First John 1:8-10

Instead of writing this post in the traditional style, I'm going to basically copy the notes I used in class for these three verses. I don't know that one way is better than another other than saving time in the posting. You might also find it easier and quicker to read.

Verse 8: "say we have not sin", who siad this...Gnostics. Remember the original audience and who they were battling. John's saying it is not possible for the saved to live in sin. If you believe this you do two things. First, deceive yourself and secondly, show the truth is not in you. The ever present problem of sin is why John says we have to have the cleansing blood. Those he's writing to had been forgiven for past sins (at baptism). He's clearly talking about present sin.

Verse 9: Previous verse says "if we say" this says "if we confess". The first is and admission of guilt while the second goes deeper. Say comes from eipon meaning to speak it. There's no sense of guilt therefore no repentance. Confession from homologeo. Confessing implies a dialogue between God and the sinner. God describes the condition of the sinner. The sinner corrects it and confesses that God is light!

Sin in verse 8 is an abstract concept of wrong. In 9, sin becomes individual and specific acts. Obviously we are to confess the specific sins. Side note, think about our prayers for forgiveness. Should we pray generally for forgiveness or should we be specific?

Confess: as talked about earlier it's a present active verb meaning we keep on doing it. We keep on confessing. Also, there are only two types of confession in the New Testament. One is to God as here. Second is to others as in James 5:16. Nowhere are we taught to confess to a priest. It's not needed anyway since Jesus is our Priest, Mediator and Advocate. (Hebrews 7:25, 10:19-20, I Timothy 2:5 and I John 2:1)

Verse 10: Compare again to sin again in verse 8...another advance in thought. From the abstract in verse 8 to specific and concrete acts here. In 8, sin is regarded as a state or condition. Deny this lie (verse 6), deceive themselves (verse 8) and make God a liar (verse 10). This verse emphasizes the fact of sin in the lives of all of us. We must continue to seek it.

This refutes those who don't believe in apostasy. We're not forgiven for all sins past, present and future. If we were, we wouldn't have this ever present need of the cleansing.