1. Introduction
Christians appear to think differently among themselves about various issues. One only needs to mention such examples as baptism, speaking in tongues, fasting, Israel, etc. When we as Christians get into a conversation with one another about certain topics, it is good to point things out to the other in the love of Christ. We can then bear witness to a view, but to convince the other, we cannot, for that’s a work of the Holy Spirit.
A topic on which there can be disagreement, which indeed happens, is the question whether or not a Christian should still confess his sins (which are as yet committed in daily life) after his conversion.In most churches, the confession of sins (which is acknowledging one’s mistakes or wrong character traits towards God or towards each other) goes without saying. However, the people who are related to the ‘Jong en Vrij’ (Young and free) Church, (which has founded new churches in a number of places in the Netherlands since 2007) believe that it is no longer necessary for a child of God to confess his sins.
The question is, how they deal with the mistakes that they make in daily life. This concept has been taken from brother Joseph Prince, with whom Jong en Vrij feels to be connected.
2. Opinions and arguments
How did this view arise that the confession of sins would no longer be necessary, and which arguments are used to do so? From the book ‘unmerited favor’ by Joseph Prince (whom I certainly respect because of the work that he does as a servant of the Lord) and particularly chapter 13 (entitled ‘How unmerited favor is detrimentally affected’), it becomes clear what the background and the cause are of the view that the confession of sins would no longer be necessary.What does it tell? Joseph Prince came to that view because he himself used to deal with the confession of sins in an unhealthy and frenetic way, that he almost went crazy and that he even feared losing his faith (p. 161 and 162 of his book).
From that frenetic way of confessing his sins (which is a caricature of a normal and healthy way of confessing sins) Joseph Prince has drifted to the other extreme, which is, that you no longer need to confess your sins at all, because all of your sins, after all, have been blotted out/obliterated at the cross, right? Asking for forgiveness would cause the believer to be too much focused on sin and that would only make him/her depressive and depressed and lead them to bondages. You’d better be Christ-conscious than sin-conscious, according to Prince. In itself, the latter remark sounds certainly very positive, but it is a false contradiction, for the confession of sin and the forgiveness of sin are both important and they belong together. Besides, a Christian doesn’t need to feel guilty and accused when he or she confesses his/her sins, but based on the grace of God, one may know that God is willing to forgive sins. Therefore, it is wrong for Prince to consider the confession of sins as self-condemnation.
The confession of sin and the forgiveness of sin are both important and they belong together.
Another argument of Joseph Prince for not having to confess your sins anymore, is that praying for the forgiveness of sins, which you have committed after your conversion, would be a sign of disbelief in the finished work of Jesus. After all, Prince says, once a person has asked for forgiveness at his conversion, he doesn’t have to ask any more for forgiveness for the rest of his life (p.166), because he has received forgiveness for all the sins from the past, present and future. After all, Jesus has borne all sins, according to Prince. Indeed it is true that Jesus Christ has died for all the sins of men and He has dealt with sin once and for all, but one can only appropriate it to himself when he himself confesses his concrete sins, also the sins which he has committed after his conversion or will yet commit. Only when the believer confesses his/her concrete sins, he/she will be freed from that guilt. Furthermore, we would like to point out that praying for the forgiveness of sins which you committed after your conversion, is not a sign of unbelief at all, but on the contrary, it’s a sign/evidence of faith in the grace of God’s forgiveness.
3. Confusion
It is noticeable that brother Prince confuses two matters with each other (he doesn’t discern them properly), which is the so-called own (‘good’) works for salvation at the one hand, and the works that he calls the ‘works’ to confess sins at the other hand. Some examples of his erroneous reasoning are:
- “When you believe that you should do something for God’s forgiveness and favor, it detrimentally affects the grace of God” (page 160). But especially in the asking for forgiveness (this asking for forgiveness is one’s own responsibility given by God to man) causes a believer to call upon God’s grace.
- On page 163, Joseph Prince states the following: “You either believe in Jesus alone for your forgiveness or you believe in your own capability to confess all of your sins”. This is a false contradiction, because both are necessary. Moreover, with the repentance of sins it’s not about a ‘work’ or a capability of man, but it’s about appealing to God’s grace.
