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Recently, I had a discussion with a colleague and friend about the relationship between conversion, maturing, perfection in Christ, and the struggle with ongoing sin. I referenced 1 John 4–9:
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God (NKJV, emphasis mine).
He replied by asking, Then what do we do with 1 John 1:8–10?
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. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives (NIV84).
He also referenced the apostle James writing to believers that they should “confess [their] sins to one another and pray for one another, so that [they] will be healed” (James 5:16 GNT).
He wanted to know if we can actually become perfect in Christ and stop sinning, what are these texts that say we are to confess our sins about?
My view is that the passages he referenced are dealing with the new convert and those who are in the process of what we call sanctification, while the one I was referencing is describing the mature Christian who is sealed, so settled into the truth both intellectually (mind) and spiritually (heart motive of selfless love) that they cannot be moved into distrust and rebellion against God—like Daniel, who would rather be thrown to lions than betray His Lord; the three worthies, who would rather be thrown in a fiery furnace than betray their Lord; Job, who lost 10 children, all his wealth, his health and yet said even if the Lord were the one to kill me, I would still trust Him.
These and others throughout history had come to such a point in their trust in God that nothing could shake them from it. They were perfected, mature in their love and loyalty, as are those ready for translation when Jesus comes—as described in Revelation 12:11:
They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
The blood is symbolic of the life (Leviticus 17:11), symbolizing that these faithful have internalized the life of Christ (John 6:53; Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4) and are reborn with a new animating spirit of love and trust, and because of that, the word of their testimony is the truth about God. Their lives reveal God’s character of love as evidenced by the fact that “they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” The spirit of fear and selfishness, the survival-of-the-fittest drive, motive, spirit is purged, and they live the life of Christ in perfect trust and surrender to Him:
“Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us” (Ephesians 5:2 GNT).
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16 NIV84).
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12, 13 NIV84).
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43–48 NIV84, emphasis mine).
Bible perfection is all about the heart, spirit, attitude of love, and trust. And the mature experience this sealing, perfecting, settling in their trust relationship with God.
The passages about confession to God and forgiveness are meant for those who are on the healing journey. Sin naturally—the normal, design-law result, consequence—causes guilt, shame, fear, and doubt that, if not removed, resolved, relieved causes the sinner to run and hide from God.
These unhealthy emotions infecting the spirit need to be removed, and the sinner struggling with them needs to be reassured that they are not thrown off, that God is still for them. The passage about God being faithful to forgive is for this purpose, to deal with the subsequent guilt, shame, and fear that sinners in a saving relationship with Jesus will be tempted to believe and act upon. The passage is not about something God needs from them, but what they need to know in order to heal and escape the natural results of sin (fear, guilt, shame, etc.) that tempts them to run and hide from God rather than come back to Him. So passages like this communicate the truth that God is for them, not against them, and they will be positively received if they will simply trust Him and come to Him in humble repentance. Thus, they don’t need to give in to the fear, guilt, doubt, and shame but come back and confess so they can experience the reality that God is for them, and then stay in their trust relationship with God for continued healing.
An Analogy
Viewing this as a healing process, it would be analogous to a patient with severe pneumonia who has not yet gotten any treatment. They are on the path of death (analogous to the unconverted who is dead in trespass and sin). The moment they leave the path of death and enter the path of life is not when they meet with their doctor, nor is it when they believe their doctor is able to help them, but when they actually choose to trust the doctor by internalizing the antibiotic (truth and love). It is then that they have left the path of death and are now on the road of life (conversion, justification). But they are not well that very day. In fact, as the antibiotic begins to work, they will begin to cough up more phlegm (more sins coming to light as the Holy Spirit works on us). But the patient who is taking their antibiotics, keeping their appointments, and following the doctor’s directions, despite having worsening symptoms for a period of time, is not in rebellion, is not off the path of life; they are faithful and trustworthy despite their increased production of phlegm.
Likewise, those who surrender to Jesus, internalizing His Word and the Holy Spirit through trust, will necessarily experience increasing awareness of sinfulness in them. This is often brought to their attention through an action that is an expression of the old self (Romans 7), but when such action occurs, the new self (reborn person with a new heart and right spirit) is repulsed and distraught over it and runs to their doctor (Jesus) for more help in healing. Such a person is not in rebellion; they are being cleansed by the indwelling Holy Spirit as they fall on their knees in disappointment, repentance, and confession, asking for God’s grace and power to continue healing, transforming, and changing them. Thus, these shortcomings are not ongoing sin—not ongoing selfishness stemming from distrust and rebellion chosen by the self—but residual symptoms of the sin-sickness that had previously been habituated and is now being purged and overcome.
However, Satan, through the quantum links (spiritual entanglements), will work to inflame fear, guilt, shame, selfishness, and doubt (run and hide, deny, defend, etc.) in the person who in trust with Jesus is being healed. When these moments of shortcoming occur, they will be tempted to give up, doubt they can be saved, get discouraged. Therefore, they need those doctor visits with Jesus to confess, repent, and express their disappointment with self—not to persuade, appease, or influence Jesus to help them, but so they can be reassured that He is still for them and they can be freed of the guilt and shame. And that very action of going to Jesus in repentance is evidence, lived-out demonstration, that the individual is a reborn individual who trusts their doctor, who recognizes they are sick, who is not in rebellion against God but whose heart/spirit/motive has been transformed and who recoils at the old remnants of selfishness still in them from which they long to be totally free. Thus, the confession is part of the cleansing healing of the residuals of the unconverted life and also protection from the new temptations to doubt that Satan brings.
The confessing to others is part of the experiential healing process best modeled in the 12-step programs. The natural impact of sin is fear, guilt, shame, and selfishness. After sinning, people will fear, based on guilt and shame, that they are now ruined, too sinful, too horrible, too disgusting for people ever to trust, love, or like them—that if other people knew their sin, they would reject them. Thus, God has instructed the mature in Christ to be conduits of His truth and love, not only in word, but also in action. People need to experience in relationship with others the truth that while sin injures, destroys, and harms, that despite their sin-sickness, they are still valued, loved, and cherished and can be healed—saved from sin, not in sin. This valuing the sinner while rejecting the sin with which they struggle is an essential experience that sinners must have in order to reject the temptations of guilt, fear, and shame and, instead, internalize beyond cognition all the way to the heart the reality of God’s transforming love. And thus, they become empowered by the Spirit of love and truth to live a new life. If you would like an in depth exploration of this process, see our blog The Purpose of Confessing Our Sins to Others.
I encourage you to keep your appointments with Jesus, to daily spend time with Him. And if you find that an old habit, conditioned response, or reflexive response causes you to stumble and you are tempted with fear, guilt, and shame, do not give into those feelings, but run to Jesus in humble submission confessing your sin and asking Him to finish the healing He has begun in you. For God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son to accomplish this very purpose—to save sinners from sin.
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