Confession of Sin

The term for confession in the Greek is ομολογεω (homologeo) and means to cite, to name, to acknowledge, to classify as a sin the thought, deed, or action the same as God does. This Greek word gives the idea of two people coming to a common agreement on a matter. It is admitting to the God the Father that what you have thought, said, or done is sin. The believer realizes that this is sin based on the Bible doctrine in the right lobe (heart) of their soul. 1 John 1:9 is addressed to believers only.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NASB)

In 1 John 1:9 , the word “If” is a third class condition in the Greek and means that it is potential, maybe the believer will confess known sins biblically, maybe they won’t. But if they do, then the Lord is faithful and just to forgive them the sins they remembered and named and to cleanse them from all unrighteousness including the sins they forgot or were unaware of.

Confession means to recognize that the sin you named has already been paid for on the Cross. Confession is the non-meritorious method of dealing with family type sins. Confession is only made to God the Father, because God alone can forgive sin. Mark 2:7.

""Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?"" (Mark 2:7, NASB)

We are to trust that the Word of God will identify what God says is sin as part of the Bible doctrine that we learn and apply in our Christian walk. God has provided this “grace” way of being cleansed from all unrighteousness (sins that you did not know of) just by naming your known sins. This is His grace!

It does not say here that “If we feel sorry for our sins and confess then, that He will cleanse and forgive” or “If we vow to do better next time and confess our sins He will cleanse and forgive.” No. The basic principle is admitting, acknowledging. There may be sorrow, there may not be sorrow, depending upon the circumstances, your own emotional stability, your growth and so on. The issue is to name the sin. We don’t have to go through a Protestant form of penance to be forgiven. Not at all. You can’t work to get forgiven.

Every time we name our known sins (sins that you can recall), God will cleanse and forgive those sins as well as all of the sins you committed that you did not know of or could not recall. God will do the same thing every time because of His perfect character and attributes.

What if a believer does a horrible sin like gossip or adultery or murder? If the believer names those known sins to God the Father, He will cleanse – every time. Damage has been done, but He will cleanse because Jesus Christ has already paid the penalty for all sins. Why can He do this? His blood keeps on cleansing sins, all sins, past, present and future have been judicially and positionally paid for by Jesus Christ on the Cross. In experience, this forgiveness becomes real to you when you confess.

Note also the position of “forgive us” in the 1 John 1:9. Our part (by faith, absence of human works) is to confess, then His part is to automatically forgive. You confess, He forgives. You don’t have to ask for forgiveness, it is already there. You don’t have to ask Him to forgive you, you just thank Him for having forgiven the sins named and those you forgot or were ignorant of. We don’t have to pray, “Lord, forgive me for my sins.” Why? It isn’t the biblical way. God has specified another way. You confess, He forgives. Asking for forgiveness is human viewpoint. Asking for forgiveness is human works.

I used to ask people who prayed (as I once did) “Father forgive me for all the things I did wrong today, and help me to do better tomorrow” whether that really cleansed them from sin. They never were quite sure. Some believers have prayed that way for 50 years and it has been a waste of time. They are still babes, have never grown up spiritually because they did not deal with the sin problem correctly. It is very important that this technique be understood.

If what you think about confessing sin biblically disagrees with the Word of God, who is wrong? Why you are, of course. Confessing sin for cleansing is grace, just name it. What about the unknown sins in my life? You, of course, will always have some of those. Note in 1 John 1:9, the last part, “from all unrighteousness.” When the known sins are acknowledged, then the unknown sins are cleansed as well and you are back in fellowship.

You do not “plead the blood” for protection from disease, Satanic oppression, etc. This is a false use of 1 John 1:9 and the techniques.

About this time, someone will think, if it’s so easy to be cleansed of sin, then I can go out and really live it up. This immediately brands them as a babe of the lowest degree, a spiritual moron. They are saved, more than likely, but that’s about it. The believer must be made aware that divine discipline comes to us when we get out of fellowship. The purpose of divine discipline is to get the believer to confess their sins and be returned to fellowship where they can grow spiritually and produce divine good.

Confession of sins is not the basis of salvation in Christ. Acts 16:31; John 1:12; Eph. 1:13-14; John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9.

"They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."" (Acts 16:31, NASB)

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," (John 1:12, NASB)

" "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. " (John 3:16, NASB)

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9, NASB)

Confession of sins is related to the restoring fellowship of the believer within the family of God. 1 John 1:6.