Confusion is also evident from the statement of Prince that one cannot deserve God’s grace and the forgiveness of sins (p.162). We indeed cannot earn our salvation by our own good works, but only by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
But with the repentance of sins it is not about earning something at all, but about appealing to God’s grace. In confessing or repenting of our committed sins, it’s about acknowledging something and that we ask for forgiveness (particularly in believing that God is willing to forgive and that He will do it). Just as it’s necessary to believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for becoming a child of God, the repentance of sins is also necessary, in order to put back in order a messed-up relationship, due to a concrete sin.
The assumption of Prince that a believer should repent of his sins continually is not right.
On page 162 Prince writes the following: “If you make the forgiveness of sins to be your responsibility … you will surely fail. It’s impossible that a man can really repent of all his sins. He will drive himself crazy”. Yes, that was his own experience because of a strange application of confessing his sins. But who says that a man should confess of all of his sins concretely in a concrete moment? A person often doesn’t know that at all, and additionally, a man needs only to repent of those sins that the Holy Spirit points out to him in his walk with God. Therefore, the assumption of Prince that a believer should repent of his sins continually (p.161), is not right.
4. Misconceptions
On page 213, another entirely different misconception appears with Prince when he tries to explain that Christians are mistaken when they think that the confession of sins is necessary to restore their fellowship with God. He states the following: “If you think that your fellowship with God becomes broken when you sin, then you will not dare to boldly approach His throne of grace with your request or need”. That’s actually a strange remark. After all, it is precisely on the basis of God’s Word that we know that even though we have sinned, we are allowed to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebr. 4:6) and to confess our sins, so that our fellowship with God can be restored.
Take the example of a father and a son. When the son has done something wrong towards his father, the relationship with the father is disturbed. He remains to be the son of his father, but the relationship experience suffers under the transgression committed. The relationship between father and son has been disturbed and it will remain disturbed until the son acknowledges towards his father that he has acted wrongly and asks for forgiveness.
Therefore, we can distinguish between two kinds of the forgiveness of sins. On the one hand, the positional forgiveness based on our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus (Who on the cross took the punishment of all sins that we’ve ever committed and those which we will commit, and in principle with the sin guilt, which Jesus has dealt with on the cross) by which we have become children of God. On the other hand, the relational forgiveness when we ask for forgiveness to each other and to the Holy God, in order to make straight the daily fellowship with one another and with God and to keep it healthy.
We can also look at the example of a marriage. If by e.g. a quarrel, the atmosphere, thus the relationship between the spouses has been troubled, they are still married of course, but still one thing or another needs to be make right and straight by confessing their mistake to one another. What is wrong must and may be admitted and they may ask one another for forgiveness.
It also goes like that with God: our fellowship (experience) with Him becomes disturbed by transgressions until we confess our sins (thus by admitting and acknowledging our wrong doings and thoughts) to Him and ask for forgiveness. Then our fellowship with Him becomes restored. It is therefore very meaningful for us to acknowledge our sins, because it requires us to become aware of our errors. Otherwise we may think that everything is okay, which will cause us to become less remorseful about committing sins with the possible result that our conscience become numb and that we are no longer correctible by God’s Word. We should never make the mistake that sin is no longer a serious matter since Christ’ death on the cross. In God’s eye, sin is still a serious matter. But we may know that God is willing to forgive our sins when we dare to be so humble to confess our sins.
We can conclude that the argumentations (and the presentation of matters) by brother Prince do come across as very strange. But perhaps there may be a confusion of understanding or talking alongside each other when it comes down to confessing of our sins. On page 167 at the top, Prince states (because we know that our sins are forgiven by our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus): “Now you can be open to God about your faults and shortcomings”. But the acknowledgement of faults is the same as confessing your faults (sins) towards God and thereby asking Him for the forgiveness of sins (which you have committed once again) in the assured faith that God will forgive you for those sins, right?
