What is the confession of sins?

YouTube - Joseph Prince believes in the confession of sins

What is the confession of sins?
Thank God for pastors who still preach the confession of sins in our days and age. But do we do it with repentance and humility, or with thanksgiving and pride? If we do it just to show that we are more thankful or more righteous than others, we can never confess our sins with repentance. There are many pastors who preach the confession of sins for different reasons. However, believing in the confession of sins and doing the confession of sins are two different things. Hence,
1. he who confesses his sins with repentance, and
2. he who confesses his sins with thanksgiving are two different persons too.
There is certainly a difference
1. if we confess our sins (because we obey God) to be forgiven (as the prerequisite - it does matter if we do not do it), and
2. if we confess our sins (because we have been forgiven) to know that we are forgiven (as an option - it doesn't matter if we do it or not)
Sadly many preachers do it as an option. They do not confess their sins to be forgiven because they they think that they are already completely forgiven no matter how they would sin in the past, present, or future. However, the question is: Have they really repented? or would God forgive them without any confession of sins?

We need to ask ourselves:

a. Did God say that we have been 'forgiven eternally' and therefore it is ok (optional) whether we confess our sins or not? Did Jesus say that He has no command for us to confess our sins? Is it true that Paul never said or told us to confess (homologeo about) our sins? https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m56s

b. Did God say that, only if we know that we are forgiven, can we then confess (homologeo about) our sins? https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=3m13s But what if we have not been forgiven because we have been rebelling or sinning like the prodigal son, can we still confess?

c. Did God say that we have no more sin consciousness to repent; but only the sin consciousness to give thanks?

d. Did God say that confession of sins is confessed to ourselves; not to Him, just to know how much we have been forgiven? Did God say that confession of sins with repentance to ask for His forgiveness will put us in bondage?  https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m6s

e. Did God say that confession of sins is found only in 1 Jn 1:9?

We will examine all these questions and find out later.

Confession of sins is not only found in 1 Jn 1:9
If we know that confession of sins is not just a verbal confession of our our sinful deeds or lives, we should know that the Lord has already preached about it in the gospel. The confession of sins can be either a verbal expression or non-verbal expression (or both expressions) of a person who has sinned and wanted to express it before God:
Luk 18:10-14 KJV  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  (11)  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  (12)  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  (13)  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner ..

Two men:
1. The Pharisees could confess it with thanksgiving because he had just given a bullock of sacrifice with lots of blood to cleanse his sins, and hence, he was a very happy man and a thankful man with a lot of peace which could last for one whole year before he would sacrifice the next bullock.
2. However, the Publican was a miserable man because he was so poor that he might not be able to offer the cheapest sacrifice. He might steal for his own survival too. So, he confessed it with repentance. Now, if we have these two types of people in our churches today, do we say that the first type of people (believers) have confessed it correctly; or the second type?

Two sons:
Jesus also talked about the two sons,
1. one of whom confessed his sins with repentance;
2. whilst the other son 'confessed' about his envy and jealousy with self-righteousness.
Luk 15:11-21 KJV  And he said, A certain man had two sons .. (17) 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 .. (21) And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. (25) Now his elder son was in the field .. (28)  And he was angry ..  (29) And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
Notice that the prodigal son confessed his sins not only verbally; but mentally? The confession of sins must agree with the heart.

After reading the parables, I realize that only two types of people might confess their sins with righteousness or thanksgiving:
1. The Martians who are non-existent, and
2. The Pharisees who can never be accepted by God
Hence, if a church says that the confession of sins is not for them, it means that either they are too righteous to repent or they are trying to find an excuse not to repent. Hence, either they are the church from Mars or they are the church of the Pharisees.

There must be repentance in God's covenants
Do you noticed that Jesus preached repentance about the two men and the two sons as the analogies about two types of people in His kingdom, but only one type is justified and exalted by Him? In fact, repentance was preached originally to the Jews or the people of God (although it was later preached to the Gentiles too).
Act 5:31 KJV  Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Act 26:20 KJV  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.
Repentance is actually for the people of God:
In the first analogy, the 'two men' were both the Jews who were under the law of Moses, but in the second analogy, the 'two sons' were both believers who knew God and God's commandments. They were all under God's covenant. But in each case, only the one who confessed HIS SINS (not confessing some other things) was considered as having repented. Only the one who humbled himself and confessed his sins with repentance was forgiven and justified by grace. Hence, if a Pharisee or a Jewish believer did all he could to cover himself with a lot of bullock's blood and therefore thought that he was under the blood covenant, it does not mean that he would be justified and exalted matter-of-factly. There must be repentance with the application and sacrifice of blood. This applies to us who are the believers in the churches too:
Luk 18:13-14 KJV  And the publican .. (14)  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
This has answered the first question (a.) at the top of my post. God's forgiveness is given to the humble. It does matter how we confess our sins or whether we would confess our sins or not. We may believe that we are 'eternally justified or forgiven, but do we have that eternal attitude of repentance and humility before God? We, (the believers whether we are the Pharisees, the Jews, or Christians), may think that we are eternally under God's covenant when we accept, do, and believe everything that is in the covenant or the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, if we apply the blood of Jesus (without true repentance) like how the Pharisees would apply the blood sacrifice to justify their wilful sins, we could have sinned like them or sinned wilfully under the covenant too:
Heb 10:16-29 KJV  This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;  (17)  And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more .. (26) For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth .. (28)  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Notice any main difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? I suspect that one of the main differences is that the New Covenant believers will think of the law of God (with their minds) besides doing their repentance (with their hearts) too. They will do what most of the Pharisees would not do !
Many still argue that they are forever saved as long as they are under God's covenant or under grace, irregardless of how they will sin. I will ask them, Do you think that the Pharisees were saved? No, if the Pharisees were saved without repentance, Jesus would not need to preach repentance. So, if you deliberately sin or think like the Pharisees who would never repent, are you saved? I hope that you are not deceived by yourselves or by any false prophets who give you the false assurance. I hope that you will not only change your mind, you will do what most of the Pharisees would not do while you still can do it.

Repentance is still the message for our churches today
Are we ungracious if we still ask the believers or the people in the churches today to confess their sins or repent? No, I believe that Jesus had to preach repentance strongly everywhere because He knew that many Pharisees and Jews would only want to give thanks or confess righteousness, without any repentance. Jesus also knows that many of us today will do the same too. Hence, His message, to the world now, to the synagogues in the past, or to the churches in the future, is still the same:
Mat 4:17 KJV  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mar 1:15 KJV  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mat 11:21 KJV  Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
Rev 2:5 KJV  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Rev 2:16 KJV  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
Rev 2:21 KJV  And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.
Rev 3:3 KJV  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
Notice that Jesus preached strongly on repentance from the start of His gospel to Revelation 3; not to the people of the world; but to the people of His kingdom and His churches? After Revelation 3, no more repentance is mentioned in the rest of the chapters in the Bible. It is because repentance is useless after the rapture when no one can repent. Notice what Jesus meant when He said 'repent' in Revelation 3? It is certainly not just a shallow change of your mind or an effortless change of your thinking only! It is certainly not just repenting of unbelief only; it is to know, acknowledge, and 'homologeo' about your sin and turn away from it.
Today there are many sermons and videos on the confession of sins. I have not really watched all of them. But I am sure that confession of sins are still applicable in our churches, like what pastor Prince says. However, the type of confession that we believe in or confess will determine the type of people we are in the eyes of God.