"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;" (1 John 1:6, NASB)

The need for confession of sin is proven by the fact that there are believers who are not living in fellowship with the Father. 1 Cor. 3:1-3; Rom. 7:11-15; Prov. 6:16.

"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, NASB)

"for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Therefore did that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through the commandment sin would become utterly sinful. For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." (Romans 7:11-15, NASB)

"There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:" (Proverbs 6:16, NASB)

The Basis of Confession

At the Cross, Jesus Christ bore all sins of mankind in His body. The Father judged those sins so they can never be judged again. The only way to be cleansed is to agree that you have committed a known sin based on the Word of God taught and that it was judged already. 1 John 1:7-9.

“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. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7-9, NASB)

The mechanics for confession of sin are simple - use 1 John 1:9 to identify the known sins by naming them to God the Father. God does the rest.

Confession does not pay the penalty of sin. The penalty of sin was already paid on the Cross. Penalty of sin is not the issue in confession. The issue is whether or not we want to be restored to fellowship with God on His terms.

Confession is the means that God has provided to restore us to fellowship with Him when we have sinned and therefore, we realize our complete dependence upon Him to handle sins in our lives. This is orientation to grace in the Christian way of life.

Confession was not given to us to keep us from sinning. That comes as we grow through knowledge and application of Bible doctrine to experience or by divine discipline. Divine discipline is from a loving Father who wants to impress upon us the seriousness of the offense so that we will not want to do it again, just as a human father may do.

Confessing sin does not provide you with a license to sin. Your attitude toward the sins you remember must be to name then, to acknowledge them as sins to God the Father. How you feel about the sins means nothing. This is God's grace in action. God knows that you will probably commit the very same sin again, but He only want you to remain in fellowship and to learn Bible doctrine and thereby grow spiritually. Confession does not remove the callousness of the soul. This is done by the intake of Bible doctrine.

Confessing sin provides you with the license to serve. Confession gives control of your soul back to the Holy Spirit, who does the serving thus producing divine good, which is glorifying to God. The old sin nature produces human good, which is not glorifying to God.

Confession of sin biblically does not need a helper along the way such as “sincerely sorry.” Whether you are sorry or not is not the issue. Confession of sin does not provide you with an emotional experience, nor is it accompanied with any necessary emotional reaction.

1 John 1:9 works whether you believe it does or not because the Bible says so and you are filled with the Holy Spirit upon confession of sin. Faith is one of the results of the filling of the Holy Spirit and the realization that spirituality is attained by confession alone. The grace of God never leads to excesses of any kind, but the old sin nature does.

Confession of sin does not come naturally for the uninstructed believer. It has to be learned with much diligence and practiced continually for it to become a part of your spiritual life. Confession of sin does not always remove the pain or suffering. In the case of suffering, the cursing is turned to blessing.

Jesus Christ defends us when Satan accuses us whether or not we confess, when we are wrong. Why? He is our High Priest and He has already paid for those sins. Then why confess them if they are paid for? Confession is the means of breaking the control of the soul by the old sin nature and the means whereby man cannot take the credit (non-meritorious).

Some may say that too much stress is put on a single verse of Scripture so here are other verses that teach exactly what 1 John 1:9 teaches. “Present” is a synonym for “confess” in Romans 6:13 and Romans 12:1. “Consider” is a synonym for “confess” in Colossians 3:5 and “dead” means to put to death through confession of sin. In Ephesians 5:14, “awake” is also a synonym for “confess” and “dead” refers to temporal death or being out of fellowship.

“and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:13, NASB)

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NASB)

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5, NASB)

“For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.”“ (Ephesians 5:14, NASB)

“Lay aside every encumbrance” in Hebrews 12:1 involves confession of sin and the resultant building of an edification complex. “Put on the whole armor of God” in Ephesians 6:11 is armor initially put in place by confession of sin. “If we judged ourselves” in 1 Corinthians 11:31 refers to confession of sin.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” (Hebrews 12:1, NASB)

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11, NASB)

“But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.” (1 Corinthians 11:31, NASB)

The Believer’s Union with Jesus Christ

Every believer has likely had some doubts concerning their salvation at some point. The reason is that they do not understand the difference between relationship and fellowship. At the moment of salvation, 40 things happen to the Church Age believer. One of them is that God the Holy Spirit places the Church Age believer into union with Jesus Christ. This is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, the phrase “in Christ Jesus” speaks of the eternal union of a born-again individual. Since you are in union with Christ, there is “no condemnation” and “no separation.” Rom. 8:1; Rom. 8:35; Rom. 8:38-39. See category on The 40 Things Received at Salvation.

