We still sin

1 John 1v8-10

21^st February 2020

As we've seen, in verses 6-10 of the first chapter of his first letter, John presents a series of three refutations of the false teaching, immoral lives, and unloving attitudes of those who had left his churches and were now preaching non-Christian doctrine.

1 John 1v6-10
If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
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.
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

We looked at the first of these refutations last week, and now we'll look at the other two. The second refutation is:

1 John 1v8-9
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.

There remains in every believer a desire to sin. We fight it. Sometimes we win a battle and sometimes we lose a battle. Over time, we get more self-control, but some of the desire remains.

We've been justified by faith in the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the cross. We've been born again. The old has gone, the new has come. We've received the Holy Spirit. We're placed in God's holy church. We're promised eternal life. But we still sin. We don't sin as much as we did, but we still sin. Our love, our speech and our deeds are not perfect. If you think you don't still need God's forgiveness, you're deceived. The truth is not in you. You’re kidding yourself. Jesus says:

Matthew 7:3-5
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

If we walk in the light we will not judge others. We will pray, "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.".

Many people who want to criticise Christians, criticise us for being sanctimonious, “holier than thou”. They think we think that they're sinners and we're not. But we Christians are very well aware that we’re sinners. When we declare that some action or other is a sin, they think we're being judgemental, but we're not, because we know that we commit sins too. A Christian cannot – at least should not – be judgmental, because a Christian is a sinner.

But here's one of the great promises of scripture: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. We have to be honest with God. We have to get real. We have to stop saying "I'm a good person". You're not a good person. You're loved. You're forgiven. You're accepted by the God who is light. But you still sin.

If you will be honest with God, He will forgive you. He will purify you from all unrighteousness. Firstly, God will immediately totally forgive you. He will wipe every stain off your record in heaven. He will treat you as if you had never committed that sin. Secondly, He will, over time, make you a better, purer person. He will help you to put your sin to death. He will work in you so you won't do it again.

He will do these things for you because he is faithful. He has promised forgiveness of sins to all who repent and believe in his blood sacrifice. And he will keep his promise.

And He will do these things for you because He is just. Jesus Christ has paid for your sins. Since Jesus has already been punished for your sins, God will not punish you for your sins. God's justice means that once the penalty is paid, you don't need to pay. He will not demand the just penalty for your sin twice.

We cannot justify ourselves by denying that our sin is, indeed, sin. We cannot justify ourselves by telling other people that we're perfect. We're justified when we tell God we're not perfect. Then we allow the blood of Christ to cleanse us, the forgiveness of God to set us free, and the Holy Spirit to change us.

John's third refutation is:

1 John 1v10
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him [God] out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives [or, better, “is not in us”].

The Bible clearly states that every human being except Jesus sins. If you claim you have not sinned, you're telling God he lied when he inspired the writers of the Bible. If the Holy Spirit speaks to you, telling you that you did or said something wrong, and you refuse to accept His prompting, and tell yourself that you don't need to repent, you're calling the Holy Spirit a liar.

If God speaks to you about a specific sin, either through the Bible or through the Holy Spirit, and you refuse to listen and repent, how can you claim, His word lives in you? How can you claim to be walking in the light?

How can we claim to be followers of Jesus if we will not live Christlike lives?