Clean and Free

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we understand that as long as we remain in these physical bodies we still host the old sin nature. To deny that would be self-deceit. Anyone who understands Bible Doctrine and observes humanity knows better. The "ifs" in this passage are 3rd class condition in the koine Greek language, meaning the believer may or may not make this claim, or confess to the sin he has committed. ("Confess" : to say the same thing as another, i.e. to agree with, assent to, concede, not to refuse, to promise not to deny, to admit or declare one's self guilty of what one is accused of ). But IF he does acknowledge his sin, privately to the Father, the righteous Father is going to always do the same thing (He is faithful), because it is the fulfillment of His promise. That is, He forgives the sin we acknowledge and cleanses the sins we are too immature to know are sins in our life ("all unrighteousness"), because Jesus paid the full penalty for all these sins on the cross. This makes us clean and free! The Holy Spirit can now fill us and we are qualified to serve our Lord. We sheep are totally dependent on the Shepherd, both for our eternal salvation and for our daily cleansing. It is His Work! Refusing to submit to this grooming by the Shepherd leaves us in a state of filth and uselessness (sheep cannot clean themselves), unfit for service in His Kingdom and under constant discipline from our Father. I'd rather be clean and free.