K105. Would Jesus still tell the believers to confess their sins today? (2)

I have explained (in K100) that the believers today will still confess sins. But how do they confess sins? Do they do it internally, quietly, or publicly? Did Jesus say that we should confess it verbally, creatively, or subtly? No, Jesus simply said "Pray" or "Just do it" (Luk 11:4). Did He give long sermon, for example, on how many types of repentance, how to repent with faith, how not to repent under the law, how to repent without confessing sins, how not to confess sins like the AGNOSTIC believers, how to repent and confess sins CORRECTLY, or how to repent without hurting too much of our ego? No. His focus is to do all the works, words, and commands of God irrespective of whether it is the work of faith or the work of repentance. However, today there are many preachers, especially the radical or hyper grace preachers, who argue constantly and repeatedly on how people have misunderstood them or how they could never misinterpret the works or the words of God. Hence, they preach 3/4 of their sermon or argument on what is works, what is rest, and what is grace, then it is followed by 1/4 of 'ding dong bell' preaching on why they can preach, believe, or 'repent' better than others. They may claim that they are always humbled by grace, but are they humbled enough to obey and do the words of the Lord ? Hence, by their fruits (by the fruits of their thought, their works, or their words, we may know them (Mat 7:20).

Repentance without doing it is not complete
I will tell them, No, you can repent better only if you can DO IT. You don't have to think too much (on how to repent under the law or under grace). God has given grace to all the sinners. If God tells us to confess our sins and that He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9), don't you think that it is the word of grace? If it is the word of grace for all who will believe and do it, it is certainly not for the agnostic believers, the 'low class' believers, the carnal believers, the immature believers, or the unrighteous believers only. It is for all of us.
Jesus has always emphasized that we must repent by doing it. He did not tell us to just repent or change our minds and FULL STOP:
Luk 19:8-9 KJV  And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.  (9)  And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
Mat 7:21-24 KJV  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.. .. (24)  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Luk 15:17-20 KJV  And when he came to himself, he said, .. (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee .. .. (20) And he arose, and came to his father. ..
Luk 10:29-37 KJV  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?  (30)  And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves .. .. (36)  Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?  (37)  And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Confession of sins or repentance is a requirement under grace
I will ask the hyper grace people, why can't you just accept confession of sins as the word of grace too?
Suppose someone slapped you 10 times and ran away (Please take note that it is just a hypothetical example). Later that person repented and came back to you and you said, "I forgive you if you apologize and confess that you are wrong." Now, please think, Don't you think that the 'requirement' of that confession is grace? What if he argued, "No, no, no .. I am a Christians saved by grace. I am not like the agnostic believers. And I cannot confess sins because it shows that I am still dependent on my self-effort and under the law. Hence, if I must confess, I will only confess that I am the righteousness of God .."
Don't you think that it is ridiculous and that it is an abuse of grace or mercy you have shown to him. If you think so, you would know that there are many believers who have abused the grace of God too. If you argue and say that this can never happen because Jesus has never rebuked any believer for doing so, please read your Bible again. Jesus has given us a very similar example of how a believer who was forgiven had abused the grace and mercy of God (Mat 18:32). The ungrateful believer might not bargain with God for more grace, but he had acted as though grace could forever 'cover' him or save him even if he acted wickedly or unrighteously.

Jesus did not preach, "REPENT, REPENT, REPENT and FULL STOP"
Of course, Jesus always preached repentance, but He did not preach like the hyper grace preachers. Yes, He preached repentance as a FULL STOP to sin, but He did not preach repentance as a FULL STOP for everyone. Yes, repentance is a FULL STOP to the sinner who sin. Yes, it is a FULL STOP for the sinners to sin too; but it is not a FULL STOP for the believers to do the words and works of God.
Unlike the hyper grace preachers, Jesus showed us clearly (with most of His parables) on how to repent. He would never tell us to repent by changing our minds and FULL STOP. He would never define, with long sermons, on how to change our minds ONLY. No, instead He preached that keeping His words or commandments must be done by doing it or by repenting with doing, works, or fruits; not just by knowing it or arguing about it. If we cannot do it or would not do it, we may not have truly repented irrespective of how well we can understand it, preach it, define it, or argue about it.

Repentance is more than the meaning of it in the dictionary
Many will still argue, "I have checked from the most accurate Greek dictionary. It defines 'repentance' as 'metanoia' or 'change of mind'. It did not say turning from sins or doing something more to show that you are remorseful. Hence, repentance is just to change your mind and FULL STOP."
I will tell them, You remind me of the English professor who argued with his student on the definition of 'love' and insisted that 'love' is only 'a great affection or liking for someone or something'. He would say, "According to the definition of my dictionary, love is just an affection or feeling, but where, where is the need to do many things and to love your neighbour as thyself?" Of course, this is just a hypothetical example, but it shows how silly a preacher would become if he would also define repentance from his Greek dictionary too. If we would just want to interpret the meaning of 'repentance' without the law and Spirit of God in the scripture, we would be as blind as the English professor even we may claim to know more than others. I would not want to insult any English professor, but the moral of the story is:  If we want to preach 'repentance', do not preach like the professor; preach like Jesus, preach with the law and Spirit of God.

