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1 João 1

Tony Garland · Citado em PreceptAustin

1 João 1:1

Garland comments: Like God’s literal word which He has magnified above His name (Ps 138:2), God highly exalted Jesus and has given Him the name above every name (Php 2:9). Scripture informs us: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Ps 33:6 cf. Heb 11:3; 2Pe 3:5). Elsewhere, John uses this title to emphasis Jesus as the revelation of God in His incarnation (1Jn 1:1-3) The Logos or Word is the expression of God’s nature in understandable terms, and whether those terms be mercy or judgment they are both equally the message of God. This title also emphasizes Jesus’ role in creation (John 1:1-3; Eph 3:9; Col 1:16; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 3:14)—a key theme explaining why God has ultimate dominion to retake the earth at His Second Coming (Rev 3:14; 4:11; 10:6). Marvin Vincent on the Word of Life - The phrase "ho logos tes zoes", the Word of the Life, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The nearest approach to it is Phil 2:16; but there neither word has the article (ho or tes). In the phrase words of eternal life (John 6:68), and in Acts 5:20, all the words of this life, rhema is used. The question is whether logos is used here of the Personal Word (Ed: I.e., is a name for Jesus), as John 1:1, or of the divine message or revelation. In the four passages of the Gospel where logos is used in a personal sense (John 1:1, 14), it is used absolutely, the Word (compare Rev 19:13). On the other hand, it is often used relatively in the New Testament; as word of the kingdom (Mt 13:19); word of this salvation (Acts 13:26); word of His grace (Acts 20:32); word of truth (Jas 1:18). By John zoes of life, is often used in order to characterize the word which accompanies it. Thus, crown of life (Rev 2:10); water of life (Rev 21:6); book of life (Rev 3:5); bread of life (John 6:35); i.e., the water which is living and communicates life; the book which contains the revelation of life; the bread which imparts life. In the same sense, John 6:68; Acts 5:20. Compare Titus 1:2, 3 Though the phrase, the Word of the Life, does not elsewhere occur in a personal sense, I incline to regard its primary reference as personal, from the obvious connection of the thought with John 1:1, 4. “In the beginning was the Word, — in Him was life.” “As John does not purpose to say that he announces Christ as an abstract single idea, but that he declares his own concrete historical experiences concerning Christ, — so now he continues, not the Logos (Word), but concerning the Word, we make annunciation to you” (Ebrard). At the same time, I agree with Canon Westcott that it is most probable that the two interpretations are not to be sharply separated. “The revelation proclaims that which it includes; it has, announces, gives life. In Christ life as the subject, and life as the character of the revelation, were absolutely united.” (Word Studies) John Phillips…The Word! Thoughts remain invisible and inaudible until they are clothed in words. With words, what we think and feel and are can be known. And just as our words reveal us, so, too, the Lord Jesus, as "the Word of life," clothes and reveals the great thoughts and feelings of God regarding our sin and our salvation. Come, Holy Ghost, God & Lord by Martin Luther Thou holy Light, Guide divine, Oh, cause the Word of Life to shine! Teach us to know our God aright And call Him Father with delight. From every error keep us free; Let none but Christ our Master be That we in living faith abide, In Him, our Lord, with all our might confide. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Vincent (commenting on Logos in John 1:1) adds that "This expression ("the Word") is the keynote and theme of the entire Gospel of John. Logos is from the root leg, appearing in lego, the primitive meaning of which is to lay: then, to pick out, gather, pick up: hence to gather or put words together, and so, to speak. Hence logos is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward thought itself, the Latin oratio and ratio: compare the Italian ragionare, “to think” and “to speak.” (See Word Studies in the New Testament where Vincent has several pages of notes on "Logos" if you are interested) In the Greek mind and as used by secular and philosophical Greek writers, lógos did not mean merely the name of an object but was an expression of the thought behind that object's name. Let me illustrate this somewhat subtle nuance in the meaning of lógos with an example from the Septuagint (LXX) (Greek of the Hebrew OT) in which lógos is used in the well known phrase the Ten Commandments. The Septuagint translates this phrase using the word lógos as “the ten (deka) words (logoi)” (Ex 34:28), this phrase giving us the familiar term Decalogue. Clearly each of the "Ten Commandments" is not just words but words which express a thought or concept behind those words. This