Should Christians confess their sins?

[Tarheel Baptist]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?

 

[T-Bone]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?

yup...I agree

 

[Izdaari]

My inclination is to agree with the OP on this one, but I'm still pondering it.

 

[Fresh Air]

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

If I didn't believe the above my entire system of soteriology/holiness would be seriously out of whack, and, what is worse, my life would have no meaning. I mean that. If I didn't know that my sin breaks my fellowship with God and that my confession/His mercy restores it my entire life would literally be unrecognizable. The fact that there are Christians who deny this teaching is both mind-boggling, and revealing of another reason why this generation of American Christianity is so carnal.

 

[Reformed Guy]

Christians should confess their sins. 

Christians must confess their sins.  Our Lord commands it when He says "Pray in this manner... forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors..."

The op is correct as far is it goes, but something else must be said.  An unwillingness to confess sins is akin to claiming "I have no sin"- which, according to John, is a mark of one who is a bastard and not a true son.

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

Christians should confess their sins. 

Christians must confess their sins.  Our Lord commands it when He says "Pray in this manner... forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors..."

The op is correct as far is it goes, but something else must be said.  An unwillingness to confess sins is akin to claiming "I have no sin"- which, according to John, is a mark of one who is a bastard and not a true son.

Great insight.
I'm shocked that some on the 666 are arguing that because the atonement is complete, and it is, that Christians have no need to confess or deal with sins in their lives.
Invictus and Matthew Ward seem to believe otherwise.
Im not really sure what Matthew believes, but hes arguing the point to some extent.

But, I honestly assumed this would be a non issue , even on the FFFs!

 

[AresMan]

Hyperdispensationalists (Acts 9+, 12-out) believe that Christians today (the Body of Christ) have no need to "confess sins" per 1 John 1:9. They believe that 1 John, like all other non-Pauline epistles were written to Jewish "Kingdom Saints" who are saved by law keeping and have no eternal security. Their continual confession of sins replaces the physical animal sacrifices to save them.

They will contrast 1 John 1:9 with Colossians 2:13
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

They say that Christ's death on the Cross has forgiven everyone in this "dispensation," and we have both eternal security and have no need to "confess sins" for any reason; in contrast to this, the Jewish "Kingdom Saints" who are saved continually by the blood of Christ have to confess their sins in lieu of animal sacrifices to maintain their conditional salvation.

 

[Castor Muscular]

Should Christians confess their sins?

No.  We should keep them a secret so God never finds out about them. 

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

If I didn't believe the above my entire system of soteriology/holiness would be seriously out of whack, and, what is worse, my life would have no meaning. I mean that. If I didn't know that my sin breaks my fellowship with God and that my confession/His mercy restores it my entire life would literally be unrecognizable. The fact that there are Christians who deny this teaching is both mind-boggling, and revealing of another reason why this generation of American Christianity is so carnal.

Tom, I missed this post earlier, but i think you have hit the nail on the head.
This no need to confess your sins movement is recent in so called evangelical circles and is, IMHO, a reaction to so called legalism.
What has surprised me in discussion of this issue on the other forum, is not that there are people who defend this Biblically ignorant position, but who they are....

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

Should Christians confess their sins?

No.  We should keep them a secret so God never finds out about them.

I don't know which position you're coming from, but your post made me smile none-the-less!

 

[Just John]

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

If I didn't believe the above my entire system of soteriology/holiness would be seriously out of whack, and, what is worse, my life would have no meaning. I mean that. If I didn't know that my sin breaks my fellowship with God and that my confession/His mercy restores it my entire life would literally be unrecognizable. The fact that there are Christians who deny this teaching is both mind-boggling, and revealing of another reason why this generation of American Christianity is so carnal.

Tom, I missed this post earlier, but i think you have hit the nail on the head.
This no need to confess your sins movement is recent in so called evangelical circles and is, IMHO, a reaction to so called legalism.
What has surprised me in discussion of this issue on the other forum, is not that there are people who defend this Biblically ignorant position, but who they are....

You're surprised that Invictus is biblically ignorant? 

 

[rsc2a]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

Yes.

[quote author=Tarheel Baptist]I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....[/quote]

Yes. But not because it changes how God relates to us. Confession changes how we relate to God. It is not part of our justification, but it is part of our sanctification. Our act of confession is something that God uses in order to repair what has been broken (the sinner), a means of restoring a degree of shalom to a small piece of His creation (again, the sinner).

[quote author=Tarheel Baptist]Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?[/quote]

I might word it differently, but yes.



And, in regards to the topic question, yes...Christians should confess sin. Not only that, but they should confess to each other...

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:13-16

...again, not because this changes how God responds to us but because of how it changes how we respond to God.

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

Yes.

[quote author=Tarheel Baptist]I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Yes. But not because it changes how God relates to us. Confession changes how we relate to God. It is not part of our justification, but it is part of our sanctification. Our act of confession is something that God uses in order to repair what has been broken (the sinner), a means of restoring a degree of shalom to a small piece of His creation (again, the sinner).

[quote author=Tarheel Baptist]Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?[/quote]

I might word it differently, but yes.



And, in regards to the topic question, yes...Christians should confess sin. Not only that, but they should confess to each other...

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:13-16

...again, not because this changes how God responds to us but because of how it changes how we respond to God.
[/quote]

You've caused me to wonder if perhaps my wording caused some to misunderstand my meaning.....but I have over and over posted my belief that our sins, past present and future are under the blood.

In Psalm 32....David states that the Lord doesn't impute iniquity to our account but goes on to confess his sin....a perfect illustration of the principle. IMHO
I was shocked that everyone didn't believe such....but on the other forum its controversial!

