What does it really mean to confess our sins? How should we confess them?

Q: 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” What does it really mean to confess our sins? How should we confess them?

A:
I once had an experience of being deeply trapped in sin. I made countless resolutions not to sin again, but every single one ended in failure. Although I was the president of the church youth group, a choir member, and a Sunday school teacher, I was hiding many unspeakable sins inside me. Because of this, I spoke with many pastors.
“Pastor, how can I have my sins washed away?”
“Confess and repent!” they told me.

Although I confessed my sins again and again, the problem of sin was never resolved. I could not understand what 1 John 1:9 meant when it said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I thought that as long as I confessed each sin I had committed one by one before God, my sins would be cleansed. Later I realized that this was wrong. When it says, “If we confess our sins,” what exactly is “sin”? Is stealing, lying, murder, or adultery sin? Absolutely not!

What is leprosy? Are rotting fingers, falling eyebrows, and a collapsed nose leprosy itself? No, those are the symptoms of leprosy. What is a cold? Is it coughing, a runny nose, and fever? No, those are just symptoms caused by the cold virus invading the body. Likewise, sin and the acts of sin (symptoms of sin) are not the same.

Lying, stealing, hating, killing, and committing adultery are all symptoms of sin. Because there is sin, these symptoms appear. In other words, people commit sins because they already have sin within them.

Then, if someone doesn’t steal or commit adultery, does that mean he has no sin? No. He still has sin; it’s just that the symptoms haven’t appeared yet.

In several places, the Bible compares sin to leprosy. There’s an old saying: “When one contracts leprosy, for the first three years even he himself doesn’t know it; for the next three years, people don’t know it; after another three years, everyone knows it.”

One day, when leprous symptoms appear on a person’s body, does that mean he just became a leper that day? Of course not. He had already been a leper long before; it was only that the disease finally manifested outwardly.

In the same way, even if you haven’t stolen, killed, committed adultery, or hated others, the Bible still says you are a sinner. Some people might say, “Pastor, please don’t keep calling people sinners. That’s too much.”

One night, a man called me.
“Pastor, I want to meet you.”
“Okay, come over,” I said, giving him my home address. When he arrived, he said,
“Pastor, I just got out of prison—this is the ninth time. That’s the kind of person I am. Pastor, please give me some money.”
His tone carried a subtle threat.

So I asked him, “Do you know who I am?”
“Of course—you’re a pastor.”
“What does a pastor do? Is he someone who gives you money or food?”
“No.”
“A pastor gives you spiritual food. Although money is important, feeding your soul is more important. A pastor preaches the bread of life. So, sit down and listen first…”

I began preaching the gospel to him.
He interrupted, “Pastor, I already know all that… Don’t keep saying ‘sinner, sinner.’”
“Yes, I also don’t want to keep saying ‘sinner,’ but you must be freed from sin.”

All people are bound by sin. Stealing, lying, murder, and adultery are not the real problem; the real problem is the sinful nature that leads you to steal, lie, or hate.

When you hear that someone hates another person, do you sometimes feel a strange sense of satisfaction? When you hear gossip about others, do you find it interesting? When a relative buys a good piece of land, do you feel jealous? Isn’t that what your heart is like? If so, it means you have the “disease of sin.”

Just as leprosy causes eyebrows to fall out and fingers to rot, and a cold causes coughing, fever, and a runny nose—having the “disease of sin” naturally produces symptoms like hatred, murder, adultery, and theft.

If you have a cold, is it enough to just reduce the fever? If you have leprosy and your finger rots, is simply bandaging it enough? Of course not—you must treat the root cause!

Sin and the acts of sin are not the same. Stealing, lying, and murder are not sin itself—they are acts of sin. The Bible clearly distinguishes between the two. When the Scripture says, “If we confess our sins,” it doesn’t mean confessing the acts of sin you’ve committed, but confessing the sin itself.

