law]. Jesus knew He still had to

follow this old set of rules, so that He could later offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for all transgressions and free mankind from its demands: [Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law

for righteousness to everyone who believes]. Why then is Jesus placing conditions on forgiveness when the New

Testament epistles do not? Again, it goes back to identifying the cross as the dividing line of human

history. Jesus is addressing a Jewish audience that is still “under law” (Gal. 4:4), and the new covenant is not in effect yet since Jesus has not died yet (Heb. 9:16–17).

Jesus is intentionally showing them the futility in saying

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). We certainly need better

forgiveness than the kind we’ve been doling out to others! We see Jesus burying his Jewish contemporaries under impossible demands as he tells them to pluck out their eyes, cut off their hands, sell everything they own, and be perfect like God. This is no different! Much of

Jesus’s ministry was designed to show people how hopeless they were apart from the new covenant. Then

and only then would they see their need for the Counselor (John 16:7) and the intimate relationship with

himself that he so often spoke of:

I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in

me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me

you can do nothing.

So in summary while He was alive (before the cross) He lived under the law and he used the law to bury us so that we would see our need and true

spiritual condition apart from him. Can anyone

measure up to the righteous requirements

of the Law? Absolutely not! When we look into the Law, we see ourselves for who we really are – sinners by nature. As hard as we may try, it is impossible for us to live

up to the Law. So under the Law, we stand condemned, guilty as charged.

In Romans 3:19, 20, we see this purpose spelled out

for us: “Now we know that whatever the law says, it

says to those who are under the law, so that every

mouth may be silenced and the whole world held

accountable to God. Therefore no one will be declared

righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather,

through the law we become conscious of sin.”

This is where I believe it's very important to "rightly divide the word of

truth." All of what Jesus said was truth. But in what context? Just like all

of God's word is always truth, we have to understand the context in order

to understand the proper application. In short I'll just say that these words

of Jesus were spoken before the Cross, to the Jews who were under the

Old Covenant. They do not pertain to Christianity (in our co-resurrected

lives with Christ), and in fact they go against New Covenant life. Old

Covenant principles (such as "if you do this, God will bless you," and "if

you do that, God will punish you") were always against us and contrary to

us! “having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that

was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” (Col 2:14). But now, with the post-Cross

resurrected life of Christ, we have a new reality - a New Covenant reality

- with teachings that say we are already forgiven of all sins, not based

upon what we do or don't do, but rather upon the Blood of Jesus!

We're now encouraged and exhorted to forgive others,

not commanded to forgive others with the threat of not

being forgiven if we don't.

Why are we encouraged to forgive others? Because God has already

forgiven us completely. Since we've been the recipients of such wonderful

mercy and grace, let's turn around and show the same to others. The

Lord’s Prayer was meant to encourage Jewish believers to look forward to

the forgiveness and freedom that would be given in the new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my

covenant, though I was a husband to[ them,”declares the LORD. 33 “This is the

covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will

put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. “For I will forgive their wickedness and

will remember their sins no more.”

Heb. 10:1 says “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves.”

That day is here so we no longer have to beg God to

give us what he’s already freely given. All we have to

do is believe it, accept it and then begin to live as

though it’s true. We can now stop worrying about

whether or not we're forgiven, based upon whether or

not we've forgiven others. Instead, we can fully

experience and enjoy the fullness of God's grace and

mercy, and our redemption and forgiveness that's not

based at all upon what we do, but that's based solely

upon the finished work of Jesus!

What do we do when we sin?

Then what do we do when we do sin? Ignore it and say “I’m under

grace, so it does not make any difference if I sin?” True biblical

confession is a natural response of our faith to God's truth. True

confession not only agrees with God concerning sin, but also with

the truth that we are forgiven, not that we will be forgiven. Then it

goes a step further and agrees with God concerning the proper

attitudes and actions that need to be taken, in order to "work out

what has been worked in."

You see true confession focuses our mind not on our failures, but

back to the finished work of Christ, which leads to a thankful heart.

When we learn to agree with God concerning forgiveness, our

minds begin to see the totality of grace that God has for us in

Christ Jesus. Understanding God's grace is what changes the way

we live. It enables us to see people, circumstances, and things

through His eyes and respond out of a heart of love, not only for

God, but for people around us. Consider the words of the Apostle

Paul to Titus, whom he called "my true son in our common faith."

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to

all men. It teaches us to say No to ungodliness and

worldly passions, and to live self controlled, upright and

godly lives in this present age. Titus 2:11-12

According to this passage, what teaches us to say no to ungodliness?

Grace. This may surprise you. You may be thinking that if you teach

too much about Grace, you are going to encourage people to sin.

You will have A license to sin. We don't need a license to sin! It

doesn't work that way.

We will never be able to say no to ungodliness through

self-effort or obedience to the law. If we try we are going to fail.

Our flesh isn't strong enough to overcome the power of sin. Paul

dealt with this argument 2,000 years ago. He responded, “By no

means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any

longer? ”(Romans 6:2).

He continues to tell us that “we should no longer be slaves

to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from

sin. . . In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but

alive to God in Christ Jesus. . . For sin shall not be your

master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:6,7,11,14).

