1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Introduction

We live in a day and age where the doctrine of sin is misunderstood. The word “sin” is not a popular word today. It is often minimized, re-defined, and even denied by men. Try telling an average person in the streets that he is a guilty sinner, that person would probably be offended. Like most people, he would have no problem admitting that he is not perfect, or even admit that he made mistakes in his life, but to admit that he is a depraved sinner before God and deserving God’s wrath and condemnation in hell, that would be a different story. But this is not the case with those who are believers. Believers in Jesus Christ humbly acknowledge that he or she is a sinner deserving nothing but the judgment and condemnation of God. In fact, this is the first thing that happens when a person is converted to Jesus Christ, he learns and acknowledges that he is a guilty sinner before God. This is the first step that leads to salvation—the recognition of sin.

J. C. Ryle in his book “Holiness,” wrote, “The plain truth is that a right understanding of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are “words and names” which convey no meaning to the mind. The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ is to send light into his heart and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with “light,” and so also does the spiritual creation. God “shines into our hearts” by the work of the Holy Spirit and then spiritual life begins (2 Cor. 4:6). Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul’s disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the contemporary church has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin.”

So, this morning I invite you to consider with me the Reality of Sin, the Rejection of Sin, and the Remedy for Sin.

I – The Reality of Sin

The Bible clearly declares that all men are sinners. We are all sinful without any exceptions. We all sin because we are all sinners. Listen to the general statements from the Scriptures concerning the sinfulness of man:

Proverb 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Galatians 3:22a But the scripture hath concluded all under sin ...

Then in our texts, the apostle John clearly affirms that all men without exception are sinners.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

These are clear affirmations of the guilt and sinfulness of men. The Bible teaches that we are sinners the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb. David says in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” The psalmist says something similar in Psalm 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.”

Understand that this was not the original state of man when he was created. Adam and Eve were created without sin. But we know what happened, Adam and Eve fell into sin when they listened to the deception of Satan in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says by Adam’s sin entered into this world, and as a consequence death also entered into the world.

Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Sin has affected Adam’s whole being—his body, his mind, his soul, his will, his desire, his affection, and his words. Created in the image and likeness of God, innocent and righteous at first, but when they fell into sin, they became sinful and corrupt. And since then, all men and women, boys and girls are born in the image of fallen Adam and Eve and inherit a heart and nature prone to sin and evil.

I realize that this is not a pleasant topic to talk about, but unless we first know how serious a problem sin is and how sinful we are, we will never be saved. We have to know what we need to be saved from, before we can receive the salvation that is freely and graciously offered to us in Jesus Christ. And what you and I need to be saved from is our sin, for this is the very reason why Jesus Christ came to earth. 

Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

So, sin is a reality. Although it is an undeniable fact that all men are sinners, still many try to deny it. This brings us to the next heading which is ...

II – The Rejection of Sin

Last week we looked at one impossible claim that some false teachers were claiming, that is, they have fellowship with God and yet they are walking in darkness. Here in our text today, the apostle John addresses another two impossible claims the false teachers were apparently making. The first claim is in verse 8 where they say, “we have no sin.” The word “sin” here is a noun and in singular and I believe it’s referring not to sinful actions but to a sinful nature. The false teachers of John’s day may have been claiming that they have no sinful nature. They deny that they were depraved. Even today there are those who claim that they had achieved a state of sinless perfection.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The apostle John says anyone who denies their sinfulness is even worse than being a liar. This is the worst and ultimate deception. He is not deceiving God. He is not deceiving others. He is not deceiving anyone else. He is deceiving only himself. The Greek word for deceive is “planaho” which means “to lead astray.” So, the person who denies that he has a sinful nature leads himself astray. He leads himself to believe something that he has no basis in fact to believe. Something which will ultimately lead to his own destruction. Additionally, to reinforce this, John said, the truth is not in them. Now what John is saying is this, that if we deny our sinfulness, then we deny God’s Word. We deny the truth spoken from God’s own mouth. We have no room for it in our hearts. To deny the existence of sin gives clear evidence that we don’t have the truth.

