If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. IJohn 1:8-10
v8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
This statement reminds me of the time Jesus deals with the scribes about the adulteress who is probably only seconds away from getting stoned. For those of you who may not be familiar with the story, you can find it in John 8:1-12. The baseline of the story is that there is a woman who is caught in adultery, and in those days the punishment for an adulteress was to be stoned to death. So, the scribes and Pharisees bring him this woman and ask Him a question about whether they should do as the LAW says—in the hopes that they could trap him into speaking inconsistently or repudiating (renouncing) the law. He ignored them at first, probably because he knew they were only trying to trap him, but after they continue to bother him with the situation, he said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone.” John 8:7. The story ends with all of the scribes and Pharisees walking away convicted and Jesus telling the woman to “go and sin no more.” John 8:11
I say that whole paragraph simply to say that there is no one on earth who is sinless. Romans 3:10 tell us that “There is none righteous, no, not one.” Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In another place the Word compares our righteousness to filthy rags. Friends, we are, none of us, sinless. Believing that we are is, as verse 8 tells us, to believe deceit. But it is also pride and self-righteousness. The scribes and Pharisees in the story in John 8 are perfect examples of this. They were sticklers for the law, so much so that they used the law to condemn and to put down others, all the while boasting about themselves that they “kept the law” and were, therefore, somehow more righteous than people who admitted they did not keep the law. So, we see that verse 8 is really all about pride—pride in our ability to do “good” or “right,” to be at every church service during the week, to not get drunk or high, to never have done drugs; all while we miss what it truly means to be a Christian. Because, you see, we are no better than the girls selling their bodies on the street corner. We are no better than the junkies shooting up behind dumpsters. We are no better than the men luring young children away to rape and murder them. And to think that we are is to believe a lie straight from the pit of Hell. However…we do have hope in this next verse.
v9. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This is one of those conditional statements we find in the Bible; an “if, then” statement. People love the “then” part of the statement, but people aren’t that crazy about the “if” part. Why? Because the “if” part holds us responsible for our actions, and people don’t want to be held responsible for what they do. Pardon the sweeping generalization here, but we, as a human race, want all the benefits of life and even God, without any requirements to act or do or behave a certain way. If we could live off of the “then” statements in the Bible without fulfilling the “if” statements, life would probably—at least in our minds—be perfect. A lot more people would probably be Christians as well. But that is not the case. IF we want the benefits of this “then” statement, THEN we must do what is required in the “if” statement.
Let’s break down this verse into phrases, shall we; it’s really full of hope and grace.
IF... we confess our sins. This is an acknowledgement on our part; an admission. If we admit that we are sinners; if we admit that we’re unrighteous; if we say to the Lord, “I am a sinner. I have lied, cheated, stolen, had impure thoughts, whored myself. I have served other gods. I have not believed you.”
THEN… He is faithful and just. Okay…God is faithful and just all the time. His faithfulness and justice to do not in any way, or shape, or form rely on our admission of sinfulness. So why did I separate this little phrase from the one below? Simply to emphasize that HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST. He won’t hold a grudge; he won’t constantly remind you of past failures and sins. Caedmon’s Call has a song, I don’t remember the name right now, but the main line is “My God, My God, why hast thou accepted me?” The answer is simple: HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST. There is no simpler way to ensure to us that the phrase that follows is pretty much a done deal.
To forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Oh, how sweet. Not only does He forgive us; he also cleanses us. We are not simply forgiven; we are also cleansed from head to foot (spiritually speaking) so completely that there is no more unrighteousness in us. But how is that possible when Romans tells us that there is none righteous? Because He comes and abides in us, friends; and because Jesus is sinless, we are unable to sin so long as we abide in Him.
God will forgive us all of our sins and make us pure and righteous IF we admit that we are unrighteous. You really can’t have one without the other. If you don’t believe you are a sinner, you don’t need to be forgiven of those sins, and you have no use for a Savior. But the following is also true of you:
v10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Wow, what a bold statement; but so true, and it bears repeating. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. This verse is so blunt and so simple that it hardly needs to be explained. God says, “You have sinned.” We say, “No I haven’t.” We might as well just say to him, “You lie,” because in disagreeing with God, we covertly admit that don’t believe Him. And there is really no difference between not believing Him and calling Him a liar. They are one and the same. And if we believe that God is a liar, how can his word be in us? How can it impact us? How can it lead and direct us? It cannot.
So, the moral of this piece of scripture: If we are so self-righteous to believe that we don’t need to be forgiven, we have basically spat in God’s face, called Him a liar, and by default there is no way that His word is alive and at work in our hearts. If it were, we would believe him, admit that we are unworthy, sinful creatures, confess our sins, and repent, receiving restoration and forgiveness from a God who is faithful and just to all. I’ll bottom line it with this statement: All that we receive of the Lord hinges directly upon whether or not we are prideful or humble. In our pride we call God a liar and cannot receive his blessings. In our humbleness we call ourselves wretched sinners and God’s mercy abounds. Friends, I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to be guilty of calling God a liar. I really don’t want to be guilty of living my life without his Word (who is Jesus) working actively in my heart and soul. I don’t want to be self-righteous and braggadocios and pompous. I don’t want to be so sure of my good works that I disbelieve the Lord and find that I have deceived myself and called Him a liar. After all, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18.
“When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
So, as I close this extremely long study, I want you guys to think about that final verse, and decide for yourself in which part of it you want to be classified. Do you want pride and shame, or humbleness and wisdom. The choice is yours; I pray you make the right one.
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