DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY ...

ONLY CONFESSED SINS ARE FORGIVEN?

No. The Bible teaches that all of our sins are forgiven: ‘He forgave all our sins’ (Colossians 2:13). It teaches that ‘the forgiveness of sins’ is in Christ (Colossians 1:14; Ephesians 1:7). Forgiveness is something that we have or possess. This forgiveness is ‘in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us’ (Ephesians 1:7b,8a), not according to which sins we have ‘confessed’. In fact the word used for ‘forgave’ in Colossians 2:13 literally means ‘to bestow a favour unconditionally’, and is related to the word ‘grace’.

Usually when we speak of ‘confession’ of sin, we are thinking of making an itemized list of our sins. In this way we have understood 1John 1:9 to mean ‘if we make an itemised list of sins God is faithful and just and will forgive us those sins and purify us from those acts of unrighteousness.’

But the meaning of the Greek word translated ‘confess’ is literally ‘speak the same’, that is, ‘agree’ or ‘acknowledge’. It is the same word used in Romans 10:9 of confessing Jesus is Lord, where the obvious meaning is ‘acknowledge’. It is used in the same way in Matthew 10:32.

When the Pharisee and the tax-collector went to the temple to pray (Luke 18:9-14), the Pharisee made an itemised list of his goodness thinking that thereby he merited God’s acceptance. The tax-collector, on the other hand, simply acknowledged that he was a sinner, casting himself upon God’s mercy. It this confession, this acknowledgement, that God requires of us. It was the tax-collector, the person who knew himself to be a sinner, who, Jesus said 'went home justified', that is, acquitted, forgiven.

In 1John 1:9 John is telling us that we have to be like that tax-collector, not like the Pharisee - see 1John 1:8 and 10. If we say we have no sin, if we say we have not sinned, we are, John says, calling God a liar and have neither his word nor his truth. Those who know God also know and acknowledge that they are sinners, and cast themselves on his mercy.

But what happens today? While those in the Roman Catholic church go to ‘confession’ and seek absolution from the priest, hoping thus to keep their slate clean, many within protestant denominations practise their own private confessional, going through a daily ritual of searching their hearts and striving to remember all of their day’s shortcomings, confessing them, that is, making an itemised list of them, and seeking forgiveness for them, before ending the day. Just like their Roman Catholic neighbours they want a clean slate. They do not want to go to sleep with unconfessed sin (which is understood to mean ‘unforgiven’ sin). They want to ‘be ready’ for either their own death or the Lord’s return, with no 'unconfessed' sins still held against them.

What is going on here? And is it in line with the Gospel?

What’s going on here is a failure to understand both the sinfulness of sin and the greatness of the gospel. If unconfessed sin is not forgiven, then let us spend every moment of the day confessing our sins, for surely we sin every moment. If unconfessed sin is not forgiven, then let us hire a wise and godly servant to follow us around and let us know when we sin, for we in our sinfulness and ignorance and pride will not even realise when we are sinning. If unconfessed sin is not forgiven, then let us also invent an electronic monitor that beeps every time any of those negative thoughts prohibited by the word of God course through our minds - thoughts of anger, fear, jealousy, doubt - so that we can confess them and find forgiveness.

Sin is ever present. It is never on hold. We live in a state of perpetual sinfulness.

For that reason forgiveness is also ever present. It also is never on hold. We live in a state of perpetual forgiveness. All of our sins were taken away from us and nailed to the cross of Christ (Colossians 2:13, 14). They have all been forgiven; they are all no longer held against us, no longer taken into account (2Corinthians 5:19).

In addition, forgiveness is in Christ. And we, as Christian believers, have received Jesus Christ. Salvation is not something additional to and separate from Christ. Forgiveness is inseparably bound to Christ; if we have Christ, we also, in him, have forgiveness. Apart from Christ there is no forgiveness. In Christ we live in a state of present, perpetual, permanent, forgiveness.

In Christ, ‘we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins’ – Ephesians 1:7.