The Two Extremes On The Issue
The first extreme
Let us identify the two main extremes on this topic. The first side basically argues that God is continually cleansing you regardless of your acknowledgement of sin or almost regardless of what you do. Thus it is argued, once someone becomes a Christian, the blood of Jesus is continually cleansing the person from all sins, regardless of what is done. This extreme view argues that I can go over to the local convenience store, shoot up the place, and still expect to go to heaven. The classic argument that is used is a suppose a man sees a woman, lusts after her, and immediately is run over by a car. Will God forgive him though he did not have a chance to repent?
The other extreme
The other extreme says that we must then, based upon these verses, confess every single sin specifically. If you do not confess every single sin specifically to God, you cannot be forgiven of it. So you need to write down every sin you commit and make sure you specifically confess those sins to God, otherwise you are lost. There are some problems with this extreme thinking also.
A misunderstanding of confession
John : 79 New Century Version
7 But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, Gods Son, cleanses us from every sin.
8 If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.
I Can Enter Boldly Into The Holiest Of Holiesand Live
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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John : 79 1890 Darby Bible
7 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
John : 79 The New International Version
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
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Confession In 1 John : 7
The word confess means to agree. When Jesus revealed the truth to us by His blood, we are faced with a choice.
We can either agree with what Jesus has revealed, or we can disagree. We can either confess or we can deny that we do indeed engage in falsely accusing and condemning others.
Of course, if we deny that we are involved in such practices, then were simply deceiving ourselves and have not yet recognized the truth.
How Does Jesus’ Blood Wash Away Sin
“How much more shall the blood of Christ…purge your conscience from deadworks to serve the living God?” – Heb.9:14
The life of the human body is in the blood . Where blood ceases to flow inthe body, life quickly ends. So, because the life of the church is inthe Holy Spirit , the Spirit is often called the “blood of Christ”. Where the Spirit ceases to flow freely among the saints, spiritual atrophy is certain.
The Law of Moses forbade the imbibing of any kind of blood. The most dreadfulpunishment allowed under the Law was reserved for the person who committed thegravest offenses, including the consuming of “any manner of blood” . However, in John 6, Jesus told a crowd of followers that unless they drank his blood,they had no hope of eternal life. This statement angered many and confused all whoheard it, and as a result “many of his disciples went back, and walked no morewith him” . They did this despite Jesus’ attempt to explain that hewas speaking of the Spirit, which gave him his life. “The words that I speakunto you,” he told them, “They are spirit and they are life”.
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John : 79 The New Revised Standard Version
7 but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Bible Commentary For 1 John : 7
Wesley’s Notes for 1 John 1:7
1:7 But if we walk in the light – In all holiness. As God is in the light, then we may truly say, we have fellowship one with another – We who have seen, and you who have not seen, do alike enjoy that fellowship with God. The imitation of God being the only sure proof of our having fellowship with him. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son – With the grace purchased thereby. Cleanseth us from all sin – Both original and actual, taking away all the guilt and all the power.
People’s Bible Notes for 1 John 1:7
1Jo 1:7 But if we walk in the light. We walk in the light by following Christ, the Light of the world. We have fellowship on with another. All who are walking in the light have the common life. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Cleansed by the blood of Christ, and thus made holy, we are fitted for the heavenly communion.
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The Foundation Of Continual Cleansing
The idea of continual cleansing comes from 1 John 1:5-10. Continual cleansing comes from verse 7, If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. The word cleanses is in the present tense, thus meaning always cleansing, constantly cleansing, or continually cleansing. So this is the passage where the phrase continual cleansing comes from. The question now to ask is what is meant when people generally speak of continual cleansing.
Blood Of Jesus Cleanses From Sin
Outline: Jesus Christ shed His blood in order to save us, and we can be saved by no other. There is no one before Him or after Him. God did not give an angel or a righteous man to cleanse us from sin.
Script Number: BLOD
Language: English
Theme: Cleanse, purify Jesus, Our Substitute Incarnation Birth of Christ Creation Sacrifice / Atonement Death of Christ Sin, disobedience
Audience: Orthodox Catholic General
Bible Quotation: Extensive
Status: Approved
Scripts are basic guidelines for translation and recording into other languages. They should be adapted as necessary to make them understandable and relevant for each different culture and language. Some terms and concepts used may need more explanation or even be replaced or omitted completely.
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Jesus Blood Cleanses From All Sin
These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
This passage is part of the vision of heavenly worship that the apostle John saw while in exile on the island of Patmos. Patmos is a small island located between Greece and modern day Turkey.
As recorded in Revelation 7:9-12, John sees a great multitude from every place- every language, every nation, every tribe, etc. They are standing before the throne of God waving palm branches. They shout praises to the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who sits on the heavenly throne.
The one speaking in Revelation 7:14, is identified as one of 24 elders in Johns vision, who represent both the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles.
