If We Confess Our Sins

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood verses in the bible is 1 John 1:9:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 is a very positive statement. But did you notice that it also contains a negative? The implication is that if a person does something then God will do something. In other words IF the person confesses his sins then God will forgive those sins. There are millions of people today who believe and try to practice the truth of the verse. There are thousands of preachers and religious leaders today who preach and teach the positive side of 1 John 1:9.

But have you ever considered that the verse also contains a negative side? What if we don't? What if we, every night when we go to bed, or every morning when we get out of bed, or every Sunday morning in an assembly somewhere, or on Wednesday night at prayer meeting, or whenever, we try to obey 1 John 1:9 and we forget one or two? What happens if we forget one or two sins that we fail to repent of, or that we fail to confess?

Well, the positive implication of the passage is that if WE WILL then GOD WILL. But what is the negative side? The negative implication of the verse is that if we don?t then God won?t, and on that basis you have the doctrine of a "salvation maintenance program" that is being taught in religious meetings around the world today.

On the basis of the negative side of 1 John 1:9 men can manipulate and control people and cause them to get up out of their seats, come down front, pray for forgiveness, seek God at the alter (as they say), get "slain in the spirit," speak in tongues, and a hundred other things. Men, by their own efforts, try to seek after and try to gain that which God has already said cannot be done by mortal man: Gain favor with God by your own goodness.

But somebody will say, well, that's what it says. Don't you believe your bible? Are you going to try to change what the bible says? Absolutely not! We believe every word of the bible. We believe the truth of 1 John 1:9, but believing the truth of 1 John 1:9 we also believe the truth of Collosians 2:13:

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

The passage says "all trespasses." How many is that? How many is ALL? Well, all includes everything. It includes everything and it excludes nothing. All is all, and when God has forgiven you ALL trespasses, there are no more that remain to be forgiven. It is finished, over, done.

Did you notice that 1 John 1:9 says that God will cleanse us, in other words cleanse somebody, cleanse whoever is involved in the truth of 1 John 1:9 of ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. Now, if you have been cleansed of ALL unrighteousness, how much more unrighteousness is there that remains that needs to be cleansed? Is there some more unrighteousness that the person can somehow get, after he has been cleansed from ALL unrighteousness, that he would need to go back and get RE-cleansed of?

The truth of the matter is, Collosians 2:13 becomes like a contradiction to 1 John 1:9. They simply don't go together. If you believe and practice the truth of Collosians 2:13 you cannot believe and obey the truth of 1 John 1:9. You cannot trust God to have "quickened you" together with Christ, which, by the way, is something that happened in A.D. 33, while at the same time confess your sins in order to get God to forgive you of your sins. God has either forgiven you ALL trespasses, or he has not. You can't have it both ways, so we need to decide once and for all, which way is it.

In order to decide that, we need to understand that in your bible, there is a BEFORE, there is an AFTER, but there is also an IN THE MEANWHILE. In other words, the bible puts it like this: Time Past - But Now - and, Ages to Come. Now the bible is the holy word of God. It contains the holy words of God, that were written by holy men of God, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God:

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

But, that being so, it doesn't follow that a man can just go out and buy a bible and flip it open and begin to point to verses and just read himself into the passage. All scripture IS God-breathed, it is inspired. Psalm 12 says that the "words of the Lord are pure words." In other words all scripture is FOR us but it is not all UNTO us or all ABOUT us. It is a case of before, after and in the meanwhile. We need to know where we fit in God's over all plan of things.

There is a condition which existed in your bible and it is referred to as "time past." Paul talks about that in the book of Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

He says "in time past." Now Paul wrote the book of Ephesians probably sometime around 62 or 63 A.D. When he wrote the book he was a prisoner of the Romans. In other words he was confined by the Romans in a prison in Rome. And he tells you that it is for this cause:

Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

And he goes on to tell you that the very reason that he is in prison in Rome is because of the message that he was given by the Lord Jesus Christ for YOU GENTILES.

Ephesians 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:

Ephesians 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

As Paul writes the Ephesian letter he refers to the BEFORE that we mentioned earlier, and he calls it "time past." He says that at that time, the time past of verse 11 that you Gentiles were "without Christ," and the reason he says that you were without Christ is that you were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.