What is confession of sins?
By the way, confession of sins in 1 Jn 1:9 is 'homologeo' or acknowledgement of our sins, in agreement with God on what He has to say about us. What He has to say about us is not how righteous we are; but how sinful we are. Hence, if we just want to be in agreement with God on how righteous or how holy we are, we are not confessing our sins; we are confessing our pride or our self-righteousness. We may confess it very well with ourselves; but not with God.
Hence, it is ridiculous to ask the sinners or believers to repent 'thankfully' or confess his sins 'thankfully'. My advice is: Please don't confess it if we do not confess it with sincere repentance. Confessing our sins 'happily' or 'thankfully' is not only unscriptural, it is meaningless, redundant, hypocritical, and insincere. It is like slapping somebody or sinning against somebody and then go back to that person to say sorry 'thankfully'. But, if we are honest enough to do our confession, our confession should be humble, sincere, and real, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, to acknowledge our sins (or to 'homologeo' with Him about our sins) after we have sinned.
We may not see clearly if there is repentance in 1 Jn 1:9, but at least we can see it clearly in the confession of sins preached by Jesus Christ and John the Baptist. If John the Baptist would not let the Pharisees do it without repentance, we should know that the confession of sins must include repentance or the fruits of repentance:
Mat 3:5-8 KJV  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,  (6)  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:
The confession of sins is certainly not an emotionless or effortless chanting ritual of verbal confessions until we are saved or forgiven (or until we are sent to the mental hospital); but a continuous on-going humble attitude of the heart with sincere repentance. It should be forever in the hearts of all true believers.
'Homo' is a Greek prefix which refers to the same thing. 'Homologos' refers to the same word. To homogeo is to speak, consent, agree, or acknowledge the same thing. Hence, if we want to be more precise in our understanding of God's words, we must homologeo with God on His words too. But if we confess it with our mouth, we must homologeo with what we believe or what is in our heart too:
1Jn 4:2-3 KJV  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth ('homologeo') that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:  (3)  And every spirit that confesseth not .. .. is that spirit of antichrist ..
Rom 10:9-13 KJV  That if thou shalt confess ('homologeo') with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved .. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Mat 7:21-22 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. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not ..
Notice that 'confess' or 'homologeo' in 1Jn 1:9 is the same Greek word used in 1Jn 4:2 and Rom 10:9 for the confession of Jesus Christ? If Jesus would not allow the believers to confess His name verbally or call His name without doing His will or God's will (Mat 7:21), neither would John. Hence, the confession of Jesus Christ in 1Jn 4:2 is certainly not just a verbal confession, beautiful preaching, or wonderful prophesying from the mouth only; it must come from the heart with obedience to do His will too. It must be something which is in agreement (homologeo) not only with what we confess or preach; but with what we believe in and do too. Hence, both confession of sins and confession of Jesus Christ are for every believer or every spirit who can confess that Jesus is the Lord of his life. 1 Jn 1:9 is for every believer too; not just for the agnostic believers or gnostic believers only.
If we read Mat 3:5-8 again, we will notice the connection between repentance and confession of sin.
Mat 3:5-8 KJV  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,  (6)  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:
Repentance and confession (homologeo - verbal or non-verbal) of sins were always preached together or preached as one (doctrine) by Jesus, John the Baptist, and John the Apostle. The disciples and early church understood that, if repentance (change of mind) is preached without 'homologeo' about our sins, it is not the same repentance that Jesus preached. Hence, they would never split repentance from confession (homologeo) of sins, and vice versa.
If Jesus would not split the Jews into two groups of sinners and say that repentance is for the agnostic sinners or gnostic sinners only, neither would John discriminate the churches and split us into two groups of believers and say that confession of sins is for the agnostic believers or gnostic believers only too.

Do we still confess sins?
Now this is the big question, Do we still confess our sins? Yes. Did God say that, only if we know that we are forgiven, can we then confess our sins? No. Or do we say, Only if we know that we can be forgiven, will we confess? No. If we know that we are not forgiven, we don't just rebel; we know that all the more we need to confess. We know that, if we confess, God will forgive.
But after we are forgiven, we will still confess in our heart because confession is an attitude of repentance which is always kept in the heart of a true believer. I have just answered the second question at the top of my post: "b. Did God say that, only if we know that we are forgiven, can we then confess our sins?"
Having known that the true believers will still confess their sins, we will still confess our sins too. But why do we still confess our sins? Is it to tell God, tell others, or tell ourselves that we are forgiven or that we are now forever righteous? No, if it is true,
1. we would be completely, totally, or perfectly forgiven (righteous).
2. we would have no more sins to confess
3. we would just need to confess righteousness to thank God.
3. we should not confess it to bring the reminder of sin or sin conscience to conflict against our confession of righteousness too.
However, it is not true. Like what John said in 1Jn 1:8-10, we have all sinned and we still sin. So, it is still possible for every believer (not just for the agnostic believers) to sin, to repent, and to ask God for His forgiveness. 1 Jn 1:9 says it so clearly, "IF we confess .., He will forgive .." It means that the reverse is true also: IF we do not confess, He will not forgive too. It means that if we do not repent or if we try to be evasive about our sins, He will not forgive too:
1. It is NOT about the question of whether His blood can cleanse our sins or not;
2. it is about the question of whether we can confess our sins or not?
Yes, His blood was shed to take away all our sin conscience to offer any blood sacrifice under the Old Covenant, but it does not take away all our sin conscience to repent under the New Covenant. It takes away the need to offer sacrifice; but it doesn't take away the need to repent with the confession of sins.
I have said that confession of sins can be the expression of our emotion with humility and honesty under the conviction of the Holy Spirit too. Hence, we must be honest. If we have sinned, we just confess it . We just confess that we need repentance and forgiveness; not all kinds of hypocritical excuses or philosophies to confess only the positive things, like self-righteousness, thanksgivings, prosperity, good opinion of God, or good opinion of ourselves. We just confess sins because we have sin conscience to repent; not because we have thanksgiving conscience to feel good about ourselves. If you still think that sin conscience to repent will make you go into the mental hospital, you would think that all the disciples and believers of the early church were trying to put the people into the mental hospital too, because they preached repentance and confession of sins to everyone (Act 11:18, Act 26:20).
Act 20:20-21 KJV  And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house,  (21)  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have heard one preacher say, "Repentance toward God is not repentance with confession of sins or turning away from sins; it is just turning toward God with more positive thinking, more faith, and more right belief about His love for us." Another preacher said, "When you sin, just look away from your sin .. and look to the cross and say (confess), Lord, thank you .." https://youtu.be/XgnBQ60FeGo?t=1h29m
I will tell him, There is no difference at all in your thinking and the thinking of the Jews and the Pharisees. Do you know that all the Jews and the Pharisees would think that they have turned to God with more positive thinking or opinion about God too? But they will never repent. Hence, repentance toward God is certainly not just turning to God or believing God with a more positive thinking. True repentance must have the fruits of repentance, the confession of sins, or anything which shows repentance.
Do we know why John used the word 'Ean' (or 'If' in Greek ) in 1 Jn 1:9. 'Ean' is a conditional particle. It indicates clearly that confession of sins is the prerequisite condition of God's forgiveness. Without the prerequisite, there is no God's forgiveness. Of course, we need not worry about this if we understand that confession of sins is actually our attitude of repentance too. If we can accept repentance as the prerequisite of God's forgiveness, what's the problem if we accept confession (homologeo) of sins as the prerequisite for God's forgiveness too? It should not be a problem to repent and confess our sins TOGETHER if we know that confession of sins (verbal or non-verbal) and repentance were always preached as one (doctrine) by the Lord.
I suspect that the early Chinese translators of the Bible knew about this too. That's why they translated 'repentance' as both '認罪 'homologeo' of sin' and '悔改 turning away from sin':

