WHO NEEDS TO CONFESS?
I used to wonder about the seeming contradiction between the following verses of the Bible:
1John 1:8 (KJV),
"IF WE SAY THAT WE HAVE NO SIN, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,"
and
1John 3:9 (KJV)
"WHOSOEVER IS BORN OF GOD DOTH NOT COMMIT SIN; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is BORN OF GOD."
Starting with 1Jn 3:9
Your DNA will always be traceable to your biological father's, even after death. REASON: His SEED is in you. If God IS your "Father", then, "...His seed remaineth in..." you. And because God DOES NOT SIN...you guessed it... you do not.
What does this mean?
When you get born again, God sees you exactly as He does Jesus Christ -- sinless. In order words, it is not in your nature to sin.
What of when a Christian sins? When a Christian sins, that's clearly a mistake, because IT IS NOT IN YOUR NATURE, your DNA, TO SIN, just as it's not in God's nature(which is yours too) to sin. However, when that mistake occurs, 1John 2:1 (KJV) says,
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Ask for forgiveness and move on in righteousness, for it was only a mistake.
But, be not deceived, he who habitually lives in sin, s/he is a sinner. Period.
Now, to the first verse, 1Jn 1:8.
When you go out on evangelism expect to meet someone who would tell you, before or after you have preached to them, that they don't do anything wrong against anyone. Bottom line, they say they "... have no sin...." This verse is for them. They NEED to be born again. Then and only then can they claim to be without sin.
1John 1:8 therefore, IS NOT FOR A BORN AGAIN BELIVER in Christ, because "...His seed remaineth in him." Praise God! Thanks for reading.