Continuing the walk through 1 John, we pick up at verse 8 of chapter One. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle John wrote:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.” 1 John 1: 8-10
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, our sins are forgiven. Father God, in His great love, and mercy, and grace, took our sins away at the cross, and made us righteous in His Son who took our place on that cross. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. We are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in His blood..” Romans 3:22,24, 25
Since we are redeemed, and justified, with all of our sins atoned for, and made righteous by His grace and faith in His blood, why is John saying we have indwelling sin? That is because our born again spirit is without sin; we are perfect in spirit, but our soul, and body must go through sanctification. A child of God growing process handled by the Holy Spirit who lives within that will ultimately remove all sin, and perfect our body, and soul, to become totally one with our spirit. The good news is He is with us every step of the Way as a loving parent, teacher, and intercessor. When we blow it, and act in our flesh, when we indeed sin, He will use it for our good when we give it to Him.
When we look at some of the things sin means we get a better understanding of why we have to turn the work of sanctification over to The Lord. One Commentary says Sin is: 1. A transgression, an overstepping of the divine boundary between good and evil. 2. An iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not. 3. An error, a departure from what is right. 4. Missing the mark; a failure to meet the divine standard. 5. A trespass; the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority. 6. Lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy. 7. Unbelief, an insult to the divine truth, or enmity toward God. We easily see the ways we can ‘miss the mark’ in the flesh. Many times we do not mean to, and sometimes we don’t even