In the Old Testament, there was a king named David. One day, he defiled the wife of one of his generals. Tormented by this sin, he confessed before God. How did he confess? Did he say:

“God, one day while walking on the roof of my palace, I saw a beautiful woman. I lost my mind and brought her to me. I slept with her, and she became pregnant. Oh God, I’m so sorry…”

No, he didn’t confess that way. In Psalm 51:5, David said, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.”

He didn’t list out the sins he had committed; instead, he acknowledged that he was fundamentally a person who could only commit sin—that he was born in iniquity.

Confessing the fruits of sin and confessing the root of sin are completely different.

If someone asks me, “Can you drive?” and I reply, “Yes, but I can’t use the turn signal, can’t start the car, can’t shift gears, and can’t turn the wheel…”—then clearly, I can’t drive. If I can’t do only one thing, like using the turn signal, then I can say, “I just can’t use the turn signal.”

It’s the same with sin. If you hadn’t committed any other sins except lying, you could say, “I lied.” If you only hated others, you could say, “I hated.” But in reality, we are sinful from head to toe—we are trees of sin, children of sin, born of sin.

Therefore, trying to make ourselves holy or to stop sinning through our own effort is impossible. A heart that does not sin must enter into us.

Those who take their spiritual life seriously realize that no matter how hard they try, they cannot stop sinning. But those who live carelessly in faith will keep trying to stop sinning by effort. When they finally realize their efforts are useless, they will say, “I truly can’t do it!” and give up.

We were sinners even from our mother’s womb. If we can be freed from that fundamentally sinful state, then all our sins will naturally be forgiven.

Therefore, when 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins,” it does not mean we should confess each act of sin (the fruits of sin), but that we must acknowledge we are fundamentally sinners who can do nothing right—and then ask the Lord to save us. When we completely entrust the problem of sin to the Lord, He will surely solve it perfectly for us. 

问:《约翰一书》1章9节说:“我们若认自己的罪,神是信实的,是公义的,必要赦免我们的罪,洗净我们一切的不义。”这里提到“我们若认自己的罪”,究竟该如何认罪呢?

 

答:我曾有过一段深深陷入罪恶之中的经历,我为了不犯罪无数次下过决心,可每次都以失败告终。我虽然是教会的青年会会长、唱诗班成员,又是主日学老师,但是我里面隐藏着许多难

以启齿的罪。为此,我和很多位牧师交通过。“牧师,怎样才能洗净罪呢?”“认罪悔改吧!”虽然我一次又一次认罪,但是罪的问题始终得不到解决。我一直不能理解《约翰一书》1章9节的话语:“我们若认自己的罪,神是信实的,是公义的,必要赦免我们的罪,洗净我们一切的不义。”

我认为只要把所犯的罪一一地向神告白,罪就可以洗净了,后来才明白那是错的。“我们若认自己的罪”,那么到底什么是罪呢?偷盗、撒谎、杀人、奸淫,这些是罪吗?断乎不是!什么是麻风病?手指头烂掉、眉毛脱落、鼻梁塌陷,这些是麻风病吗?不是,这只不过是麻风病的症状。什么是感冒?是咳嗽、流鼻涕、发烧吗?不是,这只是感冒病毒侵入体内时所产生的症状而已。和这一样,罪和犯罪(罪的症状)是不一样的。说谎、偷盗、恨人、杀人、奸淫,这都是罪的症状,有罪必然会产生这样的症状,也就是说因为有罪,所以会犯罪。那么,不偷盗、不奸淫的人就没有罪吗?不是的。他也有罪,只不过那些症状没有显露而已。

圣经有几处把麻风病比喻成罪。有句话说:“长了大麻风,前三年己不知,后三年人不知,再三年无人不知。”有一天,在一个人身上发现了麻风病的症状。那么,这个人是从那天开始才成为麻风病患者的吗?不是的。他早已是麻风病患者了,只不过那天才显露出来而已。同样,你虽然没有偷盗,没有杀人,没有奸淫,没有恨人,但圣经说你是罪人。有人会说:“牧师,你别总是说罪人罪人的,不要太过分了。”

有一天晚上,有个人给我打了电话:“牧师,我想见你。”“好,你来吧!”我把家里的地址告诉了他,他就来了。他对我说:“牧师,我刚从监狱出来,这是第九次了,我就是这样的人。牧师,你给我点钱花吧!”他的要求暗带威胁。我就问他:

“你知道我是谁吗?”

