Read Introduction to 1 John
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Verse 9 is the reverse of verse 8. Confession of sin is the opposite to the claim that we are not guilty of sin. This verse is a counter-claim to verse eight that Christians are not guilty of sin. The Christian who denies guilt deceives himself.
Verse 7 is cleansing from the principle of sin whereas verse 9 is cleansing from the practice of sin.
If
The “if” here is hypothetical. Maybe we will confess and maybe we will not confess. It is conditional on our will or volition.
we confess
The word “confess” means to speak the same thing, to assent, accord, agree with, concede, acknowledge. The idea is to confess by means of admitting guilt. Confession is saying what God says about our sins – that they are violations of God’s character. Sins are not blunders or mistakes but desecration of the character of God. There is a danger in losing fellowship with God if we conceal our sins.
PRINCIPLE:
Confession based on the blood of Christ is our authority for fellowship with God because it acknowledges any violations of His character.
APPLICATION:
Walking in the light involves increased consciousness of our sinful unrighteousness and taking active steps to rid ourselves of that sin by claiming God’s forgiveness and cleansing through open confession of sin before God.
Believers who desire to walk with God confess their sin openly and frankly to God. We make the judgment that our sins are awful before God. We agree with God in condemning sin.
Confession does not mean to plead with God for forgiveness, feel sorry for sin, to pray for forgiveness, to feel sorry for sins or to make restitution for our sins. No, the idea is to accept the idea that our sins violate an absolutely holy God and that our only solution for sin is the death of Christ on the cross.
Some claim that there is no need to confess sin because we already have forgiveness (Ep 1:7). This idea confuses positional forgiveness with experiential forgiveness. God finally and fully forgives us in our positional forgiveness. In this sense, we never need forgiveness again. God forensically forgives us forever in positional forgiveness. However, when it comes to fellowship with God, we need to confess specific violations to God’s character.
The forgiveness of 1:9 is experiential forgiveness. God always bases our experiential forgiveness on our positional forgiveness. A son may fall out of favor with his family but he is still a member of the family. The issue in experiential forgiveness is not acceptance by God but fellowship with Him. Continual forgiveness allows us to fellowship with God on an ongoing basis.
We always view sin for what it really is – a violation of God’s character. That is why God will forgive our sin based only on the cross of Christ. God forgave sin when Christ paid the penalty for that sin. Jesus meets all of the Father’s holy demands by His payment for sins on the cross. Jesus died in the sinner’s stead; He died in our place. It cost Jesus Christ a great deal to qualify us for forgiveness.
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Parallel Verses
New American Standard Bible
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
King James Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Holman Bible
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
International Standard Version
If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
A Conservative Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so that he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from every unrighteousness.
American Standard Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Amplified
If we admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness .
An Understandable Version
if we confess our sins , He is faithful and righteous , and will forgive us of those sins and cleanse us from all of our wrongdoing.
Anderson New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Bible in Basic English
If we say openly that we have done wrong, he is upright and true to his word, giving us forgiveness of sins and making us clean from all evil.
Common New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Daniel Mace New Testament
if we confess our sins, as he is faithful and just, he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all iniquity.
Darby Translation
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Emphatic Diaglott Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Godbey New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous that he may forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Goodspeed New Testament
If we acknowledge our sins, he is upright and can be depended on to forgive our sins and cleanse us from everything wrong.
John Wesley New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jubilee 2000 Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Julia Smith Translation
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just that he let go sins to us, and cleanse us from all injustice.
King James 2000
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lexham Expanded Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Modern King James verseion
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Moffatt New Testament
if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, he forgives our sins and cleanses us from all iniquity;
Montgomery New Testament
But if we confess our sins, faithful is he and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all wrong-doing.
NET Bible
But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
New Heart English Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Noyes New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Sawyer New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
The Emphasized Bible
If we are confessing our sins, faithful, is he and, righteous – that he should forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thomas Haweis New Testament
If we confess our sins, faithful is he and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Webster
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Weymouth New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is so faithful and just that He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
Williams New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is to be depended on, since He is just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every wrong.
World English Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Worrell New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Worsley New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness:
Youngs Literal Translation
if we may confess our sins, stedfast He is and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from every unrighteousness;
Interlinear
English(KJV)
Strong’s
Root Form
Definition
Usage
and
and,
alsoevenboththen
, so,
likewise
, not tr., , vr and
and,
alsoevenboththen
, so,
likewise
, not tr., , vr and
Usage: 0
Usage: 0
Apo
from
, of,
out
of,
foroff
, by, at, in,
since
9, on, not tr., .
Usage: 490
Pas
allall thingseveryall menwhosoevereveryonewholeall manner
of,
every man
, no
Transevery thinganywhatsoeverwhosoever
9 ,
alwaysdailyany thing
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Usage: 704
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