There are another two verses which seem even more obvious than 1 John 1:9. They are Matthew 3:5 and 6, which say, "At that time Jerusalem and all Judea and all the surrounding region of the Jordan went out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins." We are told when the people heard John's testimony and realized their own sinfulness, they went out to be baptized by him and confessed their sins while they were being baptized. Again, a few matters should be noted in these verses. First, neither of the two verses indicate that the people took confession as their way to salvation. They did not try to obtain salvation through confession. We are merely told that when they heard John's preaching of repentance, they were compelled by the Spirit to be baptized and to confess their sins. They were in fact looking to the very Lord who was to pass through death and resurrection, and in whom they hoped for their salvation. Though John did baptize, his hands were actually pointing them to the Lord Jesus who was among them. It was he who said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). In baptisms of the church, and in the baptism of John the Baptist, the Christ who died and rose is referred to. John readily admitted how little he was worth by declaring that "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30), and that the people should not believe in him but in the coming One. Although he did prepare the way, he was not the way; the way was the coming One to whom he pointed.
How then were the confessions made? Since John did not tell them to come and confess their sins, his listeners must have done it on their own. Let us assume that one of us who is a worker has just finished witnessing for the Lord, and without any kind of urging, charging, demanding, or suggesting, the audience has been deeply enlightened by God in the conscience concerning their sins. They are compelled to rise up to admit that they have committed certain particular sins. To this I would surely say, "Amen" and "Hallelujah!" I would speak praises and never oppose this sort of open confession before men. If John were to say that a man could not be saved or forgiven unless he confessed his sins, and if John actually encouraged, prompted, commanded, and induced the people to confess their sins, then his actions would hardly match the record in Matthew 3:6. According to this verse, his listeners confessed their sins on their own; they were not encouraged by John.
Do not presume that I do not believe in the confession of sins. We have often encouraged the brothers and sisters to make confessions to others. Yet we refuse to accept confession as the means to be saved. There is only one means of salvation prescribed in the Scriptures, and that is faith. The ancient John the Baptist never urged anyone to confess his sins. Neither should any modern John the Baptist urge man to do the same. Of course, if a person, upon realizing his own sins, should stand up to make a confession on his own, we have to let him do so.