“不就是牧师吗?”

“牧师是干什么的?是给你钱的吗?是给你饭吃的吗?”

“不是。”

“牧师是给你灵魂粮食的人。虽然给你钱也重要,但给你

灵魂的粮食更重要。牧师是传讲生命粮食的人,你先坐下来听听

吧 …… ”我开始给他传福音。

“牧师,那些我都知道 …… 牧师,别总说罪人罪人的。”

“对呀!我也不想说罪人罪人的,但是你必须从罪恶中解脱出来。”

众人都被捆在罪恶中。偷盗、撒谎、杀人、奸淫这些都不成问题,成问题的是牵引你偷盗的品性。每当听说一个人恨另一个人时,你就会产生奇妙的快感;每当听到一个人在毁谤另一个人时,你就会感到津津有味;当你的亲属买了一块好地时,你就会嫉妒得红了眼 …… 难道你心里不是这样吗?如果是,这就说明你患了“罪病”。好比得了麻风病,就会眉毛脱落、手指烂掉;得了感冒,就会咳嗽、发烧、流鼻涕;得了“罪病”,自然就会有恨人、杀人、奸淫、偷盗这些症状。如果得了感冒,只退烧就可以吗?得了麻风病,手指头烂掉了,只用绷带裹上就行吗?应该治根治本!

罪和犯罪不一样。偷盗、说谎、杀人,这不是“罪”,乃是“犯罪”,圣经明确区分了“罪”和“犯罪”。“我们若认自己的罪”这句话并不是叫你认所犯的罪,乃是叫你认“罪”。旧约时代有一个王,名叫大卫。有一天他玷污了自己手下一位将军的妻子。大卫因这罪甚是痛苦,就在神面前认罪。他是怎样认罪的呢?“神啊,我有一天在王宫的房顶散步,看见了一个美貌的女子。那时我好像疯了,稀里糊涂地就把她带来了,并且和她同寝了,不料她怀了孕。神啊,呜呜 …… ”他是这样认罪的吗?

我们看一下《诗篇》51篇5节,大卫根本不是这么认罪的,而是说:“我是在罪孽里生的,在我母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪。”他没有说自己犯了什么罪,而是承认自己根本是只能犯罪的人,说自己是在罪孽里生的。可见,认“罪的果子”和认“罪的根本”是完全不同的。假如有一个人问我:“你会开车吗?”我说:“会。但不会打转向灯,不会启动,不会换档,不会打方向盘 …… ”不会开车的人说“不会开”就可以了。如果只是不会打转向灯,可以说:“我就不会打转向灯。”如果说:“我不会刹车。”意思是除了不会刹车之外别的都会。

罪也是如此,如果你没犯别的罪,只犯了说谎的罪,可以说“我说谎了”;如果别的罪一点儿都没犯,只犯了“恨人”这一个罪 ,可以说“我恨人了”。但是,我们从头到脚都是罪,我们根本就是一棵罪树,是罪恶之子、罪恶的种类,因此想靠自己成圣、不犯罪,那是不可能的。必须让不犯罪的心进到我们里面才行。认真对待信仰生活的人会明白,即使自己再怎么努力,也绝不可能不犯罪。但那些马马虎虎过信仰的人会为了不犯罪而努力,当他们发现自己再怎么努力也是枉然的时候,就会说:“我实在不行!”之后便会放手。我们人是从母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪,若能够从根本就是罪人的状态中得以释放,那么一切的罪自然就得到饶恕了。

所以,《约翰一书》1章9节说“我们若认自己的罪”,不是让我们认自己所犯的罪(罪的果子),乃是承认我们根本就是一个罪人,怎么做也不行,之后求主来拯救。当把罪的问题完全交托给主时,主必会为我们彻底解决。