This elder explains to John who the multitude is and from where they come.
They are ones coming out of the great tribulation. Tribulation means suffering or distress.
Our world is certainly one of trouble and distress. It doesnt matter if youre rich or poor, healthy or sick, wise or unwise. If you live long enough youre likely to undergo some sort of trouble, some kind of distress.
We live in a world that is often described as fallen and sinful. Frightening diseases cause us distress. Natural disasters give us trouble. Persecution occurs around the globe. Even our own sinfulness and selfishness makes life harder for ourselves and others.
The Blood Of Jesus Christ His Son Cleanses Us From All Sin
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
When God made man and gave him free choice, He was expecting that things might go wrong and had prepared a solution. Some will argue why human sacrifice but there was no pure blood available even in the animals because the whole world fell in sin with Adam and Eve. So God have to prepare a body which has pure blood that is the Blood of His Son Jesus Christ. The blood of Jesus was the remedy planned by God before the foundation of the world says the Word of God 1 Peter 1:18-20.
Blood of Jesus gave us New Covenant with God:
For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.Matthew 26:28
Blood of Jesus brings us near to God:
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13
Blood of Jesus gives us boldness to go to Holiest place of God:
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, Hebrews 10:19-20
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The Blood Of Jesus Cleanses Us
1 John 1:7
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
There are some stains that can easily be removed from our clothes and some that require a special solution.
Usually, it is concocted with multiple weird and wonderful items found in the pantry as well as the cleaning cupboard mixed together.
If you try to treat a stain with the wrong solution chances are it could get worse or permanently ruin the garment we are trying to save.
Spiritually when we sin, it is like an indelible mark that cannot easily be removed. In times past in the old testament it may have been acceptable for a temporary period of time to cover it with a sacrificial offering of the blood of an animal.
However, this was a temporary fix pointing to something greater. The truth is, only the blood of Jesus Christ is able to fully remove the sin from the children of God.
Just like our illustration we can try other solutions, but we only make matters worse and the end result is we are ruined.
The only solution for our sin is the blood of Jesus that was shed on our behalf.
Not just the sin that has been committed in the past, but every sin that we will ever commit in our entire lives.
The Blood Of Jesus: Outward And Inward Cleansing
There is, therefore, a two-fold cleansing power in the blood of Jesus. The one cleansing occurs in a moment. In one moment we receive, by faith, forgiveness for all the sins we have committed. The second cleansing is a continuing process by which weby faithare cleansed from all indwelling, unconscious sinas we acknowledge it.
Compare this with Daniel 12:10! Outward washing with water. Inward purification by fire.
This article has been translated from Norwegian and was first published under the title Blodets rensende kraft in BCCs periodical Skjulte Skatter
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So How Are You Going To Live
First of all, do you see what is revealed through the violent and bloody death of Jesus? Do you see how He revealed the truth that we humans accuse, condemn, scapegoat, and even kill other people in Gods name but that none of this has anything to do with God, but is in fact the exact opposite of what God wants and desires?
Second, you you agree that you have engaged and might still be engaging in some of these practices today? Maybe you are engaging in this practice toward Muslims or gays or Democrats or Republicans or President Trump or the Media or your boss or your neighbor or whomever.
Third, if you recognize you have engaged in some of these practices, then what are you to do about it? Well, thats what the rest of 1 John is all about, which you can read on your own. But the bottom line is that you need to unconditionally love and freely forgive, just as God loves and forgives us.
But all of that will have to be saved for another study.
If you have questions or comments, leave them in the comment section below and also, consider joining us in the online discipleship group where we regularly discuss these sorts of topics and passages. If you are already in the group, make sure you have signed up to take The Gospel Dictionary course, which is free for you to take inside the group.
Notes:
The Power Of The Cross
Instead of saying the power of the blood of Jesus, we can just as well say the power of the cross, and we can say that it is two-fold. The one power proceeds from the fact that He was crucified for us, and the other, lesser known power is the power that proceeds from being crucified by faith with Him. The first power results in forgiveness. The second power results in victory and sanctification.
That the second cleansing , not like the first cleansing does not occur in a moment is evident with all desirable clarity and strength from 1 John 1:8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If God has richly blessed me and has given me more than victory so that I am not aware of anything that is wrong with me, so that I have a good conscience in every area, so that I live a happy life in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit and am currently unaware of any sin, but then want to say that I no longer have sinthat all sin in every sense and scope of the word has been taken awaythen this scripture judges me most powerfully.
This is the way of the cross, the way of self-denial, the way of suffering, the way of death, the way of truth, the way of righteousness, the way of love, the way of purity, the way of wisdom, and the way of life.
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John : 79 New Living Translation
7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
John : 79 New International Readers Version
7 But suppose we walk in the light, just as he is in the light. Then we share life with one another. And the blood of Jesus, his Son, makes us pure from all sin.
8 Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. 9 But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure.
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