then is the essence of the meaning of lógos and so it should not be surprising that depending on the context lógos is translated with words such as "saying, instruction, message, news, preaching, question, statement, teaching, etc". This understanding of lógos also helps understand John's repeated usage of this Greek word as a synonym for the second Person of the Godhead, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lógos then is a general term for speaking, but always used for speaking with rational content. Lógos is a word uttered by the human voice which embodies an underlying concept or idea. When one has spoken the sum total of their thoughts concerning something, they have given to their hearer a total concept of that thing. Thus the word lógos conveys the idea of “a total concept” of anything. Lógos means the word or outward form by which the inward thought is expressed and made known. It can also refer to the inward thought or reason itself. Note then that lógos does not refer merely to a part of speech but to a concept or idea. In other words, in classical Greek, lógos never meant just a word in the grammatical sense as the mere name of a thing, but rather the thing referred to, the material, not the formal part. In fact, the Greek language has 3 other words (rhema, onoma, epos) which designate a word in its grammatical sense. Lógos refers to the total expression whereas rhema (see word study) for example is used of a part of speech in a sentence. In other words rhema, emphasizes the parts rather than the whole. Lógos was in use among Greeks before John used it, the Greeks using it to denote the principle which maintains order in world. In connection with the Greek word for “seed” in its adjective form, Lógos was used to express the generative principle or creative force in nature. The Stoics believed that this world was permeated with that Lógos. It was the Lógos which put sense into the world. It was the Lógos which kept the stars in their courses and the planets in their appointed tracks. It was the Lógos which controlled the ordered succession of night and day, and summer and winter and spring and autumn. The Lógos was the reason and the mind of God in the universe, making it an order and not a chaos. In summary, Greek philosophers, in attempting to understand the relationship between God and the universe, spoke of an unknown mediator between God and the universe, naming this mediator, “Logos”. John tells them that this mediator unknown to them is our Lord Jesus, and thus he uses the same name “Lógos.” In the first verse of his gospel John gives us a summary outline of Jesus' preexistence, His fellowship with God the Father in His preincarnate state and His absolute deity writing that In the beginning was the Lógos, and the Lógos was with God, and the Lógos was God." (Jn 1:1) If there is any doubt about Who John was referring to, he goes on to describe the incarnation writing that the Lógos became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) The Word of Life - Jesus Christ, the One Who is essence of life and reveals that life to men. Note that Life (zoe) is a key word in John's Gospel and in his first epistle. Life (zoe) is found 10x in First John - 1Jn1:1, 1:2, 2:25, 3:14, 3:15, 5:11, 5:12, 5:13, 5:16, 5:20. (zoe = 36x in the Gospel of John - John 1:4; 3:15, 16, 36; 4:14, 36; 5:24, 26, 29, 39, 40; 6:27, 33, 35, 40, 47, 48, 51, 53, 54, 63, 68; 8:12; 10:10, 28; 11:25; 12:25, 50; 14:6; 17:2, 3; 20:31). It is notable that John's letter begins (1Jn 1:2) and ends (1Jn 5:20) with the theme of eternal life. As an aside some commentators see Word of Life as a reference to the Gospel, which while not unreasonable is not as congruent with the context of John's presentation of the Person Who Himself is the foundation stone for that Gospel. Christ, the blessèd One, gives to all wonderful Words of Life; Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful Words of Life; All so freely given, wooing us to heaven. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life, Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. Wonderful Words of Life by Philip Bliss S E Pierce comments on the phrase Word of Life - He (John) styles Him (Jesus as) “The Word of life.” (Generally speaking a) word is the index of the mind. By what is contained in the mind is expressed. So Christ, as One in the self-existing Essence, speaks out the mind of the Eternal Father. It was by His Almighty fiat the heavens and the earth were created, and all the host of them. It was by Him all the secrets of the Most High were spoken out and proclaimed, and the invisible God brought out of His invisibility. It is in Him the full revelation of Godhead is made known. It is in the essential Word all the mind of God is opened, all the love of God expressed, the whole of God declared. It is as this essential Word, and only begotten Son of God, shines forth as God-Man, in His most glorious Person, mediation, work, grace, and salvation, in