5. What does the Bible say about the repentance of sins?
From his earlier exaggerated way of repenting of sins, and due to the misconceptions mentioned, Joseph Prince seems to explain certain texts differently, in order to suggest an alleged Biblical basis for his concept. As a general point, he notes that Paul did not write anything in his letters about the repentance of sins. However, this does not necessarily mean, that Paul wouldn’t find it necessary. After all, it depends on the issues and problems that were topical in a church, which were dealt with in the letters. Additionally, it’s possible that the repentance of sins went without saying so that Paul did not need to make it a topic of discussion.
Prince discusses 1John 1:9 which reads: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. This verse, however, is not considered a basis for a child of God to confess your sins, because this verse should be considered a contradiction to the verses 8 and 10 which are about people who claim to have not committed sins (the gnostics) and thus would not need the sacrifice of Jesus. The letter would have been addressed to only those gnostics, which by the way is not true, because John speaks about believers (beloved, children, fathers and young people).
Let us also look at other verses that speak about the confession of sins or guilt. First and foremost, some examples from the Old Testament.
- “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalms 32: 5). - “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy”. (Proverbs 28: 13)
Furthermore we can mention the following verses: Leviticus 26:40; Numbers 5:7; Nehemiah 1:6 and 7; Daniel 9:20
The texts from the Old Testament, which is what I understood, were no longer considered applicable because we now live in a time after Jesus had offered up the sacrifice. My objection would be as follows: even though the fact that in the Old Testament the great atonement of Jesus had not yet been sacrificed, the moral laws of God have not been changed, have they?
The New Testament also speaks about the confession of sins and asking for the forgiveness of sins.
- “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us” (Lukas 11: 4).
- “Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done” (Acts 19:18).
- “Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (Jam. 5:16).
Some believers think, based on this verse, that we would only need to confess our sins to one another and not to God. But each sin that has been committed against a brother or sister is, in the first place, also a sin against God, is it not?
The general conclusion is that the Bible appeals to us to confess our sins, both for the sins from the time before we came to faith and as well as for those ones we commit during our walk as a child of God.
The possible danger of not confessing your sins, is that it gradually takes away the sight of the seriousness of sin and thereby opens the door for allowing sins. It can numb the working of conscience, for one can easily start thinking that “it’s all good”. It also deprives the believer of the wholesome and liberating confession of sin with which he or she can come to terms with God and with his/her fellow-man.
Bring sin into the light, so it can be dealt with. That’s actually a general spiritual law. Just think of a criminal who acknowledges his felony to the police. Even though one can feel ashamed or feel like a fool, the acknowledgment or the confession ultimately gives freedom. Or just think of the relationship between parents and child(ren).
6. In conclusion
I have come to know different people from the ‘Jong en Vrij’ Church as kind brothers and sisters who love the Lord heartily, and with whom I have felt very comfortable and welcome. Their concept, that it is no longer necessary for us to confess our sins after we’ve once come to faith, is actually a reprehensible view, which is apparently born of a mistaken (caricatured) view on the confession of sins, only provokes misunderstanding on the part of those Christians who do not live by that caricature regarding the confession of sins. In itself, it is of course good to be deeply aware of the fact that only the blood of Jesus redeems us from the guilt of sin. But God cannot forgive us our guilt if we do not acknowledge that we have sinned. Not only that we confess of the sins that we have committed before our conversion, but also of the concrete sins which we as children of God still (can) do.
It is unfortunate that a positive Christian movement such as ‘Jong en Vrij’, by a misunderstanding regarding the confession of sins, creates an unnecessary estrangement from fellow-Christians or incomprehension from fellow-Christians of other denominations. It is therefore my desire that people will take the courage to reconsider and correct certain misrepresentations of facts, or more carefully define the various concepts such as ‘the confession of sins’ etc., in order to prevent misunderstandings.
7. Literature
- Hans Frinsel, Een-gevaarlijke-dwaling (A dangerous error). In: De Oogst van 25 september 2012
- Joseph Prince, Onverdiende gunst (Unmerited favor) Roermond, Dunamis Media, 2010
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