No More Conscience of Sins

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Nearly 20 years ago, not long after leaving TWI, I came across a section of Scripture that astounded me. I was stunned because the section seemed to contradict something I had long held to be an important and fundamental doctrine. I must have read this section before, but apparently I had never seriously considered what it was saying.The section to which I refer is in Hebrews.Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.The Israelites could get forgiven of their sins, but they had to keep coming back to the temple year by year to get forgiven again. If they had had a sacrifice that made them perfect (telios), the Children of Israel would not have needed to offer any more sacrifices; and having been “purged” (cleansed), they should therefore have had no more conscience of sins. The record goes on to say that we DO have such a sacrifice, a one-time sacrifice that perfects us forever.12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.The obvious conclusion is that we should have no more conscience of sins. How can this be? Israel had to be reminded of their sins once a year and God wanted to deliver them from that. I was remembering my sins and confessing my broken fellowship multiple times every day! I would gladly have traded that for only needing to be reminded of my sins once a year. And yet if I was correct about what I understood 1 John 1:9 to be saying, what I was doing was needful.1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.What Hebrews seems to clearly say contradicts what 1 John seems to clearly say. If I have to remember my sins to confess them, asking God for his forgiveness, thus obtaining His forgiveness and getting cleansed of my unrighteousness, I cannot have “no more conscience of sins.” Either my understanding of Hebrews was incorrect, or my understanding of 1 John was incorrect.In 1972 at the HQ Advanced Class, I talked to Dr. Wierwille about the practical application of 1 John 1:9. We were under the apple trees. I said:“Sir, I know there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. I may have missed the revelation or not thought something through. Since this is true, I do not necessarily always know when I may have just sinned. Since all sin is broken fellowship, and since the only way to repair my broken fellowship and be forgiven and cleansed of my unrighteousness, is to confess my sins, and I never know when I may have just sinned, I confess my broken fellowship before the father whenever it comes to my mind. It might be 5 or 10 or 20 times a day. Is this what you do?”He looked startled. Then he leaned back in his lawn chair and stared toward the sky for a moment or two with his hands clasped behind his head. Finally he looked at me and said, “Oh no son. You’ve got to get out of your sin consciousness. I go to bed at night and I thank God for forgiving me for sinning all day long, and other than that, I just never think about it.” I appreciated his practical advice, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have the doctrine to back it up. From what I was taught and believed, what I was doing was the logical response.It took a quest lasting many years before I understood the correct doctrine from God’s Word that freed me from sin consciousness. Reading Hebrews chapter 10 that morning was a major stepping-stone in the right direction.In PFAL we learned a principle. If there are 50 verses that apparently say one thing, and one verse that apparently says something else, believe the 50 and take a second look at the one to see if you understand it correctly. What do other Scriptures have to say about forgiveness, about righteousness before God, about our fellowship with Him, about confession of sins, etc?Let’s take a few examples. Ephesians says we have already been forgiven.Ephesians 1:7In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;Ephesians 4:32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.These verses say we already have the forgiveness of sins and that we have already been forgiven. They do not say we have been forgiven for some sins but still must do something to gain God’s forgiveness for others. I used to read that into these verses because of what I thought 1 John was saying, but they don’t say that. They just say we have the forgiveness of sins and have been forgiven.Colossians states the same truth.Colossians 1:14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:Colossians 2: 13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;Colossians 3:13Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.Romans says we are dead to sin and freed from it.Romans 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.1 Peter tells us the same.1 Peter 2:24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.How can it be said that we are dead to sin(s) and freed from it if God is holding certain of my sins (the ones I haven’t confessed yet) against me; these sins causing a separation between us such that God will not answer my prayers. That doesn’t sound like dead to sin(s) to me. (Incidentally, the words “sin” and “sins” are not used in God’s Word to distinguish between the state of sin and the acts.)1 John seems to say I must do something to get cleansed of my unrighteousness. The Church Epistles say I don’t have any unrighteousness. They say I have been made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Righteousness basically just means rightness. Our righteousness is our rightness before God. The Church Epistles say I have that rightness before God as a gift (Romans 5:17) because Jesus Christ paid for my sins.If it were true that any given sin would cause you to be “out of fellowship” with the Father, causing you to be in a state where He does not hear, much less answer, your prayers, and that the only way to get out of this condition is to confess your sins, doesn’t it seem like that would be important to know? What else could be any more crucial for the born-again believer to know? Why is it then that confession of sins is not discussed in Romans, the foundational book of doctrine? Why is it that confession of sins is never once so much as alluded to in all the seven Church Epistles? Confessing your sin to God is never mentioned ANYWHERE in God’s Word relative to the grace administration other than 1 John 1:9!This whole doctrine of “broken fellowship” and the need to confess your sins to get back “in fellowship” and explaining away clear verses that say we have been forgiven, made free from sin, and made righteous is all based solely on one verse outside the Church Epistles. I had previously, without ever really considering what I was doing, redefined scores of clear verses “in light of” 1 John 1:9. When I read, for example, Ephesians 4:32, “… even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you,” I would automatically think “yes, for the sins I committed before being born again but not for the ones after until I confess.” But this verse does not say that.Acts 13:39 has a piece of interesting information.Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.“Justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.” What was it that people could not be justified from under the law of Moses that they can justified from by Jesus Christ? David was under the law, and God forgave him for murdering Uriah. There are many examples of heinous acts that God forgave people of in the Old Testament under the law. What exactly was it people could not be justified from under the law of Moses but can be justified from by Jesus Christ? The verse in Acts tells us. It is all things. The children of Israel could be forgiven of any one thing or a number of things, but as Hebrews shows, they did not have a one- time sacrifice that justified them from all things. If we today still have to piece meal getting forgiveness from God, confessing one sin at a time to gain God’s forgiveness, we have nothing better regarding forgiveness than did the children of Israel.Let’s think about this from a practical point of view for a moment. It is simply not possible to confess all your sins. The verse does not say to acknowledge your state of broken fellowship; it says (or seems to say) that being cleansed of your unrighteousness is dependent on confessing your sins. Would you agree that willfully, knowingly violating the Word of God is sin? What about the verse that says to lead every thought captive to Christ? Is there anyone who honestly believes that it is possible to identify and confess every bad thought? What about the guy who goes out in “left field” for 20 years, and then has a change of heart? He decides to come back to God and follow Him and love Him. Unfortunately, he will always have unrighteousness before God (thus being “out of fellowship”) no matter what he does, because there is no way he is going to be able to remember all his sins for the past 20 years to confess them and get forgiven. 1 John 1:9 just cannot be telling born-again believers that they must confess individual sins to gain God’s forgiveness and get cleansed of their unrighteousness. That would be an absolutely unattainable standard for righteousness.For a long time, I didn’t know what the story was with 1 John. I just knew that what I had believed it was saying was contradictory to many other Scriptures. For years I chose to believe the many clear records from the Church Epistles and other places regarding righteousness and forgiveness and hold 1 John 1:9 in abeyance, having no explanation. Whether I had an explanation for 1 John or not, it was life changing to finally begin to believe the Church Epistles: that I am righteous before the Father, not just righteous in one way but not another; that I am dead to sin(s) and freed from it; and that I have been forgiven all trespasses, not just some of them. (Also, not needing to spend half my prayer life apologizing and asking for forgiveness freed up a lot of time and mental energy.)To understand what 1 John 1 is talking about, we must first understand what “fellowship” means as it is used in God’s Word. We must determine to whom the book is addressed. We must learn the meanings of the idioms: “walk in light” and “walk in darkness.” We must also examine what the sin is that is referred to, among other matters. These will be the subjects of future articles.