Mat 4:17 KJV  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 4:17 JMSJ-T  從那時起，耶穌就開始傳道，說：「天國近了，你們應該認罪悔改！」

Although 'sin' 罪 was not picked up by the Greek word 'metanoia', it was understood that Jesus would want every sinner to turn away from 'sin' 罪 when he gave them the call to repentance. He preached that there is always 'homologeo' of sin (honest acknowledgement of sin) in repentance or when men repent. It was clearly understood by all His disciples that repentance without turning away from sin (without the fruits of repentance) is not His gospel, and everyone in the early church knew about that. They knew that it is meaningless and ridiculous to preach,
"Repent, which means change your mind about your fashion, about your hairstyle, about your habit, about your opinion on God, about what you think, or about anything except your sins, your lawlessness, or your rebellion: for the kingdom of God is at hand."
I will tell the hyper grace preachers, If you cannot confess your sins, you cannot repent. Yes, you can change your mind, you can repent of your unbelief or negative opinions, you can preach your type of 'hollow repentance' to many sinners, you can even prophesy and do many wonderful things; but you can never save anyone:
1Ti 4:16 KJV  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

How do we confess our sins?
I heard the preacher at https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=3m24s saying that he doesn't mind confessing his sins if he wants to. Probably he is thinking that confessing of sins is just a verbal act which can be done in any way he likes, especially in the 'thankful way'.
But do we think that God is so shallow as to forgive anyone because of their verbal confession like that of the Pharisees (Mat 3:7)? No, I have already said that confession of sins is more than just our verbal confession. It is certainly not the verbal confession like that of the Pharisee or the self-righteous; but it can be any expression verbal or non-verbal or anything done with the repentant attitude which 'homologeos' about our inadequacy, iniquities, weaknesses, and sins before God. That's why Jesus promised salvation to Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had confessed his sins with repentance, even though he did not say any sinner's prayer or confession, but he did confess it in a better way:
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.
Repentance is an important attitude in Zacchaeus or every believer who 'homologeo' about his sins before he could see God's salvation. That's why I believe that repentance and confession of sins were preached as one (doctrine) by Jesus, John the Baptist, and John too. They knew that confession itself is hollow and meaningless. Hence, when we are told to do the confession of sins or repentance as self-examination in our life (2Co 13:5, 1Jn 1:9),  in the temple of God (Mat 5:23-24), in the body of Christ, in the church, in our prayer (Luk 11:4), or in the Holy Communion (1Co 11:28), it will not bring condemnation or dishonouring to the Lord's body; it may bring the words of correction, conviction of the Holy Spirit, repentance, reconciliation, and assurance of God's faithfulness. If we die in a car crash and we remember at that instance that we have not verbally confessed all our sins yet, we won't go to hell too. It is because we have been doing the self-examination daily and constantly with the repentance attitude.
Psa 119:9-11 KJV .. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.  (10)  With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. (11) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Like the cleansing by His words, confession of sins in 1 Jn 1:9 with the repentance attitude will bring a constant flow of God's cleansing and forgiveness too, and of course it will never put us into the mental hospital. Thank God for pastors who still preach the confession of sins in our days and age. There are many pastors who can preach the confession of sins. However, if we are more diligent, we will know that there is a difference:
1. when they believe in the confession of sins, and
2. when they believe and do the confession of sins.
There is also a difference:
1. when they do it as a thanksgiving or option, and
2. when they do it as repentance or prerequisite to salvation
In fact, we should know that there is a difference:
1. when the believers will do it, and
2. when the false prophets will do it too.
The Lord said that we should know it. He said that the false prophets would believe and preach many things in His name; but without doing the will of the Father:
Mat 7:15-23 KJV  Beware of false prophets .. .. (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.

