In one sense, I could answer that by saying, “Who HASN’T died with unconfessed sin?” The purpose of 1 John 1:9 is not to say that if a person committed 324,689 sins in their life, they’d better have confessed every single one of them or they’re not going to heaven. If that were the case, I think heaven is going to be a pretty empty place. Further, if a Christian thinks it’s their job to spend their life on an endless excavation project trying to think of and confess every single thing they’ve ever done wrong, that is a huge misdirection of time and energy, and shows a lack of understanding of both Scripture and God’s plan for our lives.

The confession that brings us into relationship with God is not 1 John 1:9, but Romans 10:9 (…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved). 1 John 1:9—confessing a sin—is not what causes a person to be saved to begin with, and I don’t believe that committing a sin causes a Christian to lose their salvation. James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways…” I’m sure there are many things I’ve done wrong that I’ve forgotten about, and probably several mistakes I’ve made that I was oblivious to. That’s why 1 John 1:7 is so precious. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. ”

In Three Big Words, Brother Hagin spoke of a time when he had inadvertently missed it, and said,
“…you see, I was walking in all the light I had, and there was a continual cleansing of the blood for me as I walked in that light. We have all sinned and not realized it, but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.”
I think it’s safe to say that every believer has died with some unconfessed sin in their life, but our faith should not be in our perfection of confessing, but in the perfect work of His mercy and His blood. When a sin is not inadvertent but is known and realized, this is where 1 John 1:9 applies. When I refer to confessing a sin, I’m not talking about dwelling on it, wallowing in it, hashing and rehashing it. I’m not talking about walking in “sin consciousness” as it is often called. I’m simply referring to acknowledging and conceding to the truth of the word—saying what God says about it—and receiving the mercy that God has always had available to us, and moving forward with God.

If I’ve missed it, I don’t confess (acknowledge) it so that God will love me again or so that I can re-gain my salvation. God never stopped loving me, nor had I lost my salvation. Let’s illustrate this with a practical example. Let’s say that Joe Christian is driving down the road. He has trusted Jesus as his Savior, he is born-again, a new creation, etc. As he’s driving down the road, he drops something and takes his eyes off the road as he reaches down to pick it up. When he looks back up, he’s swerved into the other lane and he sees himself heading right into a semi-truck. In the split second before impact, he panics, says a cuss word, and is immediately killed before he has a chance to confess his sin.

Does Joe go to hell because he didn’t have a chance to “make things right” before he died? For whatever my opinion is worth, I say absolutely not. He was a child of God who trusted Jesus as his Savior. His salvation was never based on his perfection or his performance in any way, shape, or form. Confession (being honest with God) is not a last second “delete” button to make sure all of our sins are forgiven right before we die. It is a lifestyle that involves being honest with God, acknowledging truth, receiving his mercy and forgiveness as needed (the very forgiveness He procured for us 2,000 years ago), and moving forward with God.

I am not going to reject the healthy, biblical practice of being honest with God and making adjustments when I’ve missed it just because someone died with unconfessed sin. Likewise, I’m not going to do away with the doctrine of water baptism just because the repentant thief on the cross didn’t have a chance to get water baptized before he died.

There are people who turn “confession” into a religious work whereby they are trying to earn something that can only be received by faith, but there are others who want to completely reassign 1 John 1:9 away from believers. I reject both extremes and am endeavoring to walk in (and to teach) a healthy biblical lifestyle that honors God’s word and Jesus’ wonderful redemptive work on our behalf.

by Tracy Harris