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Unforgiven Sin

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Sin separates humanity from Creator. Scripture is plain about that and so I was taught. Each and every sin is a time bomb, discovered only in the investigative judgment on the day when my case comes before the Judge of all the earth. With divine precision, all my sins will be examined and my guilt determined thereby. A loophole is extended within this terrifying scenario. The loophole is this: all confessed sins are laid upon Jesus. His shed blood cleanses me from my sin and sins. Of course, the operative word here, is “confessed.” It is not just the “big” sins, no, no. It is the little ones, the sins of neglect, the sins that are not even known to be sins. Every sin.

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At fourteen, I tried to remember and confess every sin; utter failure. Always, a sin just out of remembrance, hidden behind a veil of forgetfulness, a sin unrecognized as sin, a sin hiding in plain sight, unremarked, tripped me up every single night as I drifted into sleep. Or, as was far too common, I fell asleep before I finished my list. I woke with a sense of dread, failure, unsaved, for by now I forgot all those which remained unconfessed in sleep.

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There are many SDA doctrines with which I now disagree, the sabbath, Ellen White prophetic mission, the investigative judgment, the state of the dead, diet as a requirement for salvation. But, for me, the most insidious, the most heinous is this doctrine of guilt. It colors everything from interpersonal relations to one’s view of Father and His Son to one’s relationship with the SDA denomination and with fellow adherents.

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Blessedly, I discovered, John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Such relief. I also discovered Romans 5: 1-11 where Paul assures us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” while still enemies, He reconciled us.

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The key text for this particular belief is 1 John 1:9—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins.” “If” is the key. We, according to this verse are forgiven only if we ask for forgiveness. One problem exists. The word “confess,” is better translated, as “agree.” If we agree that we are sinners (which follows logically from verse 8 in which we are not to claim we are without sin). We need only agree with Jesus’ own assessment of us that we are sinners. Done. Finished, Guiltless. Besides that, the Lamb has already, by His perfect life, death, and resurrection, already taken away our sins and those of the entire world. We are without condemnation (Romans 8:1). We are considered holy and blameless from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).

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Whew! What a relief it is to know that all those pesky, forgotten sins have already been dealt with and we stand in the presence of the Judge of all the earth without anything that separates us from Him and an eternity in His presence. O joyous day, the day of judgment. No fear, no trembling, no worry, peace.

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