Are we saved by 'believing only'?
The rationale of the Lord's warning in Mat 7:15-23 is simple: Do not simply believe everyone who says or confesses that they believe in the Lord, they believe in miracles, they believe in repentance, they believe in the law of God, they believe in the confession of sins, and they believe in grace too. I now understand why Jesus said that MANY will confess doing many things in His name and yet He would never accept them. I realise that
1. many say that they believe in the confession of sins and repentance, but they do not believe in doing it.
2. many sing about the commandment of God, but they do not believe (in obedience by them) in doing it. They believe only (in obedience by Christ) in ignoring it
3. many prophesy in His name and preach many wonderful things or doctrine to do good too, but they are vehemently against the law and doctrine of God.
They argue that they are not the false prophets who will argue with the Lord, but ironically they argue against everything taught by the Lord including Mat 7:15-23 and many parables which expose them. I have heard many arguments against Mat 7:15-23:
1. They argue that Mat 7:15-23 is obsolete because it was a warning only for the Jews or Israel before Israel became an independent nation. I will ask them, If it is obsolete, why did the Lord say that 'in that day' (in Mat 7:22 which refers to the future) He will judge the good and the rebellious? Has the Lord judged the church or the kingdom of God when Israel became a nation?
2. They argue that Mat 7:15-23 was spoken about the non-believers who naively thought and argued that they did many wonderful things in the name of the 'Lord' when actually they did those things in the name of their 'gods'. I  will ask them, Do you know that the Lord was speaking to the Jews or His followers in the whole Sermon on the Mount? Hence, His judgement was certainly meant for every believer who heard His words but did not do His words. The non-believers were totally out of the picture.
3. They argue that Mat 7:15-23 was meant for the carnal believers or false believers who heard the words without believing, and therefore everyone and they themselves who believe only is saved because the will of God is done by 'believing only' based on 1Jn 3:23:
1Jn 3:23 KJV  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
But I will ask them, Did you read the whole Bible context of Mat 7:15-23? Jesus would never say that 'believing only' will save you. If you truly believe in the Lord, you will not believe in 'believing only'; you will believe in doing His words and commandments also. You will tell yourselves and others to take heed of His words. You will preach doing His words in the sermon instead of preaching it as obsolete. Hence, the will of God is not just believing in Him or hearing him; but believing in Him AND doing the words of His doctrine and sermon. But for the preachers, doing the will of God includes one more thing: preaching it correctly.
Luk 9:35 KJV  And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
Mat 7:26 KJV  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
1Th 4:2-5 KJV  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.  (3)  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  (4)  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;  (5)  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
Many will be shocked to find out that 'believing only' or 'hearing only' can never save them. They will realise that using their excuse of 'believing only' to ignore all the Lord's commandments or God's commandments is really like building their house on sinking sand. Please think, Can a believer be really saved, if he:
1. keeps arguing against the commandment of the Lord?
2. and keeps ignoring doing the will of God?
Will Jesus have special mercy on him just because he 'believes only' or he hears Him only?
1Ti 4:16 KJV  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Are we saved by grace alone?
Many who preach confession of sins as thanksgiving will argue, "No, how can you preach confession of sins and repentance as the prerequisite to salvation? Paul said that we are saved by grace alone without any prerequisite or condition. If we have to repent to be saved, it is not grace. Hence, we are saved by grace; not by repentance."
I will ask them, Are we saved by grace alone? You won't find it in the Bible. The Bible did say that we are saved by grace without the law (of Moses) or apart from the works of the law but it did not say that we are saved by grace alone. In fact, the Bible say that we are not saved and justified by one thing alone or by faith alone:
Jas 2:17 KJV  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone .. (24) Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Many will still argue, "Are you sure that there is prerequisite condition to God's forgiveness?" I will tell them, Of course, certainly.
The shedding of the blood of Jesus is the prerequisite itself. After the shedding of His blood, our response to it becomes one of the prerequisites too. Of course, our repentance and confession of sins is one of the prerequisites too. However, the prerequisites of repentance and confession of sins are still considered as the gospel or grace because there could be no repentance or confession of sins if God did not give us the grace to do it. When God gave us the 'second chance' to do it (even if it requires efforts), it is still considered as grace:
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; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.  (7)  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?  (8)  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:  (9)  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
There are so many parables of Jesus on repentance as the prerequisite. We can also find repentance in the preaching of John the Baptist and His disciples as the prerequisite too:
Mar 1:4 KJV  John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Luk 3:3 KJV  And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
Act 2:38 KJV  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
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;
Please think, Can we just reverse it and preach, "We are forgiven first, and then we repent later" or "Confess God's forgiveness first, and then repent later"? No, it doesn't make sense. If we are already completely forgiven or forever forgiven, it is meaningless to keep confessing it in order to repent later. Ironically, many hyper grace preachers think that telling the people to repent first (before they are forgiven) will bring sin conscience, and sin conscience will bring condemnation which will ultimately put them into the bondage or mental hospital https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m6s ; but I think, meaningless repetitive confession is the one which will put them into the mental hospital. Contrary to what they think, confession of sins with repentance and godly sorrow will not lead to condemnation; but God's salvation. "G.S" stands for godly sorrow and God's salvation:
2Co 7:10 KJV  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
We do not reverse it and keep confessing that "salvation leads to repentance" instead. Why? It doesn't make sense. If we are saved, we do not think of our salvation in order to repent later. Similarly, we do not confess our sins in order to know that we are righteous too. It is as wrong as confessing righteousness in order to know that we are the sinners or to know guilt conscience.
It is a simple logic: If we are righteous, we do not think of our righteousness to confess our guilt conscience, and if we are the sinners, we do not think of our guilt conscience to confess our righteousness too. We confess our sins simply because we want to confess our sins; not because we want to confess righteousness. We repent simply because we want to repent too; not because we want to show others that we believe in repentance.

If you still cannot see the logic, just remember: "Don't be hypocritical. Don't mix the confession unnecessarily and make it complicated. The sinners confess sin; the righteous confess righteousness. But all of us are sinners who still need to confess (homologeo) our sins and confess (homologeo) Jesus as our Lord and Saviour everyday."
Of course, I do not mean doing it VERBALLY or RITUALISTICALLY, or confessing like the kuku bird or like what the preachers said in https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=2m15s  Confessing our sins is certainly not like what he said, ".. kneeling down, catching everything to confess, asking God to show all your sins from the morning to the night .. " or confessing like an idiotic animal. I would go to the mental hospital if I confess it in that way too. Confessing it in that way is for those who cannot repent, who can only repent like the sheep https://youtu.be/KR-bkP4Q-J8?t=22m27s , or who can never understand what is sin. It is certainly an insult to tell the people to repent like the animals, or like the pigs by not doing anything except eating to health and wealth through a perverted manipulative version of the Holy Communion which will replace repentance.

Hence, we should never twist or mix and match the words of God in any way we like. Of course, we can be consistent. We must be precise and accurate too. But we do not want to split hair by saying that we are saved by repentance first, then by grace, then by faith, and then by obedience too. We should not be too bothered by the sequence of which one saves us first. We, the lawless sinners, have become the forgiven because of all the following prerequisites in the covenant of being saved by grace:
  1. through faith
  2. in obedience
  3. by believing                 
  4. by repentance
  5. by the gospel
  6. by Jesus Christ
  7. by His blood
  8. by His cross
  9. by His forgiveness
10. by His faithfulness
11. by His judgement
12. by His grace or mercy
13. by the conviction of the Holy Spirit
14. by .. etc
When we are taught by grace, grace is a person, like wisdom. But when we are saved by grace, grace is a covenant with all the prerequisites above.
Tit 3:5-6 KJV  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;  (6)  Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour
In the covenant of grace, we are saved by Jesus Christ, by the washing of regeneration, by the renewing of the Holy Spirit, .. and by all the prerequisites listed above. Hence, grace is not a person; grace is a covenant which includes all those prerequisites that save us. Grace may teach like a person; but grace can never save like a person or like God. Only Jesus can save; grace alone cannot save. It is because we are not saved without obedience to the doctrine and commandment of Christ too. Hence, I suspect that those (not all) who argue that they are saved by grace alone and forever saved may not want to obey any commandment or know any doctrine of Christ. They may just want to be saved and full stop. They are not really interested in keeping any doctrine or law of Christ. That's why they will keep saying that "grace is not a doctrine or law, grace is Jesus Christ, and therefore, grace is enough and grace alone can save (without the law or doctrine of Christ)."  I will tell them, Please study the Bible. When you have the law and doctrine of Christ, you believe right; otherwise, how can you believe right and live right?
1Ti 4:16 KJV Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
Joh 15:4-7 KJV  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me ..(6)  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.  (7)  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Do you know what it means when Jesus said "abide in me"? It means keeping His words and doctrine. What if we do not keep His doctrine? We will be cast into the fire. Will Jesus tell us that it is just a 'small' fire which will burn away our 'clothings'; but we are still saved (by grace)?
Do we still remember our sinner's prayer or confession? Why do we confess Jesus as 'our Lord and Saviour'; instead of 'our Saviour and Lord'? We do it not because of the sequence; but because of the emphasis or importance. Yes, chronologically He always saves first, and then He becomes our Lord. But we will always call Him Lord first (Saviour as second) because we value Him more as our Lord than as our Saviour. We value obedience to Him more than we value salvation. We focus more on what we want to do for Him rather than what we can get from Him. We value truth more than we value blessing or prosperity:
3Jn 1:2-4 KJV  Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth .. (4)  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Hence, 'He is our Lord and Saviour' means:
'He is the Commandment (first) and grace or salvation (second).