the everlasting Gospel, and enlightens His Church therewith, that they in His light see light. (1John - Biblical Illustrator) Heard (191) akouo means to hear with attention, to hear with the "ear" of the mind, to hear with understanding. As used in the Scriptures akouo often signifies obedient hearing. In other words one hears the truth with conviction of one's mind, and this disposes the mind to submit itself to the doctrine presented. In fact, Paul says it is in this way that faith springs up (Ro 10:17+). Looked at (2300)(theaomai from tháomai =to wonder, from thaúma = wonder, admiration <> English = theatrical spectacular performance) means (1) to have an attentive look, to have regard for something, to contemplate, to take in with one's eyes (implying that one is impressed by what he sees - see use in Mt 22:11). Theaomai implies an intent contemplative gaze. The point is that it is not a mere glance or quick look, but a long, searching gaze (e.g., Lk 23:55). Theaomai describes intelligent beholding, a "careful and deliberate vision which interprets its object" (G. Abbott-Smith). It means to gaze at a show or demonstration or to watch as in a theater. (thus giving us the origin of our English word "theater"). (2) Theaomai can mean to see for the purpose of visiting as in Ro 15:24. (3) Finally some lexicon's (BDAG) state theaomai can mean to perceive something above and beyond what is merely seen with the eye (this nuance clearly overlaps with definition #1 above).

1 João 1:6

Garland comments: Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do… there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). The coming of the lawless one, the Antichrist, was with all power, signs and lying wonders (2Th 2:9). Those who continue to lie will ultimately fall prey themselves to lies: they will not come to the truth! (Read 2Th. 2:11, 12). Eventually, their own conscience becomes seared (1Ti. 4:2). All who reject salvation are ultimately liars: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (1Jn 2:22). The truth of God has been made known to men through general revelation, but men actively (active voice = and continually = present tense) suppress the truth (lie) in unrighteousness. Knowing the truth, they promote false ideas such as God doesn’t exist or that His existence cannot be known (Ro 1:18-note). In summary, these passages from the pen of John strongly support the premise that lying is a very serious, "life or death" issue that clearly can impact one's eternal destiny! Thus when John says that when we walk in the darkness as our lifestyle, we are in effect practicing lying, that should be a cause of serious concern and deep soul searching. In my opinion, that hardly sounds like the description of a genuine believer! Sure all believers are guilty from time to time of "little white lies" (a misnomer, because all sin is triple A rated [Sin = AAA = Absolute Abhorrent Abomination] in the presence of the "God [Who] is light" and in Whom there is no darkness at all). Genuine believers do not continually lie as their lifestyle. THE TRUTH ABOUT NOT PRACTICING THE TRUTH Do not practice the truth - "Not" is the Greek word "ou" which signifies absolute negation. John is saying that when one walks habitually in darkness, they absolutely do not practice the truth. There is no middle ground. You either do or you don't practice the truth. Don't be deceived! Yes, all believers have times when they do not do the truth, but that is not their habitual practice or lifestyle. Believers are new creatures in Christ (2Cor 5:17+), and have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and now have a new desires and a new power (indwelling Spirit) to carry out those desires. Believers don't do the truth perfectly, but they do practice the truth as the general direction of their life (toward heaven, not hell!) As I like to say, we are speaking of direction, not perfection. If someone's life is continually in the darkness, then how can they possibly claim to have fellowship with "God (Who) is light" (1Jn 1:5)? (See discussion of Guzik's interpretation below) Such a claim is preposterous, and anyone who believes that they can live like the devil and be assured of living eternally with Jesus is simply deceiving themselves. They have bought into the very lie that John is addressing in this epistle, the lie that says you can live any way you want to live and still think you are an authentic, born again, regenerate person, who has Christ in them, who has His Holy Spirit indwelling them (cp 2Cor 13:14, Php 2:1), and yet who continually lives an unholy life. John wants to counter this dangerous deception, which is why he is writing these statements about those who say one thing and do another (cf 1 John 5:13). Using a basic rule of good hermeneutics that Scripture is the best commentary on Scripture, it is notable that the only other use of the phrase "practice truth" is by the apostle John in his Gospel in a passage which is