"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. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." [1 Jn 1:8-2:1]

Let the discerning light of God’s word now shine upon our soul’s relationship to sin.  There are several aspects which we shall endeavor to look at. One, a true Christian who has been born from above by God’s Holy Spirit knows that he still sins. There is no doubt in his mind: he should frankly and easily confess, ‘yes, though I am saved and indwelt of God, sadly I still commit sin from time-to-time.’ Two, a true believer in Christ confesses that he has sinned: and even, that it was his sin which put Jesus upon the cross and not another’s. His sin alone, he will not deny, was great enough to thrust the spear through Jesus’ side. Third, a Christian, though touched of God’s grace, though a recipient of The Spirit of God and of Jesus’ righteousness, must still admit that sin dwells in him: that he still is possessing sin. That sin has not yet been eradicated from his life, for he still dwells in his sinful and corrupt body; and thus, though not under its dominion, must still battle that innate sin. Fourth, the true Christian is not able to continue in sin for very long – if he sins, this genuinely saved believer confesses the sin and turns from it, seeking with a clear conscience to depart from it, not continuing in it nor making a habit of it. Now, having briefly summarized these points, let us delve a little further into each one.

Firstly, in the verse above, we see plainly what God says through John, “if we confess our sins,” and, “if any man sin.” Undoubtedly, John shows us that believers sin, for the option to confess sin, and the comfort that Jesus Christ The Righteous One is our Advocate, are proofs to us that sin is not only a possibility in a believer’s life, but a surety. For we, still dwelling in sinful flesh, are far from perfection, and will, from time-to-time sin, thus needing to confess, and to be encouraged and comforted afresh that Christ Jesus, who did no sin, represents us before our Father in heaven. James also tells us, showing us our tendency toward sin, “in many things we offend all.” [Jam 3:2] And let us also see that when John says, “if we confess,” the verb “confess” is in the Greek present tense. Meaning, a more literal translation might say, “if we continue to confess our sins;” and thus, this shows us the expectation that we shall sin again, and so must be in a constant state of confessing that which God convicts us of. Again, Jesus, in teaching us to pray, said, “after this manner therefore pray ye…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” [Mt 6:9, 12] See then that if sin were no longer an issue for the born-again Christian, confession and forgiveness would not be necessary on an ongoing basis.

The man who foolishly believes himself to not sin, perhaps having reached some majestic spiritual height, need only ask others as Christ asked His enemies, “which of you convinceth me of sin?” [Jn 8:46] and he shall quickly see that it is perhaps him alone who holds this belief.  Again, though for most of us the fact that we sin is plainly obvious, it is not so with all, and so let us see also that Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” [Lk 5:32] In the Psalms we learn that, “good and upright is The LORD: therefore will He teach sinners in the way.” [Psa 25:8] Let us carefully notice that it is “sinners” which God teaches “in the way,” and not those who are righteous or flawless; for Jesus Himself says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,” and thus implies those who deem themselves “righteous” as the Pharisees did, have not been called nor saved of God. This is a very somber note for those who think themselves righteous, or not in need of repentance. Whom are those Jesus has called? Whom does He desire to lead in the way of life? It is the sinners. Those who do not believe they sin, and thus are not in need of repentance or the blood of Jesus to “continually cleanse [them] from all sin,” [1 Jn 1:7] have not been called of Christ, nor are being led by Him: they are altogether lost.

Secondly, John tells us, “if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” [1 Jn 1:10] Thus we conclude that to be saved a man must acknowledge he has sinned. That is, he must frankly confess that it was his sin which put Jesus on the cross; it was the strength of his wickedness which propelled the nails and the spear through his flesh; moreover, he must confess and agree that just one of his wretched sins was sufficient to produce all of Jesus’ tortures that He had to endure. Yes, the true Christian must confess he has sinned and cannot say “[I] have not sinned,” lest He make God a liar.

That man who has been given The Spirit will see his sin, that they led Jesus to the cross. For if their sins took no part in Jesus’ death, and He did not have to bear their sin, then what right does that man have to lay hold on the propitiation offered through such a sacrifice? No, but, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” [Rom 5:8] He must be as those in the latter times, and confess, through The Holy Spirit’s conviction, he pierced Christ. As it is written,

“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” [Zech 12:10]

Or again, as Paul confessed, it was him and him alone for whom Christ died, saying,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” [Gal 2:20]

Have you come to the cross and seen Christ’s wounds? Have you heard His cries? Have you seen the blood gush out of His body? Have you looked up at the man who confessed, “but I am a worm, and no man,” and seen His broken body “which is broken for you,” of which it is written, “His appearance was disfigured beyond that of a man, and the outline of His body beyond the sons of men?” [Psa 22:6, 1 Cor 11:23, Isa 52:13] Have you answered that desperate cry and question from Christ, “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” and answered, ‘it was for me, Lord; for my sins you were forsaken?’ My dear brother, if you have not yet seen this, may the Spirit reveal it to your heart today: Christ died for your sins! For if you do not believe this, you are lost and yet in your sins.