Do we still preach repentance which includes turning away from sins?
Many will argue, "Ok, I repent or change my mind now. I agree that repentance is not just changing our minds only and FULL STOP. But did Jesus tell us that it must include turning away from our sins ? No, Jesus has never said it. Why do many preachers today still preaching repentance as turning away from sins which is so condemning to the sinners who find it hard to repent ?"
I will tell them, You have changed your minds, but you have not repented. Haven't you read the story of Zacchaeus, the parable of the prodigal son, and the parable of the good Samaritan? Jesus showed us that they had all repented. Isn't that clear enough. Please read what they had done again. Isn't that turning away from sin? What is there to argue about? Why are you so concerned if repentance would involve turning away from sins or not? You may claim that you do not sin and you would never sin, but the way you have argued shows that you would only want to believe in 'a repentance' that has no turning away from sins ! You may deny it vehemently, but you can never hide the fruit of your thinking or intention - you can only 'repent' in your own ways ! It is certainly not the repentance that Jesus preached. Without turning away from sins, repentance would not be the repentance of the sinners; it would be the change of minds from the Pharisees or the self-righteous.

Did Jesus tell the people to repent and turn away from their sins?
They will say, "No, I don't see any command from the Lord for us to repent and confess our sins; but only the command to repent and change our minds only. Hence, Paul would preach only the goodness of God and the goodness of God will lead them to repentance. We don't have to preach or tell the people to repent. I cannot find Jesus or Paul preaching any law or command to repent, repent, repent .. or else God will not forgive you. Let me quote the following Bible verses:
Joh 20:19 KJV  Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:29 KJV  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Act 26:18 KJV  To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Did Jesus and Paul tell the people to repent and confess their sins so that God will forgive them? No. In fact, the disciples had sinned when they feared men and doubted on Jesus' resurrection. Did Jesus rebuke them and ask them to confess their sins? No. So why do we still keep telling the people to repent when Jesus would only show the goodness of God to the sinners and His disciples?"

The gospel that Jesus preach would not change before or after He died
I will tell them, For your information, Paul did not just preach the forgiveness of sins; Paul preach repentance:
Act 26:19-20 KJV  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:  (20)  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Do you know that Jesus had taught His disciples to confess their sins in Luk 11:4? Did He tell them to stop praying or confessing their sins because He was going away and therefore they must believe in a gospel that has no more confession of sins? No, instead He reinforced what He had taught by giving them a very clear command:
Mat 28:19-20 KJV  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  (20)  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Are we condemning the people because we tell them to sin no more?
I will ask them, What's the problem if we ask the people to repent and confess their sins? Can we become a condemning preacher just because we ask the people to turn away from their sins or to sin no more? If this is true, what will you say about Jesus when He told them to sin no more?
Joh 5:14 KJV  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 KJV  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Luk 13:5-9 KJV  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  (6)  He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; .. (9)  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Luk 16:30 KJV  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

If we confess sins without knowing the purpose of confession, we confess in vain
Many of them will still argue, "Ok, ok. You have your points but you have misunderstood us.  We did not say that you cannot confess your sins or you cannot tell people to turn away from sins. We did not say that it is wrong to confess sins in 1 John 1:9. We said that only the agnostic believers will need to confess sins. It is for the agnostic believers. If you want to think that you are the agnostic believers, go ahead and confess your sins. As for us, we will never confess sins; we will confess only righteousness. If we must confess sins, we will confess sins only because we know that we have been forgiven. We confess sins out of God's righteousness. We confess sins because we know that we have been forgiven. When we know that we are forgiven and righteous, we will reign in life. We will prosper. We will do this .. and that.. We will soar like the eagles .. we will fly .."
I will tell them, Ok, ok. I know that you are righteous. But are you going to preach that to everyone in your church or in the world? It could be a message only fit for you or your righteous believers who can fly in heaven; not on earth. If you are in heaven with your righteous believers, none of you would need to hear any repentance message. You don't even need to repent. Repent for what? If you are already in heaven, you do not even need to repent out of righteousness. Hence, repentance or confession of sins out of righteousness is meaningless in God's eyes in heaven. But if you are still on earth, there are many reasons why we will still confess sins. I have explained (in K100) why the believers would still confess sins. It is :-
1. to remember that we ourselves are the sinners too, and therefore we ought to forgive other sinners (Luke 11:4)
2. not to think highly of ourselves and behave like Pharisees who prayed in Luk 18:14 or like Peter who became over-confident and boastful in Mat 26:33
3. to be honest about our sins and repent like the prodigal son in Luk 15:17-19, especially if we have wronged others or sin against God.
Hence, we must know the meaning of our confession. There is always a purpose for confession:
Act 3:19 KJV  Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord ..
Hence, it is meaningless for the people to confess sins if they confess it just for the sake of confessing it; it would be like the confession of the Pharisees: Mat 3:6-8 KJV  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.  (7)  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Hence, I will tell them, If you find it difficult to confess your sins, don't confess it; it will insult God. Confess it only when you really want to repent. It is better to be honest and have the conviction or reproof of the Holy Spirit than to be hypocritical and have no more conscience of sins.

