DOES A CHRISTIAN EVER HAVE TO ASK GOD FOR FORGIVENESS? (I JOHN 1:9)

                                                     Repent (assemblage, 2010)

I once attended an adult Sunday school class in which one young man in our group was planning to become a minister. Unfortunately, his theology included all the worst excesses of extreme dispensationalism, cheap grace, “name it – claim it” beliefs, and Pentecostal spiritual superiority. At one point, he declared to the class that a believer never has to ask God's forgiveness for any sins he or she has committed. Someone in the class asked him, “What about the Lord's prayer in which we are specifically told to ask for it?” His ready reply was to dismiss most of Jesus' sayings since they were only meant to apply to the dispensation while he was alive on earth.

Then I asked him, “What about I John 1:9 in which believers are taught to confess their sins to God and he will be faithful and just to forgive?” He had an easy rejoinder to that one also: “Sure, we can admit that we did something wrong, and at that point God has to forgive us; He has no choice in the matter. But that doesn't mean that we have to show any repentance.”

It appears to me that he got his theology more from the famous and inane comment in the movie “Love Story” than the Bible (“Love means never having to say you're sorry”). Needless to say, he didn't last long as a teacher in our group. But it does bring up the question of “confession” and what the word really entails. One context in which it appears is in the process of a person becoming a Christian in the first place by confessing one's faith in Jesus Christ. But the other situation in which it occurs is when a Christian sins after that point. I will have to admit that I am a very poor theologian, so I will rely entirely on the comments of some known NT theologians and exegetes to explain it much better than I ever could.

Furst says that “homologeo in 1 Jn. 1:9 means the confessing and acknowledgment of sins...Confession is a sign of repentance and thus a mark of the new life of faith.”

“In Acts 8:22 we find the possibility of repentance and forgiveness of postbaptismal sin being open to Simon Magus.” (Maynard-Reid)

“The paralleling of dikaios ['just'] with pistos ['faithful'] points to God's activity in forgiving sins and echoes his long-standing commitment to honor repentance and sacrifice (e.g. Ex 34:6-7).” (C.C. Newman)

Vine: “homologeo...denotes...to confess by way of admitting oneself guilty of what one is accused of, the result of inward conviction.”

“The word 'confess'...means to acknowledge sin and guilt in the light of God's revelation, and is thus generally an outward sign of repentance and faith.” (Torrance)

Kistemaker states, “We confront the sins we have committed, without defending or justifying ourselves. We confess our sins to show repentance and renewal of life...John actually writes, 'If we keep confessing our sins.'”

Grayston expresses it this way: “Forgiveness belongs to that view of offenses which supposes they can be covered, removed or put from the mind by repentance on our part and by generosity on the part of God who is 'faithful and just.'”

“To confess sins is not merely to admit that we are sinners, but to lay them before God and seek forgiveness.” (Marshall)

Zane Hodges has the most to say directly concerning the attitude of my church acquaintance: “In modern times some have occasionally denied that a Christian needs to confess his sins and ask forgiveness. It is claimed that a believer already has forgiveness in Christ (Eph. 1:7). But this point of view confuses the perfect position which a Christian has in God's Son...with his needs as a failing individual on earth...A Christian who never asks his heavenly Father for forgiveness for his sins can hardly have much sensitivity to the ways in which he grieves his Father. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Himself taught His followers to seek forgiveness of their sins in a prayer that was obviously intended for daily use (cf...Matt. 6:11-12).”

Andrew Wilson uses Nehemiah 1:4-9 as pattern linking together several of the biblical words related to the same theological concept: grief (lupeo), confession (homologeo or exomologeo), and repentance (metanoeo). “Grief, confession and repentance are distinct entities. Yet when we see the reality and horror of our sin and the grace of God who offers forgiveness, we find ourselves practicing all three. Following the example of Nehemiah, we grieve and mourn (Neh. 1:4). Then we confess and admit (vv. 6-7). Then we return and obey (vv. 8-9)...And we end by appealing to God's mercy trusting that he who has called and redeemed us will hear our prayers (vv. 10-11).”