Now Jesus Christ, being a 33 year old man, was put to death on the cross in A.D. 33. Some thirty years after that, Paul writes to some people that he has never met before. He has only heard of their faith in Christ, according to Ephesians 1:15, and he writes this Ephesian letter. Prior to that, Paul wrote the Roman letter. The Roman letter was written at about the time of Acts chapter twenty. In the Roman letter, Paul describes the ministry of Jesus Christ. He says:

Romans 15:8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

So, according to the verse, Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision, but in Ephesians we have just read that these people to whom Paul has written the Ephesian letter were called the Uncircumcision. They were called that, according to the verse, by some people who were called the Circumcision. Jesus Christ, the bible says, was a minister of the circumcison.

Now keep in mind that we are talking here about comparing the truth of 1 John 1:9 with the truth of Collosians 2:13. When you put them side by side, they contradict each other. They are not saying the same thing. 1 John is saying that somebody needs to confess their sins in order to gain the forgiveness that Collosians says we already have. As a matter of fact, Paul, in the book of Romans, verifies the truth of 1 John 1:9 because he says:

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

Well, who does God have a covenant with, in which He says "I shall take away their sins"? You don't have to look very far. As a matter of fact, back up just one verse and you read:

Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

So God has a covenant with somebody. Who is it? It says Israel. It says all Israel "shall be saved, as it is written." Now when he says, "as it is written," he is talking about that which was spoken by God through His prophets to the nation of Israel. A similar statement was made by Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist:

Luke 1:67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

Luke 1:68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

Now to be sure we understand what's being said here, what people is he talking about? He is talking about the people of Israel. When John, the same man who wrote 1 John, wrote the gospel of John, look at what he said:

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Then who are "his own"? The Lord God OF ISRAEL, redeemed his people. He came unto his own. Consider what the bible says, we looked at it in Romans 15:8, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. Look at what Jesus Christ, himself, said:

Matthew 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

So he came unto his own. His own received him not. Jesus Christ was rejected by Israel. They said away with this man. We have no king but Caesar. Crucify him. Let his blood be upon us and our children. So Christ died on the cross, he was buried, and three days and three nights later, he rose from the dead. Continuing with what Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist said:

Luke 1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

Luke 1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

So Jesus Christ had a ministry in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He taught for three years. During that time he trained twelve men to carry on a ministry after he ascended back into Heaven. Judas betrayed the Lord, and Matthias was chosen in Acts chapter one to replace Judas. So on the day of Pentecost. in Acts chapter two, 12 Jewish men, having received the baptism with the Holy Ghost, began to preach to the nation of Israel. Peter emerged as the spokesman.

We are still looking at TIME PAST here. Remember that in time past, people like you and I were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and from those promises that were made to the fathers, the fathers of the nation of Israel. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob being the fathers.

So on a Jewish holy day called Pentecost, Peter preaches to the men of Israel. He charges them with the murder of their Messiah. He tells them that they have killed the Prince of Life, but God has raised him from the dead. If you have never taken the time to carefully read Act chapter one, two and three you should do it. If you will read, in your bible, what is actually written in Acts one, two and three, you will come away with a totally different understanding than that which is taught by most of the world's religious system today.

Nothing new began on the Day of Pentecost. The preaching of Peter in Acts two, three, four, five and so on, is the result of the teaching of the Lord in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. What is in view is not the forming of something new called the Body of Christ, but rather the restoring of something. Religion gets confused about the before, after and in the meanwhile. Everything written in Acts two, three, four, five, six and seven and so on is BEFORE the WHY of the cross of Christ is fully revealed.

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, nobody understands the cross of Christ. Contrary to popular opinion, NOBODY was looking forward to the cross of Christ. They didn't understand it, and as a matter of fact, they didn't even believe it. In Matthew 16 the Lord tells the apostles he is going to be crucified and raised the third day. Check Peter's attitude about it:

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Matthew 16:22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

So in Matthew 16, shortly before Christ was crucified, Peter didn't even believe that Christ was going to die, much less die for men's sins. After the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, they still didn't understand it. When the women tell Peter and John that the Lord?s body is missing from the tomb, Peter and John run and look into the tomb, and John, the same man who wrote 1 John 1:9 says:

John 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

So what is 1 John about? It's about Israel. It?s about God's covenant with THEM. Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision. You and I were called "the uncircumcision" by that which is called "the circumcision." Jesus Christ came unto His own. Jesus Christ said I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and 1 John 1:9 is about Israel. It is not about the church, the body of Christ.