[John and Janet Ruiz]

Interesting section, Bruce. I'm sure many read that and assume that Simon was being told to pray for God to forgive that sin, and the word "perhaps" in KJV english adds a note of dire concern - put another way one might want to restate it as, "pray that God may find it in His heart to forgive you of this terrible sin...maybe He will".

aphiemi is the word for "forgive" used there, meaning to put away from or send away.

Quick translations aren't advisable, but once the context is looked over we see that Simon had beein baptized and believed on Jesus Christ. He appears to be in awe of the things he saw and heard being done. When Peter and John get there, they continue to bring the full gospel of Jesus Christ to those people, and we see that Simon sees laying on of hands as part of what they do.

I'd read Peter's statement to Simon as - Stop it! Don't think like that, that this is man's administering of God's power by our will and hands! Pray for God's help to put away that kind of thinking that's in your heart!"

That this was serious business is without question, indeed and it appears Peter wasn't about to let this go on for a second. Simon was "young" in the fellowship of the Christians and needed to clearly state the case. Peter equated this with Simon being "bound" in bad judgment, "iniquity", adikia. And Simon got the message.

[Bruce Peterson]

God Bless those who labor in the Word! This study will shed light on Acts 8:22 where Peter exhorts Simon to "repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee". Keep on digging!

[John and Janet Ruiz]

Hi Ken, an interesting topic, and vital, foundational stuff. A few thoughts I'll add in as you go forward with this. I did some study on this topic at one time and found that the word "confess" as it's used in 1 John there (homologeo) and exomologeo elsewhere in the N.T. carry different meanings, context figuring in of course. In 1 John the idea of "confessing" carries the meaning of "acknowledge", that is in confessing a person actually understands, recognizes, acknowledges, sin in themselves.

The questions you're addressing occurred to me too, in the same way. If I'm dead to sin, what's the point of continuously acknowledging them, that state or condition which no longer exists or governs my relationship with God? Or does it?