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:13, NASB)

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1, NASB)

"Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" (Romans 8:35, NASB)

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39, NASB)

The believer cannot get out of their union with Jesus Christ. He is in eternal union with the unchangeable Christ. Nothing can separate you. Nothing in life and nothing in death. This relationship with Jesus Christ is represented in the diagram below as the “top circle.”

When you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Holy Spirit enters the believer into eternal union with Jesus Christ. The believer is placed “in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 speaks of this position. Your relationship can never be broken. It cannot be broken by God and it certainly cannot be broken by you. See category of Union with Jesus Christ.

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB)

When you believed in the Lord, you became a new creature positionally. You are a new creature because of eternal life and God’s absolute righteousness (+R). A believer is a new creature because of what Christ did for you, not what you did for Him! Remember, you don’t have to give up anything in order to be saved. The greatest slam to the cross is to think you can do something to be saved like change your behavior pattern, or sign a card, or join a church, or put money in the offering.

Your life is changed because of His divine power! But we can’t live the Christian life in the power of the flesh. But when we get out of fellowship, we still possess eternal life, we can’t change our union with Jesus Christ, we are always sons, we will always be in God’s family from the point of conversion onward.

An incorrect conclusion by some is, “As long as I can’t lose my salvation, I can go live it up!” You forgot something! God administers divine discipline to correct the believer’s thinking and to remind them to confess their sins biblically and be restored to fellowship with Him. Hebrews 12:6, Heb. 12:7-8, 2 Sam. 7:14, Prov. 3:11-12. See category on Positional Truth.

"FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."" (Hebrews 12:6, NASB)

"It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Hebrews 12:7-8, NASB)

""I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men," (2 Samuel 7:14, NASB)

"My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:11-12, NASB)

Now we are ready to look at the first point in the doctrine of confessing sin biblically, the existence of the carnal Christian. The believer will never understand this doctrine until they understand the difference between Positional Truth and fellowship in time.

The Believer’s Fellowship with Jesus Christ

The old sin nature is retained intact in the believer. It has its areas of strength and weakness. Out of the area of strength comes human good. Out of the area of weakness comes sin. Every believer has their own area of weakness when they are out of fellowship and every believer has their area of strength when they are out of fellowship.

A believer can be out of fellowship and operating in the strength of their old sin nature and teach Sunday School, or give or do some sacrificial task. They can even witness or pray out of fellowship. At other times, the same believer may be out of fellowship and operating in the area of weakness of their old sin nature. Here, they may be yelling, screaming, losing their temper, and acting out of control.

The believer needs to understand how to allow the Holy Spirit to produce divine good in their spiritual life. No matter how good human good is, it never impresses God in any way. Why? Because it comes from the old sin nature and is apart from His grace. Any production that comes from a believer out of fellowship does not please God, whether good or bad! The criterion is being in fellowship, thus operating in the power of the Holy Spirit. The danger is when you as a believer dwell on your area of strength and call this spirituality. It is most definitely not spirituality!

The believer can and does get out of fellowship with Jesus Christ. There is only one way to recover that fellowship. You need to use 1 John 1:9. When the sin is confessed biblically, then you are back in fellowship. When in fellowship, you enjoy your relationship with Him. When out of fellowship, your relationship is never severed, but you don’t appreciate that relationship.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NASB)

You husbands and wives have discovered that you can be out of fellowship with each other. At such times, your relationship is for the birds, you don’t appreciate it. So it is with our eternal relationship.

The Holy Spirit convicts of negative volition which is what removes a believer from fellowship, resulting in loss of peace. When back in fellowship and learning Bible doctrine, the Holy Spirit brings to mind that which we have forgotten.

Once the Holy Spirit has caused you to become conscious of negative volition, He uses the Word to pin point the specific sin or sins and you simply name what you have done or thought to God the Father. It becomes necessary then for a believer to know what God’s Word says is sin. God has provided this “work free” way of being cleansed just by naming the sin. This is using only His grace. It is not making it easier to sin. It is not a license to sin.