1 John, along with 2 John and 3 John, and along with Hebrews, James and 1 and 2 Peter and Jude, and the book of Revelation is the doctrine of BEFORE and AFTER. It is before the body of Christ and after the body of Christ. It is before the Apostle Paul and after the Apostle Paul. All that you read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and all of Peter?s ministry and message in the book of Acts, totally excludes the ministry and message of the apostle Paul. Now Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

1 Corinthians 9:17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.

In Acts chapter nine the ascended Lord Jesus Christ appears to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. Now if you know anything at all about your bible, you know that Saul of Tarsus was the worst enemy in the world of Jesus Christ. But the Lord saves his worst enemy, Saul, who became Paul the apostle, and Paul says that "by revelation, he made known unto me the mystery." When you make a mystery known, you are making known something that before was not known. Now when Paul preaches the gospel he preaches the gospel of Christ, and he says:

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

The power of God is not in your ability to perform the truth of 1 John 1:9. The truth of 1 John 1:9 does not contain the gospel of Christ. It is not the gospel of your salvation. The gospel of your salvation was not committed to John. Not in the gospel of John, nor in 1, 2 or 3 John. Now I know that many if not most in the fundamental denominational religious system of the world has a problem with that. But for a bible believer, it's no problem at all.

You see, if you believe that the bible means what it says, as it says it, where it says it, then you also believe that all of the bible is for you but that it is not all ABOUT YOU. Some of the bible, as a matter of fact, most of it, is about Israel.

For instance, if you had been there during the time of the red letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you would have been totally excluded from the picture. Why? Because of who the message was for. Look at what the Lord said, when he gave instructions to the twelve apostles:

Matthew 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

The Lord told those men, do not go to the Gentiles. When a Gentile woman comes to the Lord in Matthew 15, to seek healing for her daughter, look at the Lord?s attitude:

Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.

Matthew 15:23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

Now later in the passage, after she demonstrates to the Lord that she knows her position at that time, that she is a dog under the table, eating the crumbs of the children's bread, after she demonstrates that she is not an alien from the covenants of promise, but is IN the covenants of promise, the Lord grants her request.

She calls him Lord and refers to him as the Son of David. Obviously then, this woman has been in the synagogues of the Jews. She has learned about God's promises to the nation of Israel. She knows that by blessing the seed of Abraham that she is in line for a blessing according to God's promise to Abraham in Genesis chapter twelve.

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

 But Ephesians says that people like you and I were STRANGERS from the covenants of promise.

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The whole point is, that the gospel of your salvation is simply not in the red letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Neither is the gospel of your salvation in what Peter said in the book of Acts. Now if you have been taught that Acts chapter two was the beginning of the church and in the church there is neither Jew nor Gentile, and that Peter was preaching the gospel of your salvation in Acts two, three, four, five and so on, then why is it that years later, in Acts chapter ten, he thinks that it is an unlawful thing to keep company with a Gentile?

In Acts chapter ten, Peter is sent to the home of a Gentile and he doesn't want to go. When he does go he first says that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company with Gentiles. He has no intention of preaching to the man. Look at what else he says:

Acts 10:29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?

So when the man tells Peter that he saw an angel who told him to send for Peter, Peter then begins to preach to him. But what does he preach? Does he preach the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation, unto the man? No he does not. The reason Peter doesn't preach salvation by grace alone through faith alone to the man is because Peter does not know that message.

