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.

[Dan Haas]

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.” (1Jo 2:1-2 AV)

I think we can all agree that sinning is not OK, and that even “born again believers” can and do sin. We can also agree that we sometimes sin unconsciously, and sometimes consciously, and I suppose all of us would be of the mind that if we are sinning, we'd like to know about it, not least because we'd like to return to behavior that is good, not just so we don't get spanked, but because good is good. In other words, we'd not like to have our consciences seared with hot irons; we would very much like to be aware of when we're sinning.

To me this is a matter of a correctly calibrated moral compass, and of course we Wordwonks do a great deal of digging to sort that out from the scriptures, as well we should. But the heart of the new covenant is that God writes upon the hearts of those who enter into that covenant His laws, and He is unto them their God, and they are His people. There is a remarkable section in Romans 2 where Paul writes of Gentiles who showed the work of the Law written in their hearts, calling them a law unto themselves. How this might relate to “being born again” or participating in the new covenant will have to wait for another day, but I suggest that those who do in fact enter into communion with God through Jesus Christ will have this compass calibration by the Master Calibrator, free of charge.

The aged John (above) writes for the purpose “that ye sin not.” This is where the agreement seems to be in all the thoughtful posts, above. As he later writes, this point is even more bluntly stated:

“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” (1Jo 2:28-29 AV)

“Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” (1Jo 3:7-9 AV)

“Let no man deceive you....” We really ought to be wary of folks who teach doctrines that would cause us to sin. The poster who quoted the saying, “...easier to get forgiveness than permission” was right-on in his revulsion to such an idea. It would seem to me to be the work of the law (that which Paul in Romans 7 calls “good”) written in his heart. Likewise, all of you who have posted obviously care about being pleasing to God, doing those things that are pleasing in His sight. The trouble is, so were the Pharisees, very much so.

I would like to ask if any of you believe that 3:9, above, means that “a believer” cannot sin in the sense that “Oh yeah, he sins, but it's not counted against him, because he is righteous by dint of his acceptance of Jesus Christ and his completed work.” In other words, when God looks upon us, whether it is today or at some future time, “all he sees” is “the Christ in us” or the righteousness with which He has clothed us.

I for one do not think that is the meaning of vs. 9 above at all. What I think it does mean is that someone who has entered into communion with God and His Son Jesus (“and in him, there is no sin”) as well as the fellowship of all those who are likewise partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel cannot sin in the sense that it is repulsive to them. As the rest of chapter 3 unfolds, love is defined (not as Cain, who took his brother's life, but as Jesus Christ gave his life, and we ought to give our lives...) and then comes that marvelous but difficult verse about our hearts condemning us, and we then having to assure our hearts before God, who knows all things. This is the process when someone is truly born again. The more ideal scenario follows upon that, when our hearts “condemn us not” and whatsoever we ask is given to us. This is when we are “firing on all eight cylinders,” when we in fact love God and our brothers. When we do not do this, we sin, and our hearts rightly condemn us.

Ken's original blog post deals with an old issue we have all heard of: “sin consciousness.” Like Ken, my view of that has changed somewhat. For one thing, I want to be conscious of whenever I may be sinning, as stated above. I would not want to be unconscious of it! (“seared with a hot iron”) But the passages in 1 John are absolutely precious. We do indeed have an advocate with the Father. And He does indeed forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My earlier understanding was bolstered by Paul not knowing “anything against” himself from a different angle. Now I think I understand that (as he told the Thessalonian church) because he lived among them holily and justly and unblameably, there was nothing to condemn himself for! This “moral compass” is just another way of saying “being led by the spirit,” for the spirit is truth.

[Karl Chang Wai]

Jonnie and Janet,

I fully agree that excuses for sin are in abundance and in an environment where sin is casually overlooked or down-played sin will prevail. No we don't want to live in condemnation, and neither do we want to life in sin! We must teach each other that there is a spiritual war to fight, there is RIGHT and there is WRONG. God's love and grace will cover us, no doubt, but as we say in Trinidad, "every long rope has an end"
There must be personal responsibility and personal accountability for how we live THIS LIFE. There is an inheritance to receive in the future Kingdom and I dare not say it is given automatically or that it will be handed to us regardless of how we live THIS LIFE.
Our focus should be to life holy I agree.

Blessings,
Karl

[John and Janet Ruiz]

On a non-doctrinal note, this is an interesting thought Karl:

"Many became so sin- un-conscious that sin prevailed."

I have to ask myself, why? If everyone became so sin unconscious that sin prevailed, the answer would reveal itself plainly, I think. Not to nit pick myself here either, but I thnk we'd need to define "many" and understand what the condition that prevailed was or what we think it was and that was the product or result of this kind of focus.

We're not talking a void here, where there's no standard for judgment or no moral awareness or concern. Relying on the grace of God and forgiveness of sin through Christ carries with it an understanding of what accomplished it and what occurs as a result.

My opinion - if someone wants an excuse, they'll find it, whether that be the grace of a forgiving God or their own justification for their actions. We do have "free will", the ability to choose and make our own decisions. If we understand that something is wrong, it's wrong. Forgiveness doesn't make it any less wrong. Focusing on doing right would seem to be the logical next step, post-salvation. As best we can at any time anyway.

