Honest IS the best policy

Years ago, an older man stood up in church and told everyone that he had no sin. He said Jesus cleansed him from all that and therefore he didn’t sin anymore. He added that any Christian who sinned was making a mockery of the power of God’s salvation.

At the time, I was a new Christian and didn’t know the Bible very well. Later I found these words:

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. (1 John 1:8-10)

Verse 8 makes this man’s claim false. Salvation does gives us the power to avoid sin, but a Christian cannot claim that their sin nature is gone. I know how easily I can cover or deny my sin. I also know the possibility of deceiving myself. Besides that, I’m often simply oblivious to what I’m doing wrong. However, just because I cannot see it does not mean it isn’t there. I’ve had God reveal my sin to me and even bemoaned, “Why couldn’t I see that? Why was I so blind?”

Verse 10 makes this man’s claim false also. Even if he admitted that his sin nature was still with him, he still tried to claim that he never sinned. To say such a thing is a contradiction to God’s Word and to the Holy Spirit who convicts both Christians and non-Christians of sin.

In this verse, the Greek verb translated “we have not sinned” indicates a denial in the past that continues to the present. While verse 8 is about the guilt of sin or a sinful nature, this verse is about the denial of particular sins. To make this denial is the same as calling God a liar because God’s Word says I sin, and it even gets specific about it.

A pastor friend once joked that “What I don’t’ know won’t convict me.” The only way anyone can deny sin is by totally ignoring the Word of God and refusing to read it or let it change their life. Leave out the Word and sin will certainly come in.

My all-time favorite Bible verse is plunked right in the middle. Verse 9 is the way to grow, the way to be free from guilt and shame, the way to avail myself of the power of God to save me from my sinful behavior.

This verse is directed to all believers. God says that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. To confess is to agree with Him, to admit and acknowledge that He is right. This verse says if I confess my specific sins to God, He will cleanse all unrighteousness from me.

This isn’t about my initial salvation where I was justified before God because of the death of His Son at Calvary. This is about my ongoing need to be forgiven and cleansed from the sins that I commit since I was saved, sins that happen because I yield to that old sin nature.

In the original Greek, this verse does not really say “our” sins, as is indicated by the italics in the English text. Literally it reads, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us the sins.” From personal experience, I know “the sins” means those I confess, not just any or every sin I commit.

For instance, if I get angry and say something harsh to a person, then confess it to them and to God, God forgives and cleanses me. What happens if I do it again the next day? Does that mean that He didn’t cleanse me? Not at all. He washed that one episode away, but my sinful tendencies are still there. To get rid of the repeating anger, I need to get to the bottom of it. I need to ask God to show me the root. It might be that I am jealous of the other person and by realizing that, I also realize that I am not trusting God to meet my needs. When I confess those things, then my anger against that person is more apt to permanently disappear.

God is faithful. He provided a just salvation in which Jesus interceded for me by taking my place and paying my penalty for sin. He can justly offer me forgiveness too because Jesus lives forever to intercede for me. 1 John 2:1 says, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

If I deny that my sin nature exists, or deny that I sin, I miss out on the amazing work of God. He wants to transform my life and clean up my act. For that to happen, all I need is to be honest.