A lover of self cannot confess his sins with repentance
2Ti 3:1-7 KJV  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  (2)  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  (3)  Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,  (4)  Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;  (5)  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.  (6)  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,  (7)  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I know that many care-free Christians would not like to hear about these Bible verses. Hence, if I say that this is the scenario in our churches today, many think that I am exaggerating. But please read it again. Notice that, in the last days perilous time, lovers of selves will increase? They have crept into our houses and churches. They do have a form of godliness. They may believe in the confession of sins too, but they do not really do it according to the will of the Lord.
A lover of self is apparently quite synonymous with a lover of life and vice versa, as it has been used interchangeably without any difference, in our churches, to justify any lovers of self who are vain, selfish, sensual, boastful, crafty, hypocritical, provocative, lawless, radical, rash, and ungodly. However, a lover of self cannot repent because he loves himself too much to take up the cross. He refuses to do it with the daily and constant confession of Christ (the constant homologeo, obedience, acknowledgement, and agreement with what the Lord had taught). He is not a disciple of Jesus Christ:
Luk 9:23-24 KJV  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  (24)  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Some pastors may tell believers to believe right because if you believe right, you will live right. But I will tell the lovers of selves, If we believe right, we should not sin with the thinking that we can never sin away our righteousness or that we cannot be unrighteous even if we want to sin away our unrighteousness or we sin wilfully. We should not sin by taking the grace of God for granted. https://plus.google.com/103386467367636094616/posts/KYRqsS7414a
A lover of self may not be a Jew. Hence, he would not have any sin conscience to offer the sacrifice under the old covenant (Heb 10:2). But neither would he have any sin conscience to repent under the new covenant too. He will only want to think of the pleasure, the good things, and the righteousness of himself all the time. A lover of self may sin wilfully if he knows both the old and new covenants so as to takes advantage of the (best) covenant(s) to cover himself and hide his unrepentant heart, but he will face the most serious punishment:
Heb 10:26-31 KJV  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  (27)  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  (28)  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?  (30)  For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.  (31)  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Repentance and confession of sins is a fundamental doctrine of salvation
Hence, we should know why we repent and confess our sins. We do not do it just to show ourselves or others that we have already been forgiven or saved, neither do we do it to prosper ourselves; but we do it as the prerequisite before we are saved or forgiven. And after we are saved or forgiven, we still continue in that 'metanoia' or 'homologeo' attitude for the rest of our life in Christ. Hence, I believe that repentance and confession of sins is one of most important fundamental doctrine which must be preached as the 'prerequisite' before we can leave for higher doctrine or more 'meaty' doctrine too. It is not something that we cast away after we are saved; but something that we must build upon as we leave for higher principle:
Heb 5:14 KJV  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (6:1-6) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,  (2)  Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.  (3)  And this will we do, if God permit.  (4)  For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost .. (6) If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
If we do not get this right from the start or foundation, it will not only bring hardness of the heart to repent again, but also great shame to the body of Christ.

Please do not complicate the confession of sins
When I heard the preacher in the video https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m6s saying that he would give us the Greek (words) and interpret 1 John 1:9 as 'If we confess our sins (now), He is faithful and just to HAVE (already) forgiven us our sins', I went back to check the Greek dictionary on 'hina aphiēmi' in 1 Jn 1:9 in my Bible to see if it is 'to HAVE forgiven'. I found that both the Strong's and Thayer's dictionaries did not interpret it:
1. as 'to HAVE forgiven'; but
2. as 'that, in order that, so that, or so as to forgive.
So, you decide whether you would believe those who change the words of God or you would believe Strong and others who keep the words of God. Of course, there is a world of difference between:
1. 'homologeo' our sins (repent) only after we are forgiven, and
2. 'homologeo' our sins (repent) so as to be forgiven
The first one can be done as an option (not important). It implies that it is alright even if you do not homologeo (or repent), but the second one is done as a prerequisite (important). There is another pastor who believes in the confession of sins too: https://youtu.be/Xf0B2zowsFM However, the truth is, after listening to them, you would not feel like believing in the confession of sins any more.
However, I feel that as a preacher of God's words,
1. we should not preach whether we are right when we preach the confession of sins;
2. we should preach whether it is right for the people to do the confession of sins
Unfortunately, I hear most of the preachers preach that they are right; not what is right. As a result, they preach the confession of sins very vaguely. It is something like:
1. "I believe in the confession of sins, but I no longer do it .."
2. "We don't confess our sins to be forgiven; we are already completely forgiven"
3. "The confession of sins is for the agnostic believers (doubting believers, uncommitted believers, lukewarm believers, or false believers) and gnostic believers (heretic believers, new age believers, or weird believers), but we the strong believers have much better things to confess", or
4. "1 Jn 1:9 and confession of sins is for the agnostic believers, gnostic believers, or other believers; not for our believers, but I still believe in 1 Jn 1:9 and confession of sins."
Please think, If we preach like that, do you think anyone will still confess their sins? No. If we make 1 Jn 1:9 so complicated that everyone is confused by it, the normal believers will never do it, let alone the agnostic believers.

The Pharisees and hyper grace people vehemently think or argue that they are forgiven
Do you know what's the real problem of the Pharisees? It was not their sins, not their greed, and not their hypocrisy; it was their ignorance about their sins. They vehemently thought that they were favourably forgiven because of their bullock of blood which was a much better sacrifice than others. However, many believers today still have the same mentality that they are eternally forgiven because of the blood alone or grace alone even if they still nullify repentance or mock at repentance. 'Nullify repentance' means that they might have repented, but now they renounce repentance and mock at others who repent. They might have preached against the Pharisees, but ironically they are now like the Pharisees. Many will turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, wantonness, false liberty, false grace, and even licence to sin, by mocking at repentance:
Jud 1:4 KJV  For there are certain men crept in unawares, ..  turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness ..
2Pe 2:18-21 KJV  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, .. through much wantonness .. (19)  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption .. (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.
Do you know what is the way of righteousness? Please read the context, it is the holy commandment. The way of righteousness can also be repentance (to turn back to God's holy commandment). But having knowing the way, many still turn from it (renounce it) to become lawless again, to go back to wantonness or false liberty (without any law of God), or to become the servants of corruption or the 'mouth piece' of the false prophets.
Jud 1:4 and 2Pe 2:18-21 have said clearly that there are believers in the churches who will not only turn, twist, swap, or transpose grace in the end time; they will promise liberty with great swelling words of vanity too. Obviously they preach another type of grace (hyper grace). I am not surprised that they will use their knowledge of the Greek to twist the words of the Bible again. Many will still argue like this preacher at https://youtu.be/5fIqZ5sPSEg?t=3m40s  They will argue vehemently that grace CAN NEVER be turned into a licence to sin; but that grace can only be transposed, removed, or swapped by another licentious gospel. I will tell them, What's the difference? If your hyper grace gospel is the false gospel, it is the false gospel. Your hyper grace gospel is the false gospel not because you give the people the licence to sin but because you give the people the licence to depart from God's laws and to live without repentance or confession of sins. If you depart from God's laws, your gospel is 100% the gospel to lawlessness (no doubt about it). It is the gospel to sin (transgression against God's laws), it is the gospel to craftiness, it is the gospel to lukewarm doctrine (vain doctrine or 'ding dong bell' doctrine), and it is the gospel to licentiousness too. But we know that it is not a gospel; it is a temptation or seduction. If it does not teach us to live soberly, righteously, and godly with repentance, confession of sins, and sound doctrine (Titus 2), it is still a false grace. It is still wantonness, false liberty, or corruption no matter how well you can twist it with your Greek. Many may 'try' to sing or teach God's laws or commandments to show that they have not departed from God, but we know that most of them are the great liars. They teach the laws only with the motive of accusing ALL other churches who may judge them as the lawless. They do not teach the laws because they really want to keep the laws of God; but because they want to accuse anyone who may judge them as the lawless. They do not teach repentance because they really want to repent too; but because they want to accuse anyone who may not 'repent' like them. Hence, they are 100% great liars: Liars
1. in their Greek,
2. in their interpretations,
3. in their obedience,
4. in their repentance,
5. in their confession to God,
6. in their miracles,
7. in their testimonies,
8. in their 'grace' doctrine, and
9. in their lawless philosophies
They are the 'frogs' of the end time or 'mouth piece'  for the dragon, the beast, and the false prophets. (Rev 16:12-13). When we see the 'rive Euphrates' which flows across the three countries (Iraq, Syria, and Turkey) start to 'dry up' (disintegrate in its political power or realm), we know that it is also the time for the great spiritual battle when the kings of the East will come with their flood of false doctrine, lying wonders, and working miracles. It is also the year in which we will see the most false prophets and false doctrine than in any other years, decades, or centuries as more of their programmes are Broadcast into the 'air' by the 'Network', by the spirit of the frogs, or by the Trinity of the dragon, beast, and false prophet:
Rev 16:12-15 KJV  And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.  (13)  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  (14)  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  (15)  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
I believe that it is not a physical battle; but a spiritual battle which can bring nakedness or shame to the soul or spirit of a man, whilst a physical battle can only bring death to the body.