The second claim is in verse 10, where they say, “we have not sinned.” As I have noted, in verse 8, John uses the word “sin” which is a noun, but here in verse 10, he uses the word “sinned” which is a verb. What John is referring this time is not our sinful nature but referring to our sinful actions. You see, John here is addressing the false claim of some who say they do not sin. There were in John’s day a group of false professors who claimed to have no sin. The Bible commentator John Phillips told a story of a man who told him he had not sinned. To which John Phillips responded, “I’d like to have a talk with your wife!”

But what does John say about these people? “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Such people, John says, make God a liar. This is even worse than being a liar. This is the most outrageous claim because, when we claim we have not sinned, we essentially call God a liar. As we saw earlier, God in His Word, plainly tells us what sin is and that we are sinners. So, to deny what God has said is to contradict God’s Word and to make Him out to be false and a liar.

To say that we have not sinned is to accuse God of lying, for the Word of God clearly declares that “Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:9b-12)

What’s more John says, His Word is not in us. The “Word” here refers to the Word of God. It’s parallel to the word truth in verse 8. We do not have the Word of God in our hearts. When we say we have not sinned, not only we accuse God of lying it also reveals that “His word is not in us.” It reveals that we are not walking in the light. It reveals we do not have fellowship with God. Denying sin is just an evidence that these people were not in fellowship with God, who is the light. Because the closer we are to the light of God the more conscious we are of our uncleanness and unworthiness.

These were the kinds of people that John was dealing with in his day. They were denying the reality of sin by claiming they do not have sinful nature and they have not sinned. But what about today, how do people try to deny their sinfulness and sin? One of the ways people deny sin is by redefining sin. For example, the Evolutionist says, “What men call sin is nothing more than the residue of their animal ancestry. Besides, it’s got to be good because it feels so natural.” The Pantheist says, “Since everything is part of God; then what men call sin is part of God; therefore, sin is part of God and not sinful.” The Psychologist says, “There is no such thing as personal responsibility since a man becomes just what his environment makes him.” The Psychoanalyst says, “Guilt is unhealthy.” The Sociologist says, “Collectively we bear the blame for the ills of society.” The Alcoholic says, “I’m not a drunkard; I’m an alcoholic. It’s not a sin, it’s a disease.” The Christian Scientist says, “The concept of sin is only an illusion of mortal mind.” The Holiness Perfectionist says, “I have reached sinless perfection and don’t sin anymore. I just make mistakes.” And the Relativist says, “Since there are no absolute values, then by definition there can be no right or wrong.” - Yoho is quoted by Paul Apple regarding the importance of dealing correctly with sin.

The common denominator of all these people is that they all try to redefine  sin. There was a famous television pastor even developed his own unbiblical definition of sin. The late Robert Schuller, who was a famous American televangelist and was an author and pastor of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. Schuller was best known for his teaching called the power of positive thinking. According to Schuller, “Sin is any act or thought that robs myself or another human being of his or her self-esteem ... the core of sin is a lack of self-esteem. ... Sin is psychological self-abuse. ... the most serious sin is one that causes me to say, “I am unworthy. I may have no claim to divine sonship if you examine me at my worst.’ For once a person believes he is an ‘unworthy sinner,’ it is doubtful if he can really honestly accept the saving grace God offers in Jesus Christ”

Here is a classic example of redefining sin. According to Schuller, the core or essence of sin is not transgression of the law, but lack of self-esteem. Then he even redefined being born again as being “changed from a negative to a positive self-image.” Such concepts are diametrically opposed to Scripture, and such concepts are leading multitudes away from the true gospel and true Christian life.

Other ways people deny sin today is either making excuses for sin or blaming others. Vance Havner told the story of a lady who walked into a psychiatrist’s office with a strip of bacon on one ear and a strip of bacon on the other ear and a fried egg on her head. She looked at the doctor and said, “Doctor, I am here to talk to you about my husband. He has a real problem.” That is exactly the way most people are. If there is a problem, it is somebody else’s fault.