Thirdly, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [1 Jn 1:8] Literally it may read, “if we say that we do not continue to possess sin, we continue to deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The verbs in this verse, excluding “say,” are all present indicative verbs. Meaning, they indicate continuous, ongoing, present actions. The word “have” means “have; hold; possess.” Therefore, the man who will not admit sin still lies within him is deceiving himself. Very similar to the man who thinks he no longer sins, this man stands right at his side, perhaps going even further to say, ‘I have not only ceased to sin, but I do not even possess sin: I have completely rid myself of its influence.’ If we are honest, we must confess that sin still dwells in us. Though Christ has “condemned sin in the flesh;” and, “now once in the end of the world hath He appeared unto the annulment of sin through the sacrifice of Himself;”and though it is promised, “for sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace,” yet we must still confess that we battle sin and that it still holds some spot in us. [Rom 8:3, Heb 9:26, Rom 6:14] As Paul said,

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” [Rom 7:18-21]

Finally and fourthly, beyond our highlighted verses for today, John says, “If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him.” [1 Jn 2:29] The fourth test of the true Christian’s relationship to sin is his response to it. When he sins, what does he do? We can see from this verse, as we shall further see from others, those who do righteousness are “born of Him,” and implicitly, those who do not do righteousness are not born of God. Taking a closer look at the verb “doeth,” let us notice two points which will further our understanding. First, the verb for “doeth” is a present active participle. Meaning, an ongoing verb wherein the subject is the actor/initiator: an “ing” verb such as “running” or “swimming” in English. And second, the word means “make; manufacture; do; cause; act.” Therefore, we can translate the last part of 1 John 2:29 as, “…every one that is doing/is manufacturing/is producing/is practicing righteousness is born of Him.” This is crucial for our understanding, that we recognize John speaks of a lifestyle and not a single event. The man who maintains a lifestyle and habit, of most of the time, producing/doing what is righteous according to God’s standards, proves himself to be born of God. The man who in contrast to this, maintains a lifestyle of sin or unrighteous acts, according to God’s word, proves himself to be lost: a man in whom dwells not the Spirit of Christ, and, “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” [Rom 8:9] Continuing on into 1 John chapter three, we can see this more clearly. John writes,

“Whosoever is abiding in Him does not continue to sin: whosoever is sinning has not seen Him, neither has known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that is producing the righteousness [of God] is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that is committing sin is of the devil; for the devil continues to sin from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever having been born of God does not continue to commit sin; for His Seed continues to abide in Him: and he is not able to continue to sin, because He has been born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever is not producing righteousness is not of God, neither he that is not loving his brother.” [1 Jn 3:6-10]

Notice that emphasis has been placed on the verbs, expanding them to make a fuller and more accurate definition of what the Greek is saying to us. Let us be careful, once again, to remember this speaks of a lifestyle and not a singular event. When John says, in the KJV, “whosoever abideth in Him sinnet not,” and, “whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him,” this is not telling us that a Christian never sins or that the man who sins just once has not seen God and is not saved. For, John using the Greek present verbs, speaks rather of a habit or lifestyle. The man who is making a continual habit of abiding in Jesus – that is, the man who is saved – he will not continue sinning. Though he may sin on occasion, yet he does not make a practice of it: he quickly confesses it and turns from it. Doing sin is not the habit nor the lifestyle, nor the major pattern, of a believer’s life. This is unmistakable, for John says, “little children, let no man deceive you: he that is producing the righteousness [of God] is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that is committing sin is of the devil…”

Therefore, it is the lifestyle of a man that counts and proves him as saved or unsaved. A man who is truly saved will not continue in sin; in contrast, he will continue in righteousness. Let us notice also that John says regarding the man who is “born of God,” that, “he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” That is, it is not possible for him to continue sinning. If a man has The Seed, Christ, dwelling in His heart, it is not possible that he should be able to continue living in sin, no matter the sin, for Christ within him shall convict him and lead him into righteousness. The Holy Spirit will not suffer a true Christian to maintain a lifestyle of sin.

So then, let every man examine his soul and see. What fruit does your life manufacture on an ongoing basis? Is it that of righteousness, of the Spirit? Or that of the world, of the flesh? The man who is saved will always manufacture righteousness, and will not be able to manufacture sin for any great length of time.

To see past and future posts in this series of Testing Your Salvation, click here.