How can we be Fully Forgiven if Confession of our Sins is always Required?

Clearly, Christ paid for all of our sins on the Cross:

• “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:12 quoting Jeremiah 31:34)

• By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:14)

• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

On top of this, our Savior has utterly removed our sins from us:

• Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19) 

If this is so, why then do we still need to confess our sins?

• If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)

• And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:15-16)

Hasn’t our Savior completely eradicated our sins and promised to “remember” them “no more?” Why then the ongoing requirement to confess?

Not only is confession necessary for healing, it is also necessary for forgiveness! But hasn’t forgiveness already been accomplished? If so, why then do we need to continue to confess in order to receive His forgiveness? How can we reconcile these paradoxical teachings?

This seems to be the most biblical answer: God has entirely forgiven us and has irrevocably written our names in the Lamb’s Book of Life. However, He must complete the process through the entirety of our lives (Phil. 1:6; Romans 11:29).

Martin Luther affirmed the vital and ongoing role of confession and forgiveness in this process:

• Unless God constantly forgives, we are lost. Thus this petition really means that God does not wish to regard our sins and punish us as we daily deserve but to deal graciously with us, to forgive as he has promised, and thus to grant us a joyful and cheerful conscience so that we may stand before him in prayer.

This agrees with my own experience. When I confess my sins, I know that He has forgiven them and feel unburdened and relieved. But why should this be if He has already resolved my sin problem?

He has resolved it, but He continues to apply His forgiveness as we confess! He will remember our sins “no more” because He is constantly at work applying what He has accomplished at the Cross to our stained lives.

It is also because our Lord is continually at work in our lives that we continue in faith unto salvation. In God’s mind, all of these blessings are done-deals, but they must be worked out, and this includes our participation.

Do we have to continue in faith, repentance, and confession? Yes! We have to remain faithful to the end:

·           All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Matthew 10:22)

·           But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation-- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. (Col. 1:22-23)

·           We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. (Hebrews 3:14)

Some reject this simple and direct teaching because it seems like it adds to us a work or requirement, which contradicts salvation-as-a-gift and will enable us to boast. However, continuing in faith, repentance, and confession is part of the guaranteed gift of God. The gift of faith is an ever-flowing fountain bringing us to eternal life (John 4:14; 1 Peter 1:5). However, even though salvation is a gift, we too have our role to play:

• Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:12-13)

Paul claimed that even though salvation is God’s doing, it is also ours. However, God gets the credit for even our obedience:

• But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Paul credited God for even his strenuous labors. Why? Weren’t these labors a matter of Paul’s initiative and effort? Yes and no! They did represent Paul’s efforts, but Paul recognized that God was even responsible for His efforts and initiative. So He gets all the credit.

Do we understand this? I don’t! We have a fancy theological name we attach to it. We call this the doctrine of compatibilism. Somehow, our contributions are compatible with God’s plan and sovereign workings in our lives. How???

Although I don’t understand this, the compatibility of God’s sovereignty with our responsibilities is mirrored throughout Scripture. For example, we have been saved, but we are being saved as we cooperate with God (Hebrews 4:11; 6:10-11; 1 Tim. 4:16). This paradox is something we just need to accept. We make responsible, free, and weighty choices, but at the end of the day, God’s will is done.

Let’s now apply all of this to the issue at hand – confession and forgiveness. Must we confess our sins? Definitely! Nevertheless, our forgiveness is assured (Jeremiah 31:34)! How? God has assured it:

• No one who is born of God will continue to sin [and also not confess], because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3:9; 5:18)

Our Savior will not allow us to go in the wrong direction. He will lead us into confession so that He can complete His work of forgiving our sins and cleansing us.

Let’s bring this lesson back to Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness:

• For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15) 

Here’s what is clear about this teaching:

1. Our forgiving others is inseparable from God forgiving us.
2. Our refusal to forgive others, God will not forgive us.

Must we forgive others to be saved? Yes! This is related to the issue of whether we must continue in faith. We must! But is our salvation uncertain? No! It is guaranteed by the God who promised to keep us. But how? Our Savior will work in our heart to produce the necessary requirements, including forgiveness (Phil. 2:12-13; Eph. 2:10).

