If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
8 sermons cite this verse
… All of us do. The Bible says if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. So we say, Lord, cleanse me of all sin. Forgive me my debts as I forgive my debtors. Some people don't think they need forgiveness, but they do. Everyone does. Having received that forgiveness, I should also extend it to others. Forgiven people should be forgiving people. And according to Jesus, our generous and constant forgiveness of others should be the natural result of our understanding of the forgiveness that God has extended toward us. I love the statement by C.S. Lewis where he says, quote, everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have someone to forgive. Right, it's a great concept. Oh, yes, I love forgiveness. Oh, let's all forgive until someone wrongs you, until someone hurts you. But you too should forgive. Well, they don't deserve forgiveness. Do you? I'll answer it for you. You don't. Again, what did Jesus do? Praying for his very enemies. …
It's not that we're incapable of sinning, to be clear. Look at 1 John 1.8. He says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. When God looks at us, he sees us as sinless, right? But I still live in this body that can still be influenced by sin. Okay, I'll use donuts as an example. Like, well, can't you use something else? I don't like donuts as much as I like ice cream, so I'll use donuts. But if you're like, I'm going to take a break from eating donuts, and let's just say that donuts represent sin, and you really like donuts, right? The way to get away from donuts is to, number one, not be around them, not think about them. But the reality is, as a believer, donuts have no power over me where they used to. Before Jesus, I had no control. I saw a donut, I ate it. And it didn't matter what time of day, right? …
… if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. When I was in seminary, I had a professor named Dr. Mark Bailey. he's one of my heroes he's about this big well he watches church sometimes so maybe i should say he's about this big but he's a spiritual giant and i remember him giving this illustration and sitting in his class and it changed my life it's got seared onto my heart and so i wanted to try to bring it to life for you today and hope that it will do the same thing in your heart as it did to mind, that in 20 years from now, you'll be thinking about this illustration and you will rejoice in the gospel. And in his illustration, he talked about having two screens in the classroom, you know, would fold his computer down, two screens in the classroom. And he talked about having a BB gun and a bazooka. I asked if I could bring either of those two things to shoot at the screens today and was firmly told no. So I'm going to change it a little bit. But he said, when it comes to the sin in our lives, there are many of us who feel like our sin is just a little BB. …
… We're all still impure this side of heaven. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, 1 John 1, 8. We are pure in Christ and yet still not yet pure. Not as pure as we will be. And so by grace and through faith, we must relentlessly pursue purity. We must relentlessly pursue being who we are in Christ. None of us is fully pure in this age, not yet. but all of us can be more pure in this age. And that's only possible because through faith, God has given us his grace, his word, and his power, his spirit, to help us fight the battle against temptation and to be pure. Okay, that's the first of our four words. To be pure in heart is to have a heart that increasingly seeks God with an undivided, undefiled devotion. Now see. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. What would it mean to see God? …
They sin, we sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. His truth is not in us. 1 John 1.8. So look at verse 9. I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him. So I think this is a godly confession. It's a good thing that he said that. It's inspired by God. It's the way we ought to talk. I think this is the way a justified New Testament sinner talks. the blood of Jesus you know covers all the sins of all the saints in the New Testament and the Old Testament that's the point of Romans 3 25 Christ died to show God's righteousness in passing over the sins of Micah and his people. And he died to cover our sins. So I take the testimony here in Micah 7, 7-9 as a testimony of a godly person. His sins are covered by the blood of Jesus 700 years before Jesus died. I take this testimony in Micah 7, 7 to 9 as a testimony of a person who can say there is now no condemnation to those who trust God in the Old Testament. …
… John goes on to mention two ways in which the faith of those who left differed from the Christians who remained. So listen to this. The first one is found in 1 John 1, verses 8-10. I'd love for you to read this together. Just follow it. Follow me along. Follow along with me. 1 John 1, 8 through 10. He says, if we claim we don't have any sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from everything we've done wrong. If we claim we have never sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. So reading between the lines, it appears as though there was a group within the church who claimed that they no longer had sin. Maybe they never had sin. They didn't feel like they were sinners. There's nothing wrong with me. I'm not a sinner. And if you're not a sinner, then you don't need a savior. If you're not a sinner, then you think you're pretty perfect. …
Which we have heard from the beginning and declare to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, whack, right? We deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, this is that believer's bar of soap I was telling you about. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and 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. Thank you, God, for your word. What we just read, the first chapter, the first 10 verses of this book, is essentially the book in miniature. …
… RECORDED IN THE BIBLE, DOESN'T MEAN THAT DANIEL NEVER SINNED. UH, THE BIBLE SAYS IF WE SAY NO, WE HAVE NO SIN, WE DECEIVE OURSELVES. AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US. SO THERE'S NOT A MOTHER'S CHILD IN THIS BUILDING THAT DOESN'T NEED TO PRAY AND CONFESS HIS OR HER SIN AS WE SIN OR WHILE WE SIN. BUT THANK GOD, IF WE CONFESS OUR SIN, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SINS AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. NOT SOME. THERE IS NO SIN, NONE, NONE, NONE, THAT IS BEYOND GOD'S FORGIVENESS. RAPE, MURDER, PILLAGE, ABORTION, SODOMY. HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE US OUR SIN AND TO CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. AND DANIEL PRAYED FOR FORGIVENESS FOR PERSONAL SIN. BUT NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY. HE ALSO PRAYED FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF NATIONAL SIN. NOW THESE WERE NOT SINS THAT DANIEL HAD COMMITTED PER SAY. BUT THIS IS WHAT I CALL IDENTIFICATION PRAYER. HE IDENTIFIED HIMSELF WITH A NATION AND HE SAID, OH GOD, MY NATION HAS SINNED. GOD HAVE MERCY. YOU CAN IDENTIFY WITH THIS NATION AND PRAY FOR THIS NATION BECAUSE THE SINFUL, WICKED PEOPLE OF THIS NATION ARE NOT GOING TO PRAY FOR THEMSELVES. WHAT KIND OF A CONFESSION SHOULD WE MAKE CONCERNING AMERICA. FIRST OF ALL, WE NEED TO CONFESS OUR GREED, OUR GREED. WE ARE A MATERIALISTIC NATION. WE KNOW MORE ABOUT WALL STREET AND MADISON AVENUE THAN WE KNOW ABOUT THE PROPHET DANIEL. AND THEN WE NEED TO PRAY AND ASK GOD TO FORGIVE US FOR THE NEGLECT OF THE POOR. WE HAVE …