My conclusion on the confession of sins
I will conclude with the words of God in 1 Jn 1:9 itself.
1Jn 1:9 KJV  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we are still afraid to confess our sins or afraid to preach 1 Jn 1:9, we should not be afraid any more. It is because 1 Jn 1:9 is a simple beautiful assurance of salvation to all the believers who have simple faith (whether they are the agnostic believers, gnostic believers, .. , or whatever believers).
However, I must warn that repentance and confession of sins is not something which can be easily grasped or understood by the agnostic believers or lukewarm believers; in fact, it is something which is still not mastered by all the believers yet. It is still a very important truth in the foundational principles of the doctrine of Christ (Heb 6:1-2):
Heb 5:14 KJV  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (6:1-2 ) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation
1. of repentance from dead works, and
2. of faith toward God,
3. of the doctrine
4. of baptisms, and
5. of laying on of hands, and
6. of resurrection of the dead, and
7. of eternal judgment. (3) And this will we do, if God permit.
Do we know why Paul said, ".. if God permit"? It is because most of the believers are still too weak to leave for higher principles and doctrine of Christ and to bear them. The doctrine of Christ will be taught by the Holy Spirit too because Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will not only reprove the sinners or the believers; but the whole world, of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement:
Joh 16:8-14 KJV  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  (9)
1. Of sin, because they believe not on me;  (10)
2. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;  (11)
3. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.  (12)  I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now .. (14) He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Notice (in v14) that 'He shall glorify Christ: for He shall receive of Christ, and shew it unto you'? It means that if any preachers nullify the doctrine of Christ or preach other doctrine, the Holy Spirit will reprove them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement too. They could be the false preachers. Hence, we should not be jealous of the false preachers. We should even forgive them if they repent, but it does not mean that we will agree with them, 'homologeo' with them, collaborate with them, or speak up for them. Is it too much if I say that we can still forgive them? No, if Jesus tells us to love our enemies, we can love anybody including the false prophets (except Satan, the devil, the evil spirits, the dragon, the spirits of the frogs, or the spirits of the false prophets). The false prophets are the instruments of wickedness; but they are not wickedness. They could be the fallen believers or lukewarm believers. As long as they have not died and gone into the spirit realm yet or become the spirits of lawlessness in God's kingdom, they can still repent and be loved by us. However, we will still warn the people about them so that the people are not deceived by them. We will still speak the truth and warn the people that they are the liars.

Repentance and confession of sins is the goodnews on earth
I have learnt from the Lord not to write off anyone (including the false prophets) because the Lord would not write us off too:
Luk 13:7-9 KJV  .. (8)  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:  (9)  And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
However, if they think that God need to wait for them to repent, they will be shocked to find out that they do not have much time and when they are in hell, they cannot repent even if they want to:
Luk 12:16-20 KJV  And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully .. (18) And he said, .. (19)  And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  (20)  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
Luk 16:19-31 KJV  There was a certain rich man .. (22)  .. the rich man also died, and was buried;  (23)  And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom ..  (27)  Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house .. .. (29) Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (30)  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  (31)  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Notice that the rich man suddenly understood what is repentance? He suddenly realised that repentance is actually the goodnews on earth. Do you think that he will tell us that repentance is just to change your mind and do nothing? I hope that we don't have to go to hell to understand what is repentance when we can know the Lord and the Bible now, and when we can know better than the rich man who knew only Moses and the prophets.
Many hyper grace preachers today argue that they do not confess their sins out of fear or out of stress; they can only confess it out of a thankful heart or restful heart. It sounds very noble but I will tell them them, Please repent or confess (homologeo about) your sins before it is too late even if you need to do it out of fear or out of stress. When the rich man tried to repent or confess his sins out of fear, it was already too late. He might have 'confessed' his sins with a bullock of sacrifice every year and with a very thankful heart on earth too. But he did not realise that he had not repented yet, until he was in hell (Luk 16:30).
I will tell the hyper grace preachers, Are you really concerned with the people who will confess their sins because of stress and will be put into the 'mental hospital'? No, you should be more concerned with the people who will confess their sins because of hypocrisy and will be put into hell instead.
By the way, I heard one pastor truly preach that he was so stressful about the confession of his sins that he had almost gone crazy or gone into the mental hospital. He tried to blame it to the teaching of his former church which gave him the crazy idea that he must confess his sins day and night, like a 'kuku bird'. So, I can understand why he is so excited to confess only thanksgiving or righteousness now. However, I will tell him, Wrong confession or repetitive confession (without the repentant heart) taught by your former church cannot be your excuse to change the doctrine and confession of sins. You should have checked with more sound doctrine preachers before you confessed like a 'kuku bird' or went into the mental hospital. Alternatively, you should have asked the Lord to show you why He would ask the disciples to pray for God's forgiveness:
Luk 11:3-4 KJV  Give us day by day our daily bread.  (4)  And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Of course, this is a prayer of confession too. However, this prayer shows clearly that we confess ours sins to be forgiven; not to 'have' been forgiven or to give thanks. It is not a shame or insult to ask God to forgive us, even if we need to ask Him daily. God will always forgive us if we confess our sins. If confession of sins is an insult to God or if it can put us into the mental hospital, Jesus would not have told us to do it as the standard prayer or model prayer.
Coincidentally, the same pastor who said that he almost lost his mind and went into the mental hospital because of the confession also said that the Sermon of the Lord on the Mount was preached as the principle of the 'amputation ward' too (to bring condemnation, so that we know that we are no longer required to obey or keep any law of God). I didn't want to say it but please think, If a person has almost gone into the mental hospital and he still thinks that the principles of the Lord in His Sermon of the Mount is only as good as the principle of the 'amputation ward', can he still preach the gospel of Jesus Christ?
1. https://youtu.be/XgnBQ60FeGo?t=2h43m9s
2. https://plus.google.com/103386467367636094616/posts/FUg75zhD4ye
However, I would still tell him to confess his sins. I don't mean to insult him. It is because he has not confessed his sins yet, even though he thinks that:
1. he had confessed it day and night in the past, and
2. he is now confessing it radically as a thanksgiving to God or as an assurance to himself
True confession of sins is not based on how many times or how often he could confess it; it is based on how humble or how repentant he is. If he has never confessed it with humility or repentance, he HAS NEVER confessed his sins to God. Hence, I am not surprised that he will use ANYTHING or any excuse to lie about his pride, his self-righteousness, and his conscience including the conscience of others. The kuku bird, the mental hospital, the amputation ward, the chime, the videos, the testimonies, and many other things are just some of the props and exaggeration to promote his sinless confession, lawless doctrine, and antinomianism. It is bad enough if Annanias and Sapphira would lie for God's acceptance; but it would be the worst if a preacher or a believer lies about his wicked conscience to get more from God:
Act 8:18-23 KJV  And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,  (19)  Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.  (20)  But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.  (21)  Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.  (22)  Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.  (23)  For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Simon practised sorcery before he was converted. Many thought that Simon had repented but, in reality, there was still one part of him which had not repented. His occult mind or his love for occult was still very much active in getting success for himself. Many preachers today may have turned to Christianity from occultism but, like Simon, they are still prone to making use of the 'supernatural' in the things of God to gain success for themselves. When a believer falls away, it is bad enough; but when a preacher (who had practised occultism, opened himself to occultism, and experienced the tangible power of the occults) falls away, it is the worst because he could do many 'supernatural' things which is bad and hard to detect.