clearly in the context of salvation (See Jesus' teaching on belief and salvation in John 3:16, 17, 18, 19+). John records the words of our Lord Jesus Christ… For everyone who does (prasso in present tense = continually practices) evil hates (present tense) the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices (poieo in present tense = continually does) the truth comes (present tense) to the Light, so that (hina - purpose clause) his deeds may be manifested (made visible) as having been wrought in God. (John 3:20-21+) Comment: One who habitually (the text does not say "perfectly") or generally practices the truth is regenerate (born again), their deeds clearly manifesting (revealing for all to see) what they are in their heart (cp Ezekiel 36:36, 37+). 1 John 1:6 states that a person who habitually walks in the darkness also does not practice truth as their lifestyle. Comparing this person with John's definition of a believer using almost identical wording, it is very reasonable to interpret those who "do not practice the truth" as unregenerate individuals. Harris agrees commenting: The phrase practicing the truth means living out the truth in a lifestyle obedient to God. The most important parallel is John 3:20, 21, where we are told “Everyone who does [= practices] evil hates the light and does not come to the light…but the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.” The problem with the opponents lies not with their boast that they have fellowship with God, but with their contradictory behavior—they continue walking in the darkness. (1 John 1:5-22: Exegetical Commentary) (Note what Harris just said -- these individuals say that they are in fellowship with God, but their walk does not corroborate their talk! See related discussion of Guzik's interpretation in the next paragraph. Practice (4160) (poieo) means to do or to accomplish and is in the present tense in this passage, indicating that this failure to practice truth is one's lifestyle or continual practice. "The present-tense verb declares a persistent failure to give expression to the truth in daily life." (Hiebert) In short, John is saying it does not matter what you say you believe, but what you show you believe by what you do, by how you live. If you say you believe and your live matches your lips then that is clearly a strong indication that your belief is genuine. John desires that his readers have assurance of their salvation (1John 5:13). On the other hand he wants to make sure that anyone who calls themselves a Christian and lives like the devil (a liar from the beginning) is not deceived into thinking they are just out of fellowship. John clearly believers habitual liars are not just out of fellowship, but out of the presence of the God of light for all eternity! Serious consequences call for strong language, and John is up to the task. Note that John is not saying that if you are not sinless, you are not a Christian. He makes that point very clear in 1 John 1:8. But the point and proof of the Gospel is that while Christians are not sinless, they do "sin less" and if they do not practice this truth, they have reason to question whether they have truly been born again. Do not be deceived. Brooke says it this way - “Speaking” the truth is only one part of “doing” the truth, and not the most important. To “do the truth” is to give expression to the highest of which he is capable in every sphere of his being. It relates to action, and conduct and feeling, as well as to word and thought. (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles) The truth - The definitive article identifies this as not just truth in general but in context is "the specific truth" about how a believer should walk. Truth is like a beacon of light which shines on our lies and exposes the darkness of our souls. Vine adds: The truth is not merely a creed. It is always that which has a bearing upon the life. The truth is doctrine “according to God” that is, it is consistent with His character. Right action is an expression of the truth, and those who walk according to the truth thereby express the character of God. Hence the contrast in the next verse (1Jn 1:7). Truth (225)(aletheia from a = indicates following word has the opposite meaning ~ without + lanthano = to be hidden or concealed, to escape notice, cp our English "latent" from Latin = to lie hidden) has the literal sense of that which contains nothing hidden, that which is not concealed. Aletheia is that which that is seen or expressed as it really is. The basic understanding of aletheia is that it is the manifestation of a hidden reality. For example, when you are a witness in a trial, the court attendant says "Raise your right hand. Do you swear that you will tell the truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" And you say, "I do" and you sit down. The question the court attendant is asking is "Are you willing to come into this courtroom and manifest something that is hidden to us that