Besides, a living faith will produce obedience. If I trust in my doctor, I will take the pills she prescribes. If I trust in God, I will do what He wants me to do.

We demonstrate our faith through obedience. This is why James could say:

• But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (James 2:18)

A real faith will lead to obedience and the forgiveness of others. If we refuse to forgive, it means that we refuse to trust our Lord. It also means that we have failed to grasp the Gospel and to realize how badly we need forgiveness.

Scripture informs us that God not only guarantees our salvation but also guarantees that He will keep us through the entire process:

• Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

Must we All Appear before God in Judgment?

Several verses teach that we must all face judgment:

• So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Cor. 5:9-10; Rom. 14:10; Mat. 31-32)

Such verses are troubling. While we have been taught that our sins are all behind us, verses like these suggest that our sins are still upon us! Therefore, instead of worshiping Christ with joy and thanksgiving, these verses thrust our attention back upon us, replacing joy with morbid self-obsession.

Meanwhile, other verses suggest that God’s judgment does not ignore the things of the heart:

• “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jer. 17:10)

But this doesn’t give much consolation. If God judges my deeds by my heart and mind, and not by Christ, my status doesn’t seem to be much improved, or does it? The letter to the Church at Thyatira is revealing:

• Behold, I will throw her [the false teacher Jezebel] onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. (Rev. 2:22-23)

While it is distressing to once again read that God will judge us “according to [our] works,” we mustn’t miss another integer in this equation. Jezebel and her followers will avoid judgment if “they repent!”

Turning from the old (repentance), while turning to the new (faith in Christ), is the axle upon which all Scripture turns. This is the evident interpretation of “He who searches mind and heart.” He asks, “Is there true repentance here?” (Luke 18:9-14). Repentance chases away judgment like the opening of eyes from a bad dream.

God had been angry at Job’s three friends:

• The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7) 

This is perplexing. It seems that Job had spoken far more wrongly about God than had his three friends. He had even made many accusations against God. For this, God had indicted Job:

• “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2)

Clearly, Job had spoken wrongly about God, even charging Him with wrongdoing. However, Job had repented in “dust and ashes.” As a result, he was now washed of all his sins (1 John 1:9). In God’s eyes, Job was not only forgiven, but also cleansed from all of his sins. His repentant words now trumped everything else he had said. God had judged his deeds by his heart and mind – a heart overflowing with repentance for his ill-conceived words and attitudes.

Similarly, the Book of Hebrews presents us with this troubling verse:

• Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews12:14)

This verse might also be a doubt-producer:

• How holy must I be? It doesn’t seem that any of my thoughts, motives or deeds are entirely holy. They are all sin-infested.

• Is there a certain level of holiness that I must attain before I can be saved? This verse seems to say that holiness is about me and my performance and not God’s gift to me. That’s why it says “make every effort!”

• Isn’t the Bible therefore a collection of contradictions?

Can we truly be confident of the grace of God when these questions remain unanswered? Not entirely!

Fortunately, the Book of Hebrews illustrates what it means to pursue holiness. Yes indeed, it is a matter of making Jesus our role model. However, Hebrews illustrates what failing to pursue “holiness” means through the example of Esau:

• [See to it] lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it [the blessing] diligently with tears. (Hebrews 12:16-17; NKJV)

Esau wasn’t rejected because of his sins – we are all sinners. He was rejected because he was unwilling to repent of the fact that he had sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, demonstrating that he did not esteem the things of God. Although he wept over losing his father’s blessing, the things of God remained mere foolishness to him. While he wanted the blessing, he had little regard for the Blesser!

Esau and many others illustrate God’s guarantee that if we confess our sins, He will forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1:9), like washing clean a messy blackboard.

Besides, even though we will all appear before God in “judgment,” our glorious destiny is already a done-deal:

• Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

When He returns, we will be transformed into His very image, rendering His “judgment” into an eternal celebration.