1 John 1:8-10

V8-10 – ⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.

John gives the second error of the false teachings that he wants to address in this letter in v8. He says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The false teachers claimed to lack a sin nature, but John says they are deceiving themselves and proving by their profession of perfection that the truth is not in them. In other words, the false teachers profess that there is no more sin nature for the believer. And John says that claiming to be without a sin nature, far from being a sign of spiritual superiority, is, in fact, a definitive evidence of self-delusion. Denial is delusional.

In v9, John explains the proper response to this form of false teaching: confession. Instead of denying our sinfulness, we confess it. John is teaching that consistent confession and repentance, not denial of sin nature, is a normal part of the Christian life. And notice the promise: God is faithful to forgive and purify. God’s faithfulness is so precious to the repentant sinner. But wait; that’s not all it says. God “is faithful and just…” How does God’s justice fit into this formula? In Romans 3:26, we read that God is both just and the One who justifies. If God has punished Jesus Christ in justice for our sins, then He would be unjust not to forgive us when we repent. So God is indeed just; He exhibits His justice in forgiving the sinner on behalf of His justice exhibited toward Jesus Christ on the cross. How glorious!

So we confess our sin (nature), realizing that God is faithful and just to forgive and purify. He has dealt with our sin in Christ, and we are free from bearing His wrath for our sin, thanks to Jesus. And God will continue to reform us in this way until the day of glorification at Christ’s return. One preacher gives five reasons to continually repent and confess your sin before God: First, “It is an experiential fact that is attested in Scripture that without confessing our sins to God we will never attain a divine sense of God’s forgiveness” (Psalm 32). Second, we still sin, daily, even after conversion. Third, repentance is meant to be an ongoing lifestyle marker of the Christian, as the first of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses declared. Fourth, God is displeased with sin, and we don’t want to displease our Father; so we apologize in confession and repentance. Fifth, we are en route not merely from deliverance from hell but also to conformity to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). And until we get there – glorification – we need to confess and repent.

John gives the third error of the false teachers that he wants to address in this letter in v10. He says, “If we claim we have not sinned, we make [God] out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.” The false teachers claimed to have never had sinned. In other words, the false teachers profess that sin is impossible for a believer. So again, the three errors are: (1) sin doesn’t matter for the Christian, (2) the sin nature no longer exists for the Christian, and (3) it is impossible for the Christian to sin. I hope you can see the progression. This final error is so grievous that it makes God out to be a liar. The first error proves self-deficiency (lying); the second error reveals self-delusion; but the third error attacks God’s truthfulness. That’s why John declares that the one guilty of this error has no place for God’s word in their life. John provides the method for overcoming this third error in the first section of chapter two, which we’ll look at next.