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Karl-- You are a good man. We have a disagreement here, but it isn't personal and we agree on the most crucial things. Thanks for your interest.
Bless.
Ken

[Karl Chang Wai]

Wanting to love God is a big deal because we know His love to us is without question. I too am after correct doctrine but not just raw doctrine. I believe that that we must get the Master Teacher (our Lord Jesus) involved in our quest for truth. I believe that Dr. Wierwllie's teaching on sin-consciousness has influence much of our outlook on this topic. He got us out of the condemnation that is associated with sins. Praise God for this!! But as someone said in a previous post there is a balance to this and I agree fully. Let's not go into self condemation but let's not ignore our sins either and think that it's O.K.
Hey Ken thanks for putting up with me. I believe that you and I are saying it differently and emphasizing different points, and that's good! I am more concern about myself using God's grace as an excuse to sin. I desire to please God but "Oh wretched man that I am" Not sure if that is a precise quote, don't have my Bible with me at this time. But at the end of the day I am accountable for my walk and will be ask to give an account and my goal is to say, "Lord, I did as you told me to"

Blessing,
karl

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Hi Karl,
I did not say Romans 6:23 was not addressed to born-again believers, only that the believer's condition is described by, "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," not by, "the wages of sin is death" in this verse.
I am not promoting moral chaos. I'm just after correct doctrine. Have we already been forgiven or do we need to do penance of some kind to obtain it? You are so concerned about believers using God's grace as an excuse to sin. Hey, it is going to happen whether they think they have already been forgiven or they think all they have to do is say, "sorry 'bout that." Apart from having enough love for God to want to do his will, people will come up with something, anything, to excuse their corrupt behavior. It is only love that genuinely keeps people focused on the right track. For those of us who love God enough to want to do His will, as we learn more of His grace and goodness, it only causes us to love Him more and even more want to live for Him.
Bless.
Ken

[Ken & Sue Brown]

Craig,
No argument here. Perhaps I misunderstood your "endeavor to" comment and your reason for bringing in the record in Psalms. Thanks for your interest and comments.
It is true, of course, that we should endeavor to not sin. I don't know what I might have said that would cause you to think that I or anyone reading this might possibly not know that.
What I am after is correct doctrine. Have we already been forgiven or do we stil need to do something to gain God's forgiveness? This is a Biblical question, not affected by past behavior of others we have known.
Bless.
Ken

[Craig Crisera]

Ken - I did not say that forgiveness is dependent upon trying to remember our sins, I said that we should endeavor not to sin. There was a slogan that people were using during my last year in residence that disturbed me greatly. It went, "It is easier to get forgiveness than permission." This reflects an attitude of heart that is not godly. I do not think people should try to remember their sins, I think they should hide God's Word in their heart which will help them avoid sin. Not to earn something from God, but to live life outwardly in a way that reflects what we have inwardly. This is a big part of what Paul communicates in Romans 6.

The practical side of this is that we're not focused on sin, we're endeavoring to live with God's Word as our standard. We are confident that God's mercy and grace will keep us in spite of our shortcomings. Instead of taking God for granted, we are humbly grateful for what He has done for us. I believe that walking in love is not only a better way than focusing on sin, but it will also help us avoid habits of sin. I hope this helps clarify the point I was trying to emphasize.

God bless,
Craig

[Karl Chang Wai]

Ken, how is Romans 6:23 not addressing born again believers. Verse 22 - "ye'- refers to who? "your"-refers to who? Verse 1,2,4-6,8 "we" is who? It seems to me that the context is born again believers all the way through with no change or switch to un-believers. Maybe many have used Rom.6:23 to teach un-believers about salvation but this verse is fully address to the born again.
Why would God warn us in Rom.6:12 not to "LET SIN REIGN IN YOUR (THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVER) MORTAL BODY..."?
It must be available for a son of God to let sin reign in his or her life. God does not want this for us.
The believer who lives faithfully for God, doing the best he or she can to live holy and the believer who lives his or her life in wantoness and fullfilling the desires of the flesh, would the judgement upon these two be the same?
You see to believe or teach that all our sins are taken care of by God and therefore there is no need to confess our sins or own up to our sins leaves it open for us to live our lives are WE PLEASE. But if we are to give an account of ourselves before God this gives us accountability and get us to value who we are and what we have and value how God expects us to live. The choice is ours to make, Servants of Sin or Servants of Righteousness.
What happens to un-confessed sins in our lives? What happens when a believer falls asleep and he or she did not own up to their sins? Before the judgment seat of Christ whould this be overlooked? Or whould the Lord Jesus be just in his execution of judgement? Some Believers will suffer lost and will be ashamed before the Lord when all is brought into the light, others would be very blessed and joyful. But had this same believer been diligent in staying faithful to confessing their sins, bearing their weaknesses to the Lord and seeking the Lord's advice and forgiveness while they were alive then at the judgement Seat of Christ they would be receiving rewards. What we DO TODAY affects our true tomorrow........ ETERNITY WITH THE FATHER AND THE SON.
Blessing Brother,
Karl

[Billy Britt]

Ken,
The completeness of God’s work in Christ always seemed to be completely complete, therefore I was trouble by what seem to counter that belief or action (call it an innate understanding) such as broken fellowship, confession, etc. .
But it has been particularly difficult to process because of my sins, (drawn away by my lust).
However your thesis seems to put the truth of the scriptures in place, but I still lack the full understanding of its application.
For me I think I need to find a connection in the body, brain, spirit paradox as how to integrate the whole into my life.
Hope this makes sense.
In other words the wisdom of the thing is recognizable, the practice is still theoretical.
All the best,
B