The WHY of the cross of Christ was not revealed to Peter. It was revealed to Paul. It was a mystery. Paul said that "by revelation, he (Jesus Christ) made known unto me the mystery." Once again, a mystery is not a mystery if it is known. Peter did not know the mystery. It was a mystery until the Lord revealed it to Paul. It's the mystery of Christ. It is the WHY of the cross of Christ. It was just not there in the red letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 1 John 1:9 does not include the mystery of Christ. That was revealed to Paul, as in:

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to MY gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

Only Paul preaches Paul's gospel. Peter, James and John do not preach Paul?s gospel. Most in religion are not aware of the fact, and there are many that will argue with you, and insist that Peter, James and John preached exactly the same thing Paul did, they just preached to different people. But you can easily see that what Paul says is different from what Peter, James and John say. Paul said from a prison in Rome:

2 Timothy 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

2 Timothy 2:8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

Now he is not just reminding Timothy that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. He is telling Timothy to remember that Christ was raised, "according to my gospel." The reason Paul gives for the resurrection of Christ is a far reaching reason. It is for our, the members of the body of Christ, for our justification.

Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Peter, James and John never gave that as a reason for the resurrection. Instead, justification in their view, was something to come in the future. For instance, compare what Peter says with what Paul says, pertaining to salvation. Peter says:

1 Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

Now hoping to the end for grace at the end is in one accord with the tribulation message of the Lord in Matthew 24:

Matthew 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And it is in one accord with John?s message in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

That is also in one accord with the book of James, written to the twelve tribes of Israel, according to James 1:1, where James says that a man, in the tribulation, must have works of faith in order to make it to the end:

James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

And the answer for James is no. A man must have works of faith in order to endure the tribulation and be saved at the end. Again it is a case of before, after and in the meanwhile. The doctrine in the Hebrew scriptures, in Hebrews thru Revelation, was established BEFORE Paul. That same doctrine will apply AFTER the rapture of the church, an event which was ONLY revealed to Paul. But in the MEANWHILE something different is going on. Paul's doctrine is different than that of the twelve. Look at Paul's message of salvation:

Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

Now repenting and confessing sins is a work. It is an effort a person expends and it is a work. Enduring to the end, hoping to the end, is a work. Faith plus works for salvation includes works. It is different than the salvation presented by Paul:

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Compare the big IF that a Hebrew has in his salvation with the completeness Paul writes about:

Hebrews 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

But yet Paul says:

Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Colossians 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:

Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Now compare once again what John says:

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Compare that with what Paul says:

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

What John said is in direct contradiction to what Paul said. You don't blend them together. You don't try to compromise one to make it fit the other. You recognize that things that are different are not the same and you believe that the bible means what it says, as it says it, where it says it, AND to whom it says it. And 1 John 1:9 is not about the body of Christ. It is not addressed to the body of Christ. It is about Israel and it is written unto Israel. It is in a tribulation context and it pertains to the second coming of Christ.

Now Paul writes, in 2 Timothy:

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

He identifies what the word of truth is in Ephesians. He makes a reference to Jesus Christ, and he says:

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

So Paul identifies the word of truth as the gospel of your salvation. The point being, the good news, the gospel of Israel's salvation, is different than the gospel of your salvation. Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision, and so were Peter, James and John. They never left that ministry, and in fact, at the time of Acts chapter 15, in a meeting with Paul, they agreed to go ONLY TO the circumcision:

Galatians 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

Notice that John is one of those at the meeting, and one of those who agreed to go ONLY to the circumcison.

1 John 1:9 is in one accord with Peter's message on the Day of Pentecost. It is in one accord with all of Peter's preaching in the book of Acts. It matches Acts 2:38 and 1 Peter 2:5. It matches Acts chapter three, verse 19 and 20, and 1 Peter 2:9

In Acts chapter two, Peter stands up and preaches to a town full of Jews. The occasion is a Jewish holy day. On the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 33, fifty days after the Passover, the town is full of Jews:

Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.