only you know so that you will bear evidence to that?" Therefore when you speak the truth, you are manifesting a "hidden reality". Does that make sense? A parallel example in Scripture is the case of the woman in the crowd who had touched Jesus (Read context = Mk 5:24-25, 26-27, 28-29, 30, 31-32), but when she became "aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him the whole truth " (Mk 5:33) and nothing but the truth. She did not lie. She spoke no falsehoods. Truth then is the correspondence between a reality and a declaration which professes to set forth or describe the reality. To say it another way, words spoken or written are true when they correspond with objective reality. Persons and things are true when they correspond with their profession (which we describe with words like integrity, sincerity, non-hypocritical, etc). In other words, "what you see is what you get". To profess one thing and live in contradiction to it is to lie and not practice the truth John MacArthur on 1Jn 1:6 - The first category of false professors consists of those who ignored their sin as if it were not a reality to them. They claimed to have fellowship with God ("if we say that we have fellowship with Him"), to share common aspects of life with Him, that is, eternal life (cf. John 17:3). However, that claim is meaningless if one continues to walk in the darkness. Walk refers to manner of life or conduct (Ro 8:4; cf. Ro 13:13; Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; see also Dt. 10:12–13; Ps. 119:1; Mic. 6:8), and it is there that genuine salvation is manifest, not in a mere profession that one possesses eternal life. To profess one thing and live in contradiction to it is to lie and not practice the truth.....no one who claims to be a Christian and yet lives in darkness (meaning that they continually practice evil deeds) is actually saved (1 John 3:4, 9; cf. Mt. 7:17–18; Mt 13:38; John 8:42–44). (See 1-3 John - Volume 5 - Page 28) (Bolding added) Simon Kistemaker - The sinner who refuses to set his life in harmony with God’s will cannot claim to have fellowship with God. Perhaps some of the people who opposed the Christian faith near the end of the first century and who were known as Gnostics were saying, “We have fellowship with God.” Yet these people continued to walk in darkness, that is, they were taking intense satisfaction in a life of sinful pleasures. They separated word from deed. They professed to live for God, but their deeds proved to be incompatible with their confession. They lived the lie. I Howard Marshall says that "Such persons were deceiving themselves. They claimed to have fellowship with God, but because of the incompatibility between the character of God as light and their own character as men living in the dark they were self-deceived. They were deceived in thinking that they could have fellowship with God while they practiced sin, and they were deceived in thinking that the experience which they thought was fellowship with God was really fellowship with him. This last point is implied in the writer’s comment that they do not put the truth into practice.5 We have seen already in 2 John that the truth is the ultimate reality of God revealed in Jesus and in the Christian message, and that this reality is moral in quality. To practice the truth means to live according to the way revealed by God and so as those who belong to the divine sphere. John says that those who practice sin demonstrate that they do not belong to God; in other words, they do not have fellowship with God.(See The Epistles of John - Page 110) Peter

1 João 1:9

Garland comments: Christ taught the same in the Gospels—that whoever would confess Him before men, in turn, He would confess before His Father and the angels (Mt 10:32; Lk 12:8). What powerful incentive this is for our witness of Him in the face of skeptics and mockers! (Ed: I agree and add what a powerful motivator this should be for us to continually rely on the Spirit's power to bear witness in those times when our flesh would cause us to shy away or back down! cp Acts 1:8) When standing before such men, let us consider ourselves to be standing before the very throne of the Father in our confession of the Son. “Coming immediately after the promise of not erasing the overcomer’s name from the book of life, this promise implies that on that future day of reckoning the judge will acknowledge the names written in the book as those who belong to Him.” (quoting Robert Thomas) Warren Wiersbe astutely observes that "There are three ways we may deal with our sins. Cover them. We cover our sins with our words. This is lying-- deceiving others and ourselves and lying to God. Lies are darkness, whereas God's truth is light. When we lie, our character erodes (Pr. 28:13+). When we cover sin, we lose God's light, fellowship and character. Confess them. (Ps 51:1-4+) Admit and judge them--agree with God about your sin. This involves the heart and the will. Some people