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

If I didn't believe the above my entire system of soteriology/holiness would be seriously out of whack, and, what is worse, my life would have no meaning. I mean that. If I didn't know that my sin breaks my fellowship with God and that my confession/His mercy restores it my entire life would literally be unrecognizable. The fact that there are Christians who deny this teaching is both mind-boggling, and revealing of another reason why this generation of American Christianity is so carnal.

Tom, I missed this post earlier, but i think you have hit the nail on the head.
This no need to confess your sins movement is recent in so called evangelical circles and is, IMHO, a reaction to so called legalism.
What has surprised me in discussion of this issue on the other forum, is not that there are people who defend this Biblically ignorant position, but who they are....

You're surprised that Invictus is biblically ignorant? 

I might have been the first time I realized it, when he made his first post some years ago.....
I was surprised at the ignorance of some others....

 

[Mathew Ward]

I might have been the first time I realized it, when he made his first post some years ago.....
I was surprised at the ignorance of some others....

So when a believer questions what he has been taught and goes to the Scriptures to prove the truth or the error of it, this is called ignorance by you?

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV)

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11 KJV)

"The lynchpin of Satan's deception is that you stubbornly believe you are right; the more dogmatic, the more easily deceived. The person who's open to accepting they're wrong is very hard to lead down the path of spiritual falsehood."  Chris Brown

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

I might have been the first time I realized it, when he made his first post some years ago.....
I was surprised at the ignorance of some others....

So when a believer questions what he has been taught and goes to the Scriptures to prove the truth or the error of it, this is called ignorance by you?

Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? (2 Corinthians 13:5 KJV)

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11 KJV)

"The lynchpin of Satan's deception is that you stubbornly believe you are right; the more dogmatic, the more easily deceived. The person who's open to accepting they're wrong is very hard to lead down the path of spiritual falsehood."  Chris Brown

"The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus:

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

I believe that when one is saved by grace thru faith in the finished work of Christ that his sin debt is paid in full....God no longer imputes sin to his account. His sin is never remembered against him again, ever!
Psalm 32:1-2
"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,and in whose spirit there is no deceit".

I believe that when a Christian sins, that it can and does affect his fellowship with the father.....not his standing, his fellowship. I think sin in a Christians life can result in his being chastened...corrected by his heavenly Father.
Psalm 32:3-4
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer

I believe that if we deal with sins in our lives as Christians, we can sometimes avoid such discipline, correction, chastening. (Heb 12)
I think that's what Paul had in mind when he rebuked the Corinthians over the Lord's Table...he told them to "examine themselves"...if they would "judge themselves, they would not be judged"!
(What are they examining themselves for...ticks?)

1 John 1:9
"If WE confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins...."
Psalm 32:5
"I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said,

 

[Bob]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?

I don't think its that simple.  I don't buy the second kind of forgiveness, parental, like it merely affects our relationship.  I am reading the book The Race Set Before Us by Arnel Canedy and Thomas Schreiner. They lay out a good case, but it is not easy to present.

 

[Tarheel Baptist]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?

I don't think its that simple.  I don't buy the second kind of forgiveness, parental, like it merely affects our relationship.  I am reading the book The Race Set Before Us by Arnel Canedy and Thomas Schreiner. They lay out a good case, but it is not easy to present.

How complicated can it be?
What do Christians need to do with sin in their lives?
What causes a Christian to be chastened?
What do you do as a father when your children disobey you?

I'm not familiar with that book or the authors, could you post a link to a review, maybe?

 

[Bob]

A thread on the 666 brought this subject to my attention.

I believe that Scripture teaches Christ paid our sin debt through His Atoning work.
Judicially, our sins are forgiven....past, present and future sins.....God has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. This is the basis of our eternal security.

I also believe that when we, Christians, sin it can affect our fellowship with the Father.
1John 1:9 speaks to this issue.
Hebrews 12 says that whom the Lord loves, He chastens....every son....if we are without chastening, we are bastards.....

Do you believe there is judicial forgiveness for sin.....the penalty and punishment of sin and a 'parental forgiveness' of sins...that has nothing to do with penalty or punishment of sin, but everything to do with our fellowship with the Father?

Where and / or why is this wrong?

I don't think its that simple.  I don't buy the second kind of forgiveness, parental, like it merely affects our relationship.  I am reading the book The Race Set Before Us by Arnel Canedy and Thomas Schreiner. They lay out a good case, but it is not easy to present.

How complicated can it be?
What do Christians need to do with sin in their lives?
What causes a Christian to be chastened?
What do you do as a father when your children disobey you?

I'm not familiar with that book or the authors, could you post a link to a review, maybe?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Race-Set-Before-Perseverance/dp/0830815554

They believe that your sins are forigven as you confess. They would say that you can't just say that confession is evidence that you are a Genuine Christian, because that is not what the text says.  But they would also say that it doesn't say that a Christian who does not confess loses his salvation or something like that. I am not done with the book, and I am right in the middle of their explanation of how sanctification works.  It is a good book, in my opinion.


here is one review:

By Dr. Marc Axelrod "PM" (Potter, Wi USA)      This review is from: The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance (Paperback)
Schreiner's little book The Race Set Before Us is based on his lectures and it is also a condensation of his larger book on the subject. It's very pastoral and hands on, very practical, and very honest. He takes the tack that the warnings in Hebrews and other New Testament texts are legitimate warnings for believers to shape up or be shipped out, so to speak. Yet he also contends that true believers in Christ will eventually heed these warnings, and that these are the very texts that God uses to encourage believers to persevere.

Those who do fall away were not true believers to begin with, based on Schreiner's reading of 1 John 2:18-19 and Matthew 7:21-23

The book is written in a way where people will be encouraged and will understand the doctrine of security or perseverance. Thumbs up!