What does it mean when the Lord tells us that we 'cannot' sin?
When sin has no dominion over us, does it mean that we cannot sin, we can never sin, or we have no more sin to confess? https://youtu.be/XgnBQ60FeGo?t=35m31s
I find it difficult to conclude when I heard more from some preachers who still argue and say, "Yes, we believe in the confession of sins; but we confess our sins because we can never sin; not because we sin. Hence, we confess sins to thank God that we can never sin. According to 1Jn 3:9, we cannot sin. In Greek, it means 'dunamai' not to sin. Therefore, it means that we have no future sins because Jesus has given us the inexhaustible 'dunamai', power, and righteousness to live without any sin. If you are still doubtful about this, read the following Bible verses again."
1Jn 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.
Wow, I think that that is a strong scriptural basis to argue that they cannot sin and therefore they can no longer confess their sins as a sinner; but as a righteous believer who can never sin. But I will tell them, Before I show you the true meaning of 1Jn 3:9, please ask yourselves, Can it be true that you can never sin in the future? If it is true, pornography and adultery would not be a problem. You can just sing like the saints and keep harping on your righteousness everyday. Do you steal, lie, cheat, deceive, exaggerate, boast, mock, covet, .., commit adultery, or lust with your minds? If you have never done any of these, you can say that you can never sin and you will never sin. However, I hope that I do not need to preach like Jesus to show all your sins, your angers, your pride, your lusts, your greediness, your covetousness, your hypocrisy, your bitterness, your jealousy, and your deceitfulness. I hope that you do not need to think for too long to know why we all need to confess our sins and 1Jn 1:9 is not just for the agnostic believers only.
Now I will explain my understanding of 1Jn 3:9 which says that 'we cannot sin'. Yes, we are imputed with righteousness or holiness. But it does not mean that we are completely holy and we can never sin; it means that we have the 'dunamai' not to sin and we are commanded not to sin. We are commanded that we cannot sin because we are born of God. The command that we cannot sin or the Greek verb not to sin (not to 'hamartanō') can be found in:
1Jn 5:18 KJV  We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
1Jn 2:1 KJV  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:
Rom 6:12-13 KJV  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin ..
1Co 15:34 KJV  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
Joh 8:11 KJV  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Joh 5:14-15 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. (15) The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.
Notice the combination of words with the verb 'hamartanō' to tell the people not to sin? It is the command of God that we cannot sin or should not sin. It is like the fathers telling their children that they cannot steal or should not steal. The children know that they cannot steal; it is not because they are unable to steal. If the children can understand their father's  command not to steal as a command, it would be a shame on us if we cannot understand or accept God's command not to sin as a command too.

God's command is the 'dunamai' (power) for us not to sin
1Pe 1:14-16 KJV  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  (15)  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  (16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Notice that 'be ye holy' is a command too? Is it a statement or merely words that you are as holy as God? No, it is A COMMAND which tells you that you must be holy; it does not mean that you are so holy that you cannot sin. I do not deny that we have the 'dunamai' (power) not to sin because we are born of God, according to 1Jn 3:9. But if we do not take it out of context, we should know that the words and commands of God are the 'dunamai' (power) for us not to sin too. We cannot take away the command or 'dunamai' of God and brag that we cannot sin, we can never sin, or we can never sin away our righteousness. No, we can never be victorious without the word or command of God.
Notice why John wrote 1Jn 2:1 above? It is because he knew that the children or believers could sin too. If we think that only the children, the young believers, the agnostic believers, or the carnal believers can still sin, John would tell us that the (older) brothers can still sin too:
1Jn 5:16-17 KJV  If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.  (17)  All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
Hence, it is very obvious that our brothers or sisters can still sin. If a brother sins a sin, it is not too much for us to tell him honestly that it is a sin and that he can fall or even lose his salvation. Sometimes, we may need to go the extra mile to tell him to confess the sin as a sin and repent too. We hope that we will not need to do it to our brothers if our pastors will just do their job and tell our brothers that a sin is a sin.
Can a brother or a believer sin a sin unto death? Yes, 1Jn 5:16-17 is one more Bible verse (besides Heb 6:4-6, Heb 10:26-29, 2Pe 2:20-21, 1Co 10:12, Act 20:28-30, 1Pe 4:17-18) which says clearly that he can still fall away, turn away from God's commandment, sin away his salvation, sin wilfully, or sin a sin unto death too.
Please think, If a brother sins and he believes everything from a pastor who indoctrinate him to believe that he cannot sin (can never sin), will he listen to us when we tell him to repent? No. He would argue that, if his pastor or God cannot point him to sins or convict him of sins, no one can tell him to repent or confess his sins too. He may not have sinned a serious sin or sin a sin unto death but he may have sinned another sin which is a sin unto death: obeying the voice of the serpent instead of the voice, the command or 'dunamai' of God.