have died because they repeatedly, willfully, proudly and arrogantly defied the will of God. Admit you are a sinner, say what is wrong and then come to Him and name it. Confess your sin only in the circle of those influenced by it--individuals or family. (Don't become an exhibitionist with the public.) Confession brings release, freedom, forgiveness and a new beginning. Conquer them. Jesus is in heaven today as our Advocate--as a Lawyer before the Father. Abide in Him, love Him, walk with Him in the light of His Word. Keep His commandments. Fellowship is a by-product of our walk with God. To love Him is to serve Him and obey His commandments. (Ed: Dear believer, confession and conquering are our potential because of the finished work of Calvary and our receipt of the gift of the Spirit, in Whom we can now choose daily to walk and we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Gal 5:16+. That is how we conquer and kill them as followers of Christ. Beware of trying to conquer them without the power of the Spirit! Ro 8:13+). Are you covering sin or conquering sin in your life? Confess any known sin and ask God to clean your heart. He wants to forgive you so He can restore fellowship with you. (Prayer, Praises and Promises) Jerry Bridges gives us a caution noting that in regard to "1 Jn. 1:9, as needful and precious as it is, is probably one of the most abused verses in all the Bible. We abuse it in two ways: first, by an almost flippant use of it when we regard our sin too lightly, and second, by a sense of despair that we have sinned so often or so grievously that we have exhausted God’s forgiveness. These two abuses are at opposite extremes, but both result from a failure to view our sin as God views it. On the one hand, we fail to see the seriousness of our sin, and on the other hand, we fail to see the completeness of God’s forgiveness. To help us get the most value from the great promise of 1 Jn. 1:9, let us consider God’s view of sin. To see sin as God sees it, we must first consider the seriousness of all sin. For too long we have tended to categorize sin into that which is unacceptable and that which may be tolerated. We have reached a state of peaceful coexistence with sins of the thought life, sins where "nobody gets hurt," and little habits or personality traits that are dismissed as "that’s just the way I am."…If we want to avoid the first abuse of 1Jn. 1:9 wherein we regard our sin too lightly and claim God’s forgiveness too casually and perhaps even presumptuously, we must begin to view sin as God views it—as rebellion against His authority, as despising His Person, and as defiance of His law. If you have been guilty of treating 1 Jn. 1:9 too casually (and who of us hasn’t?), try substituting rebellion or defiance or despising God’s Word for the word "sin" as you plead that verse before God. "Lord, I confess my rebellion and despising of Your Word and I plead your promise of forgiveness and cleansing." As we do this, we will begin to view our sin as God views it and will be less likely to abuse the gracious promise of God by treating it too casually. (Discipleship Journal, Issue 26, March/April 1985) The power in our Christian life Will be diminished by our sin; Confession will restore our strength— When we’re forgiven, cleansed within. —Sper Sin drains our spiritual power; confession restores it. CONFESSION OF SINS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT Confession of sins is not only a New Testament truth but is amply attested to in the Old Testament… Leviticus 16:21 (Context = The Day of Atonement) "Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities (wickedness) of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions (rebellion) in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. Comment: Here we see a beautiful foreshadowing of the truth in 1John 1:9, where the confession is followed by the result of sending the goat into the wilderness, which is picture of God forgiving or sending away (see discussion of aphiemi below) our sins that have already been once and for all "laid upon" the Lamb of God at Calvary. Note the use of all three OT words commonly used for sin - iniquities (wickedness), transgressions (rebellion), sins. As an aside, Perhaps you have never thought of your own sins (the "acceptable ones" such as gossip, resentment, covetousness, lustful thoughts) as rebellion against God, but that is how God views them (e.g., Ps 119:4)! Have you ever considered that your hasty, unkind and critical words are not just carelessness; they are acts of rank rebellion, of "shaking your fist in God's face"? The truth is that even our "little sins" constitute willful rejection of the Most High God's sovereign authority! Beloved, a right view of the depths of sin, will give us a high view of God's forgiveness of sin. In 2Sa 12:9, 10-note we see that David's sin of adultery and murder (no greater than our private sins of lustful and hateful thoughts! Mt 5:21-22-note, Mt 5:27-28-note) was tantamount to despising both the Word of God and the God of the Word! 