Jesus has shown us that no one should boast; not even Peter
Many will say, "Ok, if you say so, we change our mind and decide that we should not confess any sin. Confession of sins is only for you or your agnostic believers. We will now confess only righteousness. We have decided to preach only the righteousness of God from the scripture. If it is sin, warning of sin, or condemnation of sin, it is for you and your believers. Hence, 1 John 1:9, Heb 6:4, Heb 10:26, Act 20:28-31, and many other Bible verses about the fallen believers are not for us; they are for you and your agnostic people. Those Bible verses will include the Lord's warnings to the churches in Rev 2-3, and the parable of the sower, the parable of the tares, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the foolish servants, the parable of the sheep and the goat. Why? We can never fall !"
I will ask them, Do you know that you sound familiar to me? You sound like Peter. Peter said that he could never fall; but the moment he said it, Jesus knew that Peter would fall. Pride had caught hold of Peter and the Lord knew that it was a matter of time when he would deny Him. Later, the Lord had to do the 'triple restoration' to show how Peter should repent - ie. to confess or admit his incapability to love, agape, or obey Jesus three times - before he could be used by the Lord. Do you know that that was Peter's confession of sins? It was his confession to:
t is :-
1. to remember that he had failed the Lord, and how he ought to forgive others who offended him too: Mat 18:21-22 KJV  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?  (22)  Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
2. not to think highly of himself
3. to be honest about his sins and confess it before others with the courage of the Lord

Please do not forget: God's preachers do not just preach to the saints in the world only
They preach to the 'sinners' in the churches too. I will tell them, Do you know that hell is not for us? But why did Jesus preach about hell, the rich man, and Lazarus? Of course, we can think that none of us are the rich man in hell, or the rebellious churches in Rev 2-3, the false prophets in Mat 7, the foolish virgins, the unfaithful servants, and the goats in Mat 25, and that therefore, they are NOT US. But can we say that their warnings or lessons are NOT FOR US? Do you know that the people of the world would never say that the criminal laws or the traffic rules are not for them even though they are not the criminals and they do not break the laws? But it would reflect very much on their natures or characters if they keep complaining that the traffic rules are redundant, that the laws are stupid, and that all the rules and regulations are useless. It reflects ultimately that they are rebellious, lawless, or out of sync with their society. Similarly, the warnings, commandments, or doctrine of Jesus may not be the doctrine of salvation, but it will reflect on the true natures, characters, maturity, and fruits of different believers when they respond to it respectively. It reflects on what kind of faith or belief they have. It will show us whether they have true belief or false belief:
Mat 7:15-23 KJV  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  (16)  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? .. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  (21)  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

'Waterless' doctrine cannot bear fruits
So, who would still complain about the laws, commandments, judgement, repentance message, or warnings of the Lord? I will tell them, Please think twice before changing or switching your doctrine to and fro like the raging sea. Don't just change your mind for the sake of changing, confess your sins for sake of confessing, or repent like the sheep; but repent with real fruits that meet for repentance.
Many have given the fantastic illustration to show the people how they can repent better or 'repent like the sheep' in Luk 15:4-7. However, I have explained (in K101) that Jesus did not want us to repent like the sheep. He used the metaphor of sheep to show us how we should only obey like the sheep; not to think like the sheep. We should be as wise as serpents; but as harmless as the dove.
Mat 10:16 KJV  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
The sheep or animal can never confess any sin. Obviously, Jesus would not want us to be as stupid as the sheep or think like the sheep too. Hence, the illustration and the doctrine of the sheep in repentance to show us how to repent like the sheep and just do nothing cannot 'hold water'. It is one of the most foolish excuses for those who will just want to repent without doing anything:
2Pe 2:16-21 KJV  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.  (17)  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.  (18)  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.  (19)  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.  (20)  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.  (21)  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
Jud 1:10-13 KJV  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.  (11)  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.  (12)  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;  (13)  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

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