I could see that at the outset, acknowledging sin is essential to acknowledging Christ. If He saves me, there's something to be saved from. I'm being redeemed - from what? For what purpose? Why? And - now what? once saved? And is the sinful "nature" of mankind seemingly what's governing all of this and God's plan?

Some additional points came to mind as I read and reread much of what I had in various notes and books from over the years. God is light, in Him - no darkness. Jesus said in the gospels that the day would come when those who worship God would worship "in spirit and in truth". He contrasted Samaria and Jerusalem's temples with a spiritual reality, a true one.

Mankind is in an odd state, one of those "you can't get there from here" kind. Man requires intervention, assistance from God, which is provided in Jesus Christ's redemption. This makes complete sense if we believe that we are fully God's creation. If we then live, once redeemed, mentally, emotionally, in our minds in that previous state we run at cross purposes to what God's done through Christ and indeed live at a practical level where we once were - separated from God. Continually acknowledging that separation doesn't make sense when it's no longer what governs our lives or relationship with God.

It appears that the epistles show a kind of balance that Paul presents and expounds on. We know who we "were", we know what we're dead to and we know what we're alive to. Our frame of mind is one of being thankful and in recognition of God's grace. Our life in Christ gains nothing from constantly confessing "sin", in a very real way that's restating the very obvious to God. Our motivation, the impetus, the natural response and expression of who and what we are "now" should - in theory - provide the proper balance in this life.

I'm looking forward to your next "installment", I think this overall topic you're into warrants a serious look-see.

[Craig Crisera]

Love is a much better motivator than fear, and it is no minister's job to try and regulate anybody's flesh. But I think we sometimes label people legalistic simply because they teach the same thing Paul teaches a little further down in Romans 6. " Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin." These words are an exhortation not to let sin get the best of you. And they are given in the context of knowing you are alive from the dead, not under the law, but under grace, able to walk in newness of life! My point being that striving against sin is not at cross purposes with the grace of God. Maybe a difficult concept for some, and perhaps the reason Paul needed to write what he did in verse 15.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Or as I like to paraphrase it - "Should we conclude that it is OK to sin because we're not under the law but under grace? If that's what you think I'm saying you've totally missed the point."

We know we all sin, and I agree that God's forgiveness could not be dependent upon our making sure we've kept track of all our sins so we don't miss any when it comes time to confess them. God is not so ritualistic. In Psalm 103, in the same context of saying that he hasn't rewarded us according to our iniquites and that His mercy is great toward them that fear Him, it describes those that fear Him as those who remember His commandments to do them. Obviously they don't do them perfectly. But they genuinely endeavor to. When I go bowling, I don't haphazardly toss the ball down the lane just because I know I'm not going to get a strike every time. I take aim in spite of my inevitable shortcomings.

I guess, in sharing Janis' concern (though I'm not the friend she was referring to), I hope that believers don't fall into thinking that the solution to sin-consciousness is being more comfortable with and accepting of sin in our lives. People from our backgound are more often motivated by a fear that people will think they are too religious, than from a fear of retribution. It's still fear.

God bless,
Craig

[Chere Poole]

Ken ~ I enjoyed reading this post, and must agree with you regarding churches that use fear of retribution as motivation for "right living". I think of the woman caught in the act of adultery, brought before Jesus by the Pharisees. Both parties desired the same end result (for the woman to "go and sin no more") but had very different ideas of how to accomplish that goal. The religious leaders wanted to kill her to keep her from continuing to sin, Jesus used love to motivate her to do the same. I clearly remember Dr. Wierwille teaching the two great motivators in life as love and fear, which is also clear to see when looking at churches and/or people in general. I'll take love any day!

God bless you ~ Chere

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Hi Janis,
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. No, of course I don't mind if you ask your friend to check this out. I would be even happier if you asked all your friends to do so.
As far as your "liscence" comment is concerned, it is a legitimate issue. The Apostle Paul addressed it in Romans 6. The way he said it was, "What, shall we sin that grace may abound?" And his response to this by revelation was not to deny God's grace, but to further establish it and expound on it. His answer was, "How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer there in?" The following verses go on to explain this more fully. It is God's goodness and love that most effectively motivates people to live for Him. Legalistic churches have taken another approach. They have manufactured fear of retribution as their means of endeavoring to regulate other people's flesh. I think we should take God's approach and let His love be the motivater.
Bless.

[Janis Lang Johnson]

How interesting. I never thought of it that way.

But keep in mind one thing, being forgiven and having all our sins paid for does not give us license to do as you darn well please.

We have a rule book and the closer we align ourselves to God's Word and God's will, the more likely it will be that we are within the Will of God and there is no sin consciousness.

I am gonna have a friend on this site check this out, if you don't mind.

Good points Ken.

Janis