🙏 THOUGHT - God, grant us eyes to see our sins, our wickedness and our rebellions the way You see them, so that we might convicted, humble and habitual confessors. Amen Genesis 4:9 Then (Hint: Always stop and ask "When is Then?" "Then" = an expression of time-see note = after Cain had killed Abel) the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said, "I do not know (A clear lie. Note how sin becomes self perpetuating!). Am I my brother's keeper?" Comment: In Cain we see a foreshadowing of those who would deny their sin as described by John in 1John 1:8, 10. Cain never confessed his sin nor accepted his guilt (Ge 4:13, 14). Leviticus 26:40+ If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me-- 41 I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies-- or if their uncircumcised heart (cp Dt 10:16, 30:6, Jer 4:4, 9:26, Ezek 44:7, 9) becomes humbled (Prophetic allusion to "heart circumcision" associated with entrance by grace through faith into the New Covenant - Ro 2:28, 29-note, cp Col 2:11-note) so that they then make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. Comment: Here God is referring to remembering the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. Israel's sins would not and could not "negate" this covenant, but would impede their enjoyment of the blessings of that covenant, especially the promise of the land. In fact because of their unconfessed sins, they were eventually cast out of the land of promise and taken into Babylonian exile as a measure of divine discipline. See other examples of OT confession - Nu 5:7, 1Ki 8:35, 36, Neh 9:2 (an example of corporate or national confession - oh for this to occur in the church in America!). Proverbs 28:13 (see in depth comments) He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes (speaks of repentance) them will find compassion. Sin forsaken is one of the best evidences of sin forgiven. —John Charles Ryle, Comment: Confession results in experiencing divine compassion here, divine forgiveness in 1John 1:9. Secret sin without open confession lead to personal anguish (cp Ps 32:3, 4). Before sin entered the world, the only description given of Adam and Eve is in Genesis 2:25 where we read that "the man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed." No sin. Nothing to hide. No shame. Genuine confession cannot totally recapitulate the sinless state the Garden, but can come as close as is possible on this side of heaven. Confession of sins instead of seen as a "bad" thing, is in fact the best thing for a sinner to practice. Don't miss your opportunity to experience the blessed state of no shame that comes from confessing your sins to God, Who faithfully forgives and cleanses! Hosea 5:15 I will go away and return to My place until (note this important time phrase) they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. Comment: God is predicting that one day in the future, Israel as a nation will acknowledge their guilt before Him and return to Him. He will receive them not based on their confession per se but based on His immutable, unconditional covenant with Abraham. The New Covenant which was given first to Israel and Judah in Jeremiah (Jer 31:31-34+) is the final fulfillment if you will of the Abrahamic Covenant, the fulfillment which is based on the once for all payment of the blood of Christ (Heb 13:20+) (See related resources: Abrahamic versus Mosaic; Covenant: Why the New is Better; Abrahamic vs Old vs New). Psalm 32:5+ I (David probably speaking of his sin with Bathsheba) acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Comment: David "confesses" his sins in essence three ways - acknowledging them, not hiding them, confessing them, each time with a different OT word for "sin" - sin, iniquity, transgression! Note the result is forgiveness of David's guilt. He deserved death, but God forgave him and allowed him to live. There cannot be a much clearer picture of the totality and completeness of God's forgiveness! The application for believers is to receive His total forgiveness when we confess our sins and to move on and not have a "pity party" and not "play the tapes" over and over. Thomas Watson: The hypocrite doth vail and smother his sin; he doth not abscindere peccatum (~cut away the sin), but abscondere (~conceals it); like a patient that hath some loathsome disease in his body, he will rather die than confess his disease; but a godly man's sincerity is seen in this -- he will confess and shame himself for sin. "Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly." 2Sa 24:17. Nay, a child of God will confess sin in particular; an unsound Christian will confess sin by wholesale; he will acknowledge he is a sinner in general, whereas David doth, as it were, point with his finger to the sore: "I have done this evil" Psalms 51:4; he doth not say I have done evil, but this evil. He points at his blood guiltiness.