The Hyper-Grace Gospel: A Response to Michael Brown and Those Opposed to the Modern Grace Message by Paul Ellis
Authors: Paul Ellis
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worked up over exactly who John had in mind when he wrote this
verse. I think we can agree that we all need Jesus to cleanse us from sin and
unrighteousness—every single one of us. That’s what John is saying here. “If we
… He will …”
The real question
is whether He will cleanse us from all sin or only some sin
(specifically the sin we confess). Does He cleanse from all unrighteousness or only some unrighteousness? Here John is unequivocal.
Jesus cleanses us from “ all unrighteousness.”
The first chapter
of 1 John contains a number of imperatives that should not be confusing to the
reader. If you are not walking in the light you need to get in the
light . But if you are in the light you don’t need to get in the
light because you already are in the light .
Similarly, if you
have not been cleansed from all unrighteousness , then you need to be
cleansed from all unrighteousness . But if you have been cleansed from
all unrighteousness , then you don’t need to be cleansed from all
unrighteousness because you already have been cleansed from all
unrighteousness .
I’m sorry to
labor this point, but it seems John’s words are confusing to some people.
Here’s the second
point of contention: What exactly is confession?
As we saw in Part
B, confession, as John uses the term, does not mean reviewing your sins. It
means “to say the same thing as another” or “to agree with” God (see Myth #2).
In this case we are agreeing that we have sinned and are in need of cleansing.
So far so good.
Yet Dr. Brown further notes that the Greek word for confess speaks of
continuous action as opposed to a one-time act (page 58).
Why does John say
we need to keep confessing? Remember, confessing means agreeing with God. It’s
the definition of faith and the native language of a believer.
In context,
confession means agreeing with what God says about our sins. It means that if I
sin and act unfaithfully I agree with God that He remains faithful and has
cleansed me from all unrighteousness including the unrighteous thing I
just did. I agree that Christ alone is the cure for my failings and that
anything I do to atone for my sin will only tarnish the sublime perfections of
His redemptive work.
Contrary to the
recommendations of DIY religion, I don’t need to speak to God about my sins
because Jesus speaks for me (1 John 2:1).
Dr. Brown has a
different understanding. According to him, continually confessing means
continually reviewing your sins for the purposes of being forgiven. When you
got saved you were forgiven. Then you sinned and became unforgiven. In the
heavenly accounts your name was scratched out of the forgiven column and
entered into the unforgiven column where it will remain until you confess. This
is called conditional forgiveness and it is preached nowhere in the new
covenant.
The idea that God
withholds His forgiveness until we confess creates an intriguing problem for
the mixed-grace preacher, for didn’t Jesus say harboring unforgiveness is a
sin? If we don’t confess and God doesn’t forgive, doesn’t that mean God is
guilty of breaking His own commands?
Dr. Brown
wriggles out of this by inventing different levels of forgiveness. There’s the
forgiveness of salvation, which is never withdrawn, and then there is the less
secure forgiveness of friendship which sometimes is (page 59). Apparently, God
harbors only the second and lesser kind of unforgiveness, which I guess means
He’s only a lesser sinner and not a great one like the saint who needs to confess.
Page 59: Dr.
Brown stresses that when we sin we do not need to get saved all over again.
When you sin you are still saved; you’re just not forgiven. Forgive me for
running off on a tangent here, but the suggestion that Christians are not
forgiven unless they specifically confess each sin intrigues me. Since it is
impossible to confess all our sins, especially the numerous sins of omission,
do we conclude that the church is full of
verse. I think we can agree that we all need Jesus to cleanse us from sin and
unrighteousness—every single one of us. That’s what John is saying here. “If we
… He will …”
The real question
is whether He will cleanse us from all sin or only some sin
(specifically the sin we confess). Does He cleanse from all unrighteousness or only some unrighteousness? Here John is unequivocal.
Jesus cleanses us from “ all unrighteousness.”
The first chapter
of 1 John contains a number of imperatives that should not be confusing to the
reader. If you are not walking in the light you need to get in the
light . But if you are in the light you don’t need to get in the
light because you already are in the light .
Similarly, if you
have not been cleansed from all unrighteousness , then you need to be
cleansed from all unrighteousness . But if you have been cleansed from
all unrighteousness , then you don’t need to be cleansed from all
unrighteousness because you already have been cleansed from all
unrighteousness .
I’m sorry to
labor this point, but it seems John’s words are confusing to some people.
Here’s the second
point of contention: What exactly is confession?
As we saw in Part
B, confession, as John uses the term, does not mean reviewing your sins. It
means “to say the same thing as another” or “to agree with” God (see Myth #2).
In this case we are agreeing that we have sinned and are in need of cleansing.
So far so good.
Yet Dr. Brown further notes that the Greek word for confess speaks of
continuous action as opposed to a one-time act (page 58).
Why does John say
we need to keep confessing? Remember, confessing means agreeing with God. It’s
the definition of faith and the native language of a believer.
In context,
confession means agreeing with what God says about our sins. It means that if I
sin and act unfaithfully I agree with God that He remains faithful and has
cleansed me from all unrighteousness including the unrighteous thing I
just did. I agree that Christ alone is the cure for my failings and that
anything I do to atone for my sin will only tarnish the sublime perfections of
His redemptive work.
Contrary to the
recommendations of DIY religion, I don’t need to speak to God about my sins
because Jesus speaks for me (1 John 2:1).
Dr. Brown has a
different understanding. According to him, continually confessing means
continually reviewing your sins for the purposes of being forgiven. When you
got saved you were forgiven. Then you sinned and became unforgiven. In the
heavenly accounts your name was scratched out of the forgiven column and
entered into the unforgiven column where it will remain until you confess. This
is called conditional forgiveness and it is preached nowhere in the new
covenant.
The idea that God
withholds His forgiveness until we confess creates an intriguing problem for
the mixed-grace preacher, for didn’t Jesus say harboring unforgiveness is a
sin? If we don’t confess and God doesn’t forgive, doesn’t that mean God is
guilty of breaking His own commands?
Dr. Brown
wriggles out of this by inventing different levels of forgiveness. There’s the
forgiveness of salvation, which is never withdrawn, and then there is the less
secure forgiveness of friendship which sometimes is (page 59). Apparently, God
harbors only the second and lesser kind of unforgiveness, which I guess means
He’s only a lesser sinner and not a great one like the saint who needs to confess.
Page 59: Dr.
Brown stresses that when we sin we do not need to get saved all over again.
When you sin you are still saved; you’re just not forgiven. Forgive me for
running off on a tangent here, but the suggestion that Christians are not
forgiven unless they specifically confess each sin intrigues me. Since it is
impossible to confess all our sins, especially the numerous sins of omission,
do we conclude that the church is full of
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