Also, it should be noted that when I confess the sin, God the Holy Spirit makes known to me through the Word, God the Father also “cleanses from all unrighteousness.” These are the sins I don’t know about, cleansed when I confess the ones made known by the Word of God through the Holy Spirit.

Conditions and Result of Confession

No works are ever attached to confession of sin. We are to admit or cite the sin or sins that we remember. The believer may become aware of the need to confess sin in their life other than the long passage of time since they last were absolutely sure they were in fellowship. Believers may sense a loss of inner peace, through severe divine discipline, through a guilty conscience and through sorrow. Phil. 4:6-7; Heb. 12:6; Heb. 13:18; Psalms 32:2-5.

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NASB)

“FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.”“ (Hebrews 12:6, NASB)

“Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.” (Hebrews 13:18, NASB)

“How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” (Psalms 32:2-5, NASB)

Note well that sorrow does not cleanse sin. Never! Only admitting the sin to God the Father does. God forgives then, on the basis of confession, not on the basis of how we feel about it, or on penance, or on a promise for our future conduct. Basing our forgiveness on something we do constitutes works and is not what the Bible says.

Just as God deals with man in grace at salvation (God does everything, man does nothing) so also, He treats us in grace in the matter of restoration to fellowship. This causes us to realize that we are unable to accomplish anything apart from His power and strength through the Holy Spirit, that pleases Him. We must depend upon Him for everything.

The result of confession of sin is always the same - God is “faithful and just.” He will always do the same thing – forgive. He is just in doing this because of the cross. Not only are our known sins forgiven, but also we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. The unknown or forgotten sins are also forgiven. This is the essence of grace.

This cleansing prepares us for the controlling ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, who is no longer grieved (by sin) or quenched by (human good). Confession of sin gives control of our soul to the Holy Spirit (filling of the Spirit) and the believer is therefore, spiritual.

Confession and Forgiveness

Confession is related to the matter of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9. Forgiveness for sin is never asked for, but is given automatically by the Father when His condition of confession is made. The grace of forgiveness is evident in the fact that your unknown sins, the “all unrighteousness” is covered as well as those things you name. Forgiveness relates to a “separating” of the sin confessed.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NASB)

There is a relationship between confession of sin and forgiveness. “If we confess” recognizes our volition, positive or negative. “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us” is family forgiveness upon the confession of any sin.

There are some passages which seemingly indicate that your forgiveness is conditional upon other factors. Confession of sin to the Father is only conditional on the believer’s naming of the known mental, verbal, or overt action as a sin. The following verses all deal with the believer’s relationships with other people. Confession of sin is only between God the Father and the believer. Matt. 6:12; Matt. 6:14-16; Mark 11:25-26; Luke 11:4; Luke 17:3-4; Col. 3:13.

" 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. " (Matthew 6:12, NASB)

" 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" " (Luke 11:4, NASB)

" "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." " (Luke 17:3-4, NASB)

"bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." (Colossians 3:13, NASB)

Confession brings forgiveness of sins, reinstatement to family fellowship, but doesn’t remove the callousness or scar tissue caused to the soul when out of fellowship. 1 Tim. 1:5-8; Eph. 4:17; Col. 1:21; Rom. 1:21; Rom. 11:10; Psalms 119:130; Pslams 119:9.

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind," (Ephesians 4:17, NASB)

"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds," (Colossians 1:21, NASB)

"For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." (Romans 1:21, NASB)

""LET THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER."" (Romans 11:10, NASB)

"The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple." (Psalms 119:130, NASB)

" Beth. How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word." (Psalms 119:9, NASB)

When the new believer learns the doctrine of confessing sins biblically, they can distort it by using it as a catch all gimmick for easy sin and easy remedy. They can also distort it by expecting it to do something that it is not designed to do, give them an emotional charge, relieve the pain. They can abuse it by recognizing it in the lives of others, and pointing it out to them in an improper way. An example would be between husband and wife. They can properly utilize it when needed in their own personal life in dealing with sin that will give them a proper perspective as to the responsibility of others in the matter of their sins.

The person needing to get back into fellowship may try many things as substitutes for correct biblical confession. These include; sorrow or weeping under the guise of “godly sorrow,” prayer and reading of the Word, rededicating their lives to the Lord, making it up to God by tithing or self-denial of some desired pleasure, and attending church or getting back into listening to recorded Bible class lessons.

