29 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall NEVER perish; neither shall ANYONE snatch them out of MY HAND. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of MY FATHER'S HAND."
If you're a Christian but live in the realm of "Maybe I'm forgiven, maybe I'm not," it is not where God wants you to be.
Do you go around thinking God is mad at you or, at the very least, mildly disappointed? Are you always condemning yourself for how you've failed? It may seem like the religious or spiritual thing to do but IT IS NOT PLEASING TO GOD. His Son was brutally beaten and tortured to pay the full penalty for the sins of your entire life: past, present AND future. He made you righteous and gave you heaven.
Think about it: the Holy Spirit, being God, cannot have fellowship with sin: NOT EVER. He comes in and takes up residence when you first invited Jesus into your heart and the Bible says He "NEVER leaves you or forsakes you." If that is true but you believe you must confess your sins every time you commit them because now you are out of fellowship with God, you have a BIG problem.
Here's the picture that belief paints:
You have just committed a sin--big or little doesn't matter. Now you are in darkness, so you believe, and out of fellowship. You must confess your sin(s), ask forgiveness for every little thing...the ones you are conscious of that is...and get cleansed...again...so that you get back into the light and into fellowship with God.
It's like a dance: IN fellowship...OUT of fellowship...IN fellowship...OUT of fellowship, but you're still worried that there are sins of which you may be unaware so your conscience isn't really ever completely clear. There's a nagging doubt in your mind that you may have unconfessed sin. You still feel under condemnation.
THIS IS SPIRITUAL ADULTERY
Remember: The Holy Sprit--GOD--CANNOT have fellowship with sin....EVER. If your sinful deeds truly do defile you, He has no choice but to leave you until you confess that, or those, sin(s); then, when you are "right with God" once again, He come back in....again.
What do you have in there? A revolving door? If the above scenario were actually true, He probably spends more time on the outside than in your heart! Also...if that is true...why in the world did Jesus say He NEVER leaves you or forsakes you? In that scenario, never isn't NEVER and Jesus lied to us.
AS IF!!! The truth is He doesn't come into your heart and leave through a revolving door every time you commit a sin. That's ridiculous! It's just as Jesus said: HE NEVER LEAVES YOU OR FORSAKES YOU!
What does that tell you? YOU ARE ALWAYS AT ALL TIMES, IN EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE CLEANSED OF SIN BECAUSE GOD CANNOT EVER HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH SIN.........Period.
This whole concept is a misinterpretation of 1 John 1:9 which...by the way...was written to the Gnostic Jews of Paul's day. The words for "forgive" and "cleanse" in Greek in this verse are "aphiémi: send away," and "katharizó: cleanse, make clean." THEY ARE BOTH IN THE AORIST TENSE.
If you remember nothing else, remember this: AORIST tense means that this is a ONE-TIME, NEVER-TO-BE-REPEATED ACTION. They are in the passive voice which means they were done"TO" you and thus cannot UNdone "BY" you.
It is a salvation verse.
Paul actually begins addressing the church-believers-in chapter 2. In verse 12 he says, "I write to you, LITTLE CHILDREN, because your sins ARE FORGIVEN YOU for His name's sake."
The phrase, "Little children," is "teknion," in Greek. It does not refer to "baby Christians but is an affectionate term, like saying, "dear children," referring to believers. He is writing to them "BECAUSE" their sins "ARE (perfect tense) FORGIVEN them.
I repeat: Aorist tense means, "an action that is executed; an action that is complete once and for all and NEEDS NO REPETITION." Check it out with any Greek scholar you like. They'll tell you the same thing.
You see? Your sins are forgiven you once and for all--PAST, PRESENT AND FUTIRE. Forgiveness for your sins from God NEVER needs to be repeated. As far as sin goes, between you and God, it's a done deal.
We do, however, confess our sins to one another when we have wronged someone. But It is HORIZONTAL: never vertical.
And lest you think that makes people licenscious, Jesus said that he who is forgiven much will love Him much.
So, stand and boldly. Confess what you ALREADY ARE: cleansed, righteous, pure; YES, PURE, even though you just blew it. Think of it like being under a waterfall of continual cleansing.
And please, DO NOT beat yourself up when you sin. When you do, what you're actually doing, in a way, is trying to "pay" for your own sins. Begging for forgiveness that you already have is the same thing. It dishonors what Jesus did, trampling His blood underfoot. No sincere Christian would ever knowingly wants do that, I'm sure.
Realize that HE DID IT ALL. IT IS FINISHED...and come on over here into the Sonshine, Church!
You don't belong in the uncertain shadows of the REALM OF MAYBE.
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