Grace doesn't encourage sin in the Christian. Would Jesus,

who is full of grace and truth, encourage us to sin? Grace

teaches us that we are no longer slaves to sin. We

don't have to respond or give in to the temptations

of the flesh, the world or the devil. The law always

deal with outward behavior and actions, not the

heart. Grace deals with the heart, where

everything starts. You change a person's heart and

the actions will follow suit. Grace is about freedom,

not bondage.

So what is the remedy when we do something

wrong? Again, we can go back to the scriptures and see Paul

addressing this issue in the book of Ephesians. In that assembly of

believers, a christian had been found stealing-one of the old

testament's "Big Ten" commandments. Paul's counsel to the guilty

sinner was to "steal no longer, but to go to work doing something

useful with your hands, that you may have something to share

with those in need." Ephesians 4:28

If this Ephesian offender would have live today, we would

have faulted the Apostle Paul for not saying "hey your out

of fellowship buddy. You need to get that black mark off

your record." But instead Paul simply said to stop stealing

and go to work. He didn't tell him to confess the sin to

God to get forgiveness because he was already forgiven.

He didn't need to confess to get back into fellowship with

God. Paul knew the offender was a believer and in God's

fellowship due to God's faithfulness.(1Cor. 1:9) “God, who

has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus

Christ our Lord, is faithful ”

What this person needed was his mind renewed with truth.

He had believed a lie of Satan, who tempted him to steal. If

God said he would supply all our needs according to His

riches in glory, does it make sense to steal from a neighbor?

If God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, can we trust

Him to meet our needs? The Bible tells us “to be made new in the attitude of your

minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in

true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23,24).

Concerning lying, for instance, we are told “to put off

falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbor, for we are all

members of one body” (verse 25).

Or, concerning stealing, Ephesians 4:28 says that “he who

has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work with his

own hands, that he may have something to share with those in

need.” In other words, stop lying and start telling the truth.

Quit stealing and go to work so you can share with others.

These are not laws we are to keep. Because we are children

of God, it does nott make sense for us to continue lying or

stealing.

How does Paul respond? Did he respond in

condemnation? No! He reasoned with them and

brought them back to truth. Paul also gives

directives concerning anger, unwholesome talk,

bitterness, rage and slander. In all of these, he

reasons with us in love, saying, that, as children of

God, this is inconsistent with who we are in Christ.

It is like the caterpillar and butterfly. Initially, a caterpillar is

a hairy, ugly, earth bound creature. You can try to change the

caterpillar by dressing it up, making it smell nice, or even educating

it at Worm University, but it is still a caterpillar. For the caterpillar

to change, it must go through the process of metamorphosis. When

it does, the caterpillar weaves a cocoon and is totally immersed in it.

Within the cocoon the process of metamorphosis takes place.

Finally, a brand new creature emerges called a butterfly. No longer

ground bound, the butterfly can now soar through the sky. In the

same way, you and I came into this world as sinners, separated from

the life of Christ. In this condition , we too, try to look good, smell

good, and educate ourselves to act good, but underneath we are still

sinners and dead spiritually. Then, through what the bible calls new

birth, we are made new. We pass from death to life and emerge as

brand new creatures with Christ living in us. We have been made

new so that we can walk in the newness of life.

Now we may not always act like new creatures in Christ.

Sometimes we forget we are butterflies and go back to doing worm

things, like crawling around with our worm buddies. But God in his

grace and mercy doesn't condemn us. He reminds us of who we are

in Christ. It is as if He holds up a heavenly mirror and says,

"Bob, look up here."

"O.K. Lord"

"What do you see?"

"I see a butterfly, Lord."

"Then why are you crawling around with the worms?"

"I don't know Lord, it does not make much sense, does it?"

And the Lord says, "I did not make you into a new creature so that you

could crawl around like a worm. I made you into a new creature so that you

could fly with the butterflies. Get up and fly Bob."

God reasons with us in all areas of life. He doesn't condemn,

because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ

Jesus." He does not punish us for our sins, because all the

punishment was placed on Christ. There are natural repercussions

from sin, but God keeps on renewing our minds with truth. When

we agree with God concerning the truth and respond in faith, we

will experience the abundant life he promised.

So if you, as a child of God have been stealing, losing your temper,

Gossiping, or committing any other sin,

God’s message to you is "Stop It!" You have a new

master, and you are no longer a slave to sin, but a friend

of God. You are his child. Stealing, getting angry,

gossiping or whatever, is inconsistent with who you are.

You are a butterfly---New---recreated by God to fly, not

to crawl around with the worms anymore.

Christians get confused about confession because they

allow their feelings to dictate their theology. In other

words, they don't feel forgiven, so they want something

to do that will change the way they feel. They prefer to

walk by feelings rather than walk by faith in Truth.

1John1:9 is a marvelous salvation passage we

have mistakenly applied to the believer, calling it

the "Christian bar of soap" by which we can keep

ourselves clean.

These are just a few verses that tell us what to do when we do sin.

Not one verse says we must confess our sins before we can go on

with life. The motivation, instead, is found in Ephesians 4:32, which

says we are to “be kind and compassionate to one another,

forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

The only reason we can ever love, forgive and accept others

is because Christ has first loved, forgiven and accepted us.

My hope is that confronted with the finality of the cross you

come to a point where you say, "Lord, I'm going to trust your

Word that when you say I'm forever forgiven, then I'm

forever forgiven and rest in that great truth with a heart of

thanksgiving!!

In Christ, you do not get

forgiven, you are a

forgiven person! .