Views: 13<\/p>
[Note: <\/strong>This MS is available in\u00a0<\/strong>larger font on our Brief Articles 1<\/strong>\u00a0page.]<\/span><\/p>\n Many years ago (when I was a very young preacher) I believed that unless one specifically named every sin he committed and specifically asked forgiveness of each one, as he became aware of such sins, God would not forgive them. Eventually, I came to see that this was an untenable (and unscriptural) position for various reasons:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I have come to understand that, as long as God\u2019s children constantly strive to \u201cwalk in the light\u201d (i.e., live our lives devoted to God and in obedience to His Word to the best of our abilities) the blood of Christ continually \u201ccleanseth us from all sin.\u201d Note this phrase in John\u2019s statement: \u201cBut if<\/strong> we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin<\/strong>\u201d (1 John 1:7, emph. DM). Cleanseth<\/em> is a present tense form of cleanse<\/em> in the Greek language and therefore has the force of \u201ckeeps on cleansing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Note that this cleansing (i.e., forgiveness) carries the powerful little word, if. <\/em>That is, the constant cleansing is conditional<\/strong>, and upon two factors:<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My change of convictions on this subject several decades ago does not mean that I am now indifferent to temptation or careless about sin and its consequences. Nor does it mean that I have in any way abandoned the Bible\u2019s teaching concerning the need to confess my sins as I become aware of them and, if they are against a person, to the respective party against whom I have sinned (1 John 1:9, et al.). Further, this understanding of 1 John 1:7 in no way suggests the Calvinistic heresy of \u201cperseverance of the saints.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let us, as God\u2019s children, \u201cwalk in the light\u201d as fully as humanly possible, knowing that, at our best, we will sometimes fail to do so and thereby sin. To deny this fact means that we have lied and that we have implied that God is a liar (v. 10). Let us also, however, rejoice in the comfort, hope, and assurance the Scriptures afford. By continuing to live in harmony with the Divine will (\u201cwalking in the light\u201d) as much as it is possible for dedicated saints to do, that assurance is that the blood of our Lord will keep on cleansing us of sin and thus keep us ready (and able) to enter the heavenly portals at last. Herein is that blessed peace \u201cwhich passeth all understanding\u201d (Phi. 4:7).<\/p>\n [Note:\u00a0<\/strong>I wrote this article for and it was published in The Lighthouse, <\/em>weekly bulletin of Northpoint Church of Christ, Denton, TX, March 13, 2011, of which I was editor.]<\/span><\/p>\n Attribution:\u00a0<\/strong>From TheScripturecache.com<\/em>, owned and administered by Dub McClish.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Views: 13[Note: This MS is available in\u00a0larger font on our Brief Articles 1\u00a0page.] Many years ago (when I was a very young preacher) I believed that unless one specifically named every sin he committed and specifically asked forgiveness of each one, as he became aware…<\/p>\n\n
\n