Confessing Sins 2

Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

John baptized "in the wilderness"..and people are sometimes puzzled by that. What is the wilderness? By comparing Joshua 15 with 1 Samuel 23 you see all sorts of cities and villages "in the wilderness." There no doubt would be open country as well as towns and it is there we find John at the beginning of his ministry. Paul said that he preached that baptism to all Israel:

Acts 13:24 When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

So the baptism of repentance was preached to who? All Israel.

Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

And it is the CONFESSING THIER SINS that we wanted to focus on. Notice in:

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

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.

But who is the WE in the context. Most of denominational religion puts the body of Christ in that passage. But it cannot be. Look back up at the first two verses:

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;

1 John 1:2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

Now compare that with:

John 1:30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.

John 1:31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.

So Israel's Messiah was MANIFEST to Israel. That's why John the Baptist came baptizing with water. Now the Apostle John was an apostle to Israel. He was of the circumcision, and in Acts chapter 15, he, along with Peter and James made a solemn agreement, and a handshake that THEY would go to the CIRCUMCISION.  

Galatians 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;

Galatians 2:8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)

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.

So John had the gospel OF the circumcision, FOR the circumcision and TO the circumcision and it is obvious that Gentiles are not even in the picture in 1 John. Religion tries to claim it and apply it to the church, the body of Christ. But it has nothing to do with the body of Christ. And it has every thing to do with the nation of Israel. Compare some verses:

Leviticus 26:38 And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

Leviticus 26:39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

Leviticus 26:40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;

Leviticus 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

Leviticus 26:42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

Now notice again in:

Mark 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

And that is exactly what they were doing, confessing their sins. The sin of rebellion. The sin of unbelief. They had turned away from God's covenant and walked contrary to the Lord. Notice Daniel:

Daniel 9:7 O LORD, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.

Daniel 9:8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee.

Daniel 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;

Daniel 9:10 Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Daniel 9:11 Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him.

Now the angel Gabriel had come in answer to Daniel's prayer and had given him the prophecy that we know was the "seventy weeks of Daniel." The time for the coming of Messiah was fulfilled and John the Baptist came preaching the baptism of repentance. So what was it all about? It was a message of repentance to Israel so that God would RESTORE their kingdom to them. Notice the Apostles question on the Mount of Olives on the day the Lord ascended into heaven:

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Now what would have prompted those disciples to ask such a question? It is because all of the events and all of the preaching and teaching in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John was about the "gospel of the Kingdom":

Matthew 4:23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Matthew 9:35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

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:

Matthew 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 10:7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 10:8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

So in the light of all those instructions, it was NATURAL for the disciples to ask in Acts chapter one:

Acts 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

So when Peter preaches, Jerusalem is full of Jews on a Jewish feast day called Pentecost and he preaches:

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.

Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

And "all that are afar off" is NOT a reference to Gentiles, but rather to scattered Jews, as in Daniel nine we looked at earlier, all Israel both near and afar off. Now the confessing of sins in 1 John is in ONE ACCORD with that:

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

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.

The confessing and the CLEANSING is in one accord with Peter's preaching:

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:

Obviously, then, those of Acts 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on did not receive the BLOTTING OUT of their sins, but were looking FORWARD to that at the second coming of Christ. As in:

Jeremiah 33:7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

Jeremiah 33:8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

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.

Zechariah 13:2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

Zechariah 13:8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.

Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.

The FIRE referred to there is the baptism with fire. It is the tribulation and the THIRD PART will come through that fire and so all Israel shall be saved. Notice

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.

Notice that covenant? It is a reference to ISRAEL'S new covenant:

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Paul said that ALL Israel SHALL be saved. Now who is ALL Israel? It turns out to be the third part. They are the ones who turn away from ungodliness in Jacob.

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

Isaiah 59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.

And 1 John is ABOUT those people and not at all about the body of Christ. We know that because:

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Ephesians 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Christ gave himself for the church and it is sanctified and CLEANSED....with the washing of water by the word...and has neither spot nor wrinkle. It is holy and without blemish. The atonement for the body of Christ is a PRESENT POSSESSION:

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 the church, the body of Christ is already cleansed and sanctified and sealed unto the day of redemption. Our washing was done by the word. In other words, we receive the Spirit by the hearing of faith, according to Paul in Galatians 3:1 and the holy Spirit baptizes us, that is, identifies us into the body of Christ and into his death, burial and resurrection. There is no more cleansing needed for a saved person. As a matter of fact the righteousness we have is not our own, it is God's own righteousness, unto all and upon all that believe. All that Christ did at the cross he did in our behalf that he might present the church which is his body to himself, no spots, no wrinkles and without blemish.

But Israel's day of atonement and their new covenant is yet future:

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.

Hebrews 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

The old covenant is old and was ready to vanish away in Hebrews, but the new one has not come yet. It will come at the second coming of Christ to Israel:

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

But we are not waiting for the second coming of Christ for salvation and neither does our salvation depend on confessing our sins.

Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

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.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

There is no way that you could be Christ's workmanship while at the same time depending on your OWN ability to work something that was pleasing to God...as in repenting and confessing sins in order to get forgiveness or to try to maintain the relationship with God that is ALREADY ours in Christ Jesus.

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.

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;

All trespasses is all. All includes everything and excludes nothing. Past sins, present sins, future sins. From the womb to the tomb (or the Rapture) our sins have been covered by the shed blood of Christ. If the work of Christ at the cross is dependent upon our doing something then we couldn't be complete in Christ. like verse 10 says. We are HIS workmanship. He did the work.

Those in 1 John are keeping his commandments and enduring to the end, looking to the second coming for their atonement, for their cleansing of ALL unrighteousness. It is a one time event for Israel just as it was for the church, the body of Christ. Everything in 1 John is true and the truth. But it is simply not the truth of your salvation.

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.