To deny what God has said about sin, is to exclude yourself from the gracious and effectual solution which God provides for sin. If we don’t realize our lost sinful condition, then we will never see our need for a Saviour, and then we will be lost for eternity. For Jesus says in Matthew 9:13, “for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The only people He could help were those that recognized that they were sinners.

III – The Remedy for Sin

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Remember now that John is writing to believers to warn them against false teachers who have infiltrated the church and were propagating their false doctrine and false beliefs. So, the primary application of verse 9 is obviously for Christians, but its truth may be applied to all who sin and are therefore in need of Gods mercy and forgiveness.

Today, I want to direct the application of this gracious truth not to the believers, we will do that next week, but to those who are still unbelievers, to those who are still lost in their sins. John holds out a wonderful and comforting promise to sinners. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Greek word used for “confess” in this passage is “homologeo.” Homo means “the same” and logeo means “the speak.” So, to confess means “to say the same thing as another.” It means to declare openly and speak freely in agreement with another statement. That’s what the believer does when he confesses his sins. He says the same thing as God does about his sin. That means he doesn’t make excuses, he doesn’t blame others, and he doesn’t try to minimize sin or redefine sin. No, he calls sin what God calls it. He admits that he has sinned, and he admits further that he deserves the wrath and condemnation of God.

Let me remind you that we have merciful and forgiving God.

Psalm 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9: He will not always chide; neither will he keep his anger forever. 10: He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11: For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. 13: As a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth then that fear him.

Psalm 57:9 I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations. 10: For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7: Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...

The Lord delights to show mercy and ready to forgive. There is forgiveness with Him. But understand that God does not show mercy and does not forgive randomly. No, mercy and forgiveness are bestowed not on those who sin and fear not, but on those who fear and confess their sins. The promise of mercy and forgiveness does not apply to the careless, thoughtless, indifferent, and deny their sin, but only applies to those who humbly confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. If a person is not forgiven, it is not because God would not forgive, or because forgiveness is not available. In fact the Bible says in Psalm 86:5,  “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

The Lord delights in mercy and is ready to forgive. So, if a person is not saved, it’s not because the Lord is reluctant to forgive. No, it is because we are too proud to admit our sinfulness and slow to ask for forgiveness.

Closing Thoughts

Do you need forgiveness? Do you need salvation? If you do, then humbly and honestly acknowledge your sin and sinfulness before God and turn to Him for forgiveness and salvation. As you confess your sin, and sinfulness ask God to forgive you on the basis of Who Christ is and what He has done on the cross of Calvary. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord, now is the time. He suffered and died on the cross to save you from your sin and rose again from the dead to justify you before the Father. The apostle John says, if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and the cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Do you believe God’s word? Do you believe His promise? It is true that sin is a reality and so is forgiveness and cleansing.

In a certain cemetery, there is a headstone engraved with a single word: FORGIVEN. There were no other inscriptions, no date of birth, not other message. There is only a name and the one single word FORGIVEN. The word is simple and plain, but that is the greatest word that can be said of any man or woman or written on any gravestone. David would agree for he wrote in Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2: Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Friend, if you died today, could that word FORGIVEN honestly be written on your tombstone? It can be. Come to God who is faithful and just to forgive sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Come to God through Jesus Christ now, confessing your sins and confessing Him as your Saviour and Lord.

Christian, how about you today? Maybe you have known the Lord for many years; but in this time of pandemic and lockdown you have lost a sense of fellowship with Him because of some sin in your life. Maybe you feel that loss of fellowship right now because of some sin of commission or sin of omission. Whatever it is, the place to begin is to confess your sins. Be honest with Him. Humbly and honestly confess your sins before Him. He will forgive you freely and immediately for He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness; and you can once again have the joy of His fellowship restored to you.

AMEN!