Only one type of confession is necessary and enough
https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m56s - This preacher says, "I am NOT AGAINST the confession of sins .. but Paul wrote three fourth of the letters .. and Paul has NEVER ONE TIME SAID confess your sins .." But contrary to what he says, he is very against the confession of sins! Obviously his contradictory words negates whatever he has just said by saying that Paul NEVER ONE TIME SAID confess (homologeo about) your sins. His choice of words clearly show that he himself NEVER confess his sins too even though he said he didn't mind confessing it. He didn't know that his own words could expose his hidden contradictory intention.
Many will still argue, "But Paul tells us to confess our righteousness in Christ. He has never told us to confess our sins. We can quote many Bible verses to prove it." I will tell them, Please do not quote them. All your Bible quotations are contradictory or out of context to show that the confession of righteousness is the gospel. But the Bible, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and 1 Jn 1:9 show us that the confession of sins with repentance is the gospel or part of the gospel; Jesus did not tell us to confess our righteousness in His gospel. Yes, Paul did tell us that we need to know that we are forgiven and that we are righteous in Christ, but he did not say that we need to confess righteousness to God, to our friends, or to ourselves. Hence, as far as what we know from the Bible, we need to confess our sins (not our righteousness) to God. Some may argue, "Why can't we do both confession of our sins and confession of our righteousness?" I will ask them, Does it make sense to tell the people to confess unrighteousness (sin) and confess righteousness at the same time or at intervals. No, it is common sense. We know that it is contradictory to have both confessions. If a believer has to do both confessions, he will be confused. Even if he is not confused, what he has confessed as the confession of sins (with humility) will be nullified by what he has to confess as the confession of righteousness (with confidence).
Many will ask, "So, you just want to confess your sins? How about your righteousness? Don't you know that you are the righteousness of God in Christ? Don't you know that confessing righteousness is better, more powerful, and more biblical?" https://youtu.be/XgnBQ60FeGo?t=1h16m39s
I will tell them, Of course, we know that we are the righteousness of God in Christ. But do we need to 'confess' our righteousness? Did Paul tell us to confess it? No. However, we can always confess our sins with the knowledge that we are righteous in Christ, with the knowledge that God is faithful and just to forgive us too:
1Jn 1:9 KJV  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Hence, when we confess our sins according to 1Jn 1:9, we have made the necessary confession
1. to confess our sins, and
2. to know that we are righteous in Christ too.
We just need to do one type of confession ie. the confession of our sins.

Confession of our sins is to God; not to ourselves or to men
I forgot to answer one of the important questions at the top of my post - "d. Did God say that confession of sins is confessed to ourselves; not to Him, to know how much we have been forgiven?"
I need to answer it now in response to some preachers who think that confession of sins is confessed to ourselves. I have to show this https://youtu.be/RpUrua961Nk?t=1m34s and tell you how amazed I am by what the preacher said. He said that he knew that the confession of our faults in Jas 5:16 is confessed to men; not to God. So, obviously he agreed and knew that the confession of sins in 1Jn 1:9 is confessed to God; not to men.
Jas 5:16 KJV  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
So, now my question is: If he knew that the confession of our faults to men for healing and inner release requires humility, sincerity, and repentance, why couldn't he know that the confession of our sins to God for His forgiveness requires humility, sincerity, and repentance too? I will ask him, If men will feel insulted if we just want to confess our faults to them with thanksgiving (with no humility or repentance), why can't God feel insulted too? Would God be so desperate for our confession that He will just accept any kind of false confession, vain confession, 'thanksgiving' confession, 'righteousness' confession, or hypocritical confession? If Jesus showed rejection of confession that is without obedience to do His will or God's will, He would reject any confession of sins which is false too:
Mat 7:15-23 KJV  Beware of false prophets .. (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.

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YouTube title: Joseph Prince believes in the confession of sins (1John1:9) Published on Apr 28, 2015 by JosephPrinceOnline.
Excerpt taken from: Joseph Prince - The Secret Of The Double Portion - 19 Apr 15. Duration: 10:21m  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpUrua961Nk
I had never known of such a confession, namely the confession of thanksgiving or the confession of sins with thanksgiving until I heard it for the first time in my entire life. I am not surprised that he would preach repentance as the change of mind (metanoa) with thanksgiving' too. I know that he would preach and tell the people to repent like the sheep, repent by doing nothing, or repent of unbelief only.
There are many ironies in his confession of sins; but the greatest is when he argued that 1 John 1:9 is written ONLY for the agnostic believers who need to confess their sins but he also maintained that we should read 1 John 1:9 as our confession of sins to know that we have been forgiven too. Now, the irony: Is 1 John 1:9 for the agnostic believers, or for us?
No, of course, if we are honest enough to confess our sins, we won't twist it into an irony. We will just preach it as applicable to everybody. John said it so clearly. If we (including himself and everybody) say that we have no sin, we lie. Hence, if we do not lie, we (everybody) should be honest enough to confess sins. It is as simple as that:
1Jn 1:8-10 KJV  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

If we believe right, we will confess right
Notice that John used the words 'if we' many times in his letter(s)? However, some preachers can tell us amazingly that the 1st occasion refers to John and us, the 2nd occasion refers to the agnostic believers, and the 3rd occasion refers to some older Christians. As a result I had to do a search on my KJV Bible. But I was shocked to find out that there were 10 'if we' in the letter of John:
1. 5 occasions in 1 John 1
2. 1 occasions in 1John 2:3
3. 1 occasions in 1John 4:12
4. 3 occasions in 1John 5
Now please think, Isn't it tedious if we have to explain to every believer which occasion or which chapter is for the agnostic believers or the gnostic believers; which is for the young believers or the mature believers; and which is for the adult believers or the old believers? By the way, it is impossible for John to tell the believers which chapter is for the agnostic and which chapter is for them because his original letter was never divided into chapters for them. Hence, it is ridiculous if we have to tell everyone which type of believers can only confess sins and which type of believers can only confess righteousness too.
Life and death lies in the power of the tongue. The tongue can save not because there is power in the tongue itself; but because it came from the heart or the Holy Spirit:
Act 2:4 KJV  And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
1Pe 3:10 KJV  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Jas 3:6 KJV  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Mat 12:35-37 KJV  A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  (36)  But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  (37)  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Hence, the tongue or the verbal confession can be evil or righteous depending on the inner confession. It is the inner confession or the inner heart which really matters; not just the verbal confession.
1. Hence, if you preach the Lord's Sermon of the Mount as the principle of the 'amputation ward', it brings condemnation to the people who do it.
2. Similarly, if you preach the confession of sins in 1 John 1:9 as the doctrine of the mental hospital, it will really put them into the mental hospital too.
Notice why did I said, "If you .." ? It is because I deliberately disassociate myself from 'you' who will preach death and mental sickness to the people. It is common sense why John would use "If we .." (10 times) too. It is because he deliberately identify himself with the believers who will not lie about their sins (1Jn 1:8), who will confess their sins (1Jn 1:9), and who will never want to contradict with God (1Jn 1:10).
https://youtu.be/4UczqGDk9Bo.
If you identify yourselves with the people who think that they can never sin away their righteousness, you think like many who desire to justify themselves in their sins. Hence, I suspect that when you need to assure yourselves or your people that you cannot sin away your righteousness, it is:
1. not because you know that many in your church will not sin or will keep God's laws;
2. but because you know that many in your church will sin or want to sin, and you have to provide a 'deliberate' way to justify all of you.
Taking the holy communion in an unworthy manner or in a 'deliberate' way could be 'the' way or one of the ways to dishonour the body of the Lord too. i will talk about it in the next post.


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#hypergrace Hyper grace