The person learning the true doctrine of fellowship will increase normally in the matter of spiritual discernment as to their own fellowship and recognition of it in the lives of others. You will become more sensitive about your own fellowship and will know when you are in and when you are out. Your discernment will build and you will be able to recognize carnality of others with relation to spiritual growth stages.

You will have a tendency often to point out the carnality of others even when you yourself are out of fellowship, (husband and wife). This can be destructive and it can be helpful. It removes all the cover up in a home, for example. It allows a parent to deal with a child on the spiritual basis rather than strictly a human level.

As spiritual growth continues, the true technique of confession of sin will become as regular as breathing. It takes the normal life of the Christian and enables them to function seven days a week and 24 hours a day. The true doctrine of confessing sin biblically, therefore, eliminates 90% of the gimmicks used by churches to show a congregational response to the Word.

Reasons to Confess Your Sins

To enjoy the ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life you must be in fellowship, therefore, you must confess sin biblically to maintain fellowship. To grow spiritually, you must take in the Word daily and this is not possible being out of fellowship, that is, to profit from it.

To exercise your spiritual gift, you must be in fellowship, therefore, have all known sin confessed. When you are out of fellowship, you build scar tissue on the soul. Confessing sin takes you out of the sphere of that production and puts you back under the control of the Spirit where that scar tissue can be removed.

Prolonged abstinence from confession results in massive carnal production and scar tissue. The babe gets out of fellowship and goes into carnality. The adolescent gets out and goes into emotional revolt. The mature believer gets out and goes into reversionism.

When well-meaning people talk about being “closer to God,” they are trying to express the doctrinal concept of a more consistent walk in fellowship. That is, being out of fellowship for less time and less frequently. Whether they understand it or not, “closeness” would better be stated as “consistent.”

A rather obvious reason for confessing sin in the biblical manner is that it is the only method that God will accept. The method of confession and moving back into fellowship is just as certain in Scriptures as that of salvation by faith.

Confession of Sin in the Old Testament

The principle of confession of sin in the Old Testament is found in Isaiah 43:25.

""I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25, NASB)

“Your transgressions” are confessed sins. “For My own sake” refers to the sake of Christ. “Will not remember your sins” refers to the believer’s unknown sins. When we confess the known sins, He blots out the unknown sins. This is the same grace mechanism as 1 John 1:9. Thus, in 1 John 1:9, “sins” refers to known sins that were names and “all unrighteousness” refers to the unknown or forgotten sins.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NASB)

The mechanics of confession of sin in the Old Testament are found in Isaiah 43:26.

""Put Me in remembrance, let us argue our case together; State your cause, that you may be proved right." (Isaiah 43:26, NASB)

“Put Me in remembrance” means to cause to remember to use confession of sin. It is the only hope for the believer and for the nation. The health of the nation depends upon the spiritual life of its born-again individuals. “Let us argue our case together” means to let us enter into judgment. All sins were judged at the Cross.

“State your cause” means to confess the sins by naming them to God the Father. You do the confessing. You never confess your sins to Jesus! “That” is a result clause and means as a result of confessing. “You may be proved right” means to be cleansed, be made experientially righteous.

The alternative of confession of sin in the Old Testament are found in Isaiah 43:27.

""Your first forefather sinned, And your spokesmen have transgressed against Me." (Isaiah 43:27, NASB)

“Your first forefather” refers to king Hezekiah. “Sinned” is a reference to the five sins of Hezekiah whereby the Assyrians invaded the land. Starting at the top there had been sin. “Your spokesmen have transgressed” refers to the teachers who did not teach Bible doctrine. Only Isaiah did.

In Isaiah 43:28, “will pollute” means to be destroyed and refers to the Fifth Cycle of Discipline to come. “Consign Jacob” refers to the unbelieving Israel. “To the ban” refers to the Fifth Cycle of Discipline. “Israel to revilement” means that believers suffer with unbelievers in national discipline. The Fifth Cycle of Discipline refers to the Babylonian captivity. The alternative to Bible doctrine and confession of sin is divine discipline.

""So I will pollute the princes of the sanctuary, And I will consign Jacob to the ban and Israel to revilement." (Isaiah 43:28, NASB)

Other Old Testament confession of sin Scriptures include Psalms 32:5 and Psalms 51:1-5.

"I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." (Psalms 32:5, NASB)

"For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." (Psalms 51:1-5, NASB)

David’s Confession and Restoration with the Bathsheba Incident

See category on David’s Confession and Restoration After the Bathsheba Incident.