Peter preaches a murder indictment against the nation of Israel. He charges them with the murder of their Messiah, but the good news is, God has raised him from the dead and that God has given Israel a chance to repent, a chance to change their mind and accept their Messiah. Peter says:

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

What is in view in Peter's message is the forming of a priesthood. 1 John 1:9 is written to that priesthood. First and second Peter is written to that priesthood. That priesthood is strictly Jewish. Peter says:

1 Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

So you have a spiritual house. It is referred to as the house of Christ. In order to be a part of that house, that Jewish believer must endure to the end because there is something at the end he must receive:

Hebrews 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

In other words, those Hebrews, those to whom 1 John is written, are redeemed by the blood of the lamb. The lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world, as John the Baptist said. And they are looking forward unto a future day of atonement in which their sins will be blotted out. The Feasts of the Lord under the Law of Moses, as they are spelled out in the book of Leviticus come in seven month cycles. The Passover is the 14th day of the first month. The Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the seventh month. 1 John 1:9 speaks of the Day of Atonement for the nation of Israel at the second coming of Christ. So does Peter in the book of Acts:

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

1 John 1:9 is referring to that day, the day of the second coming of Christ. In that day, according to prophecy, a fountain will be opened:

Zechariah 13:1 In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.

It is a future day of atonement in which Israel will be cleansed from all unrighteousness. When they are cleansed of all unrighteousness, there is no more unrighteousness to be cleansed from. 1 John 1:9 was never meant for a member of the body of Christ as a salvation maintenance program because it is not even written to the body of Christ. It is written to Israel, in a tribulation context. It has to do with Israel's sins. Consider:

Zechariah 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.

Zechariah 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.

Zechariah 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Now remember that Paul confirms the same thing:

Romans 11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Romans 11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

1 John 1:9 is about the new covenant. It is about those who turn from transgression in Jacob:

Isaiah 59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah prophesied of the new covenant. The writer of the book of Hebrews confirms it:

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Hebrews 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

We are talking about the house of Israel here. We are talking about the new covenant. At that time God will cleanse them of all unrighteousness and when they are cleansed from all unrighteousness there will be no more need for any more cleansing. Look at what Peter writes and compare it with what John says:

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

They are the priests of the Lord. John is writing to a holy priesthood in a tribulation context. 1 John 1:9 is about the future Day of Atonement for Israel. It is about the second coming of Christ. Look at Revelation:

Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

He said he saw thrones and they sat upon them. What is that all about? Well, remember what the Lord said to the twelve apostles?

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

So all of that, all that we have looked at here, is about a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, a royal priesthood. It's about Israel. It is about a future day of atonement at the second coming of Christ to sit on his throne and reign for a thousand years. Those in 1 John, who endure to the end, will be there with him.

But in contrast to all of that, Paul writes to the body of Christ:

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Paul says that we are already justified by faith. We have peace with God, and that by faith we have a standing, we stand in the grace of God.

Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

Romans 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

Romans 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Now if you are familiar with the passage in Romans five, you know where I am going here. We know, through Paul, that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, and that he was raised again for our justification. We know, that when we trust in Christ we are sealed with that holy Spirit of promise and we know that the seal is good unto the day of redemption, the day in which our vile bodies are changed and made like unto His glorious body.

We know that we who have committed our salvation to Christ, not trusting in our own good works but knowing that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, are complete in Christ. We are his body, and members in particular. Our conversation is not in the earthly Kingdom Peter, James and John will inherit. Our conversation is in heaven. We set our affection on things above and not on things in the earth. We are justified by the faith of Christ and we have life by the faith of Christ. We know that the gospel of Christ, preached by Paul alone and found only in Romans through Philemon, is the power of God unto salvation and we know that only in the gospel of Christ preached by Paul is the righteousness of God revealed.

We know that the death of Christ has been put to our account. We know that God imputed our sins to Christ and made him to be sin for us. We know that when God seals you he knows you. The Lord knoweth them that are his. There can never be a day when the Lord would say to a saved individual "depart from me I never knew you." He cannot say such a thing because the bible says the Lord knows us.

We know that our salvation is not by works of righteousness which we have done but only by that which Christ has done. He worked it all out for us and our salvation is complete in Him. We didn't do anything to get our salvation and there is nothing we can do that will cause us to lose it. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, and there is no separation.

There is nothing in this world nor in the world to come, neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other creature that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And here is where we were headed with this:

Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

So Paul says that we already have what Peter, James and John, what Israel was enduring to the end to receive. The fountain opened, the day of atonement at the second coming of Christ. In our case, by the doctrine committed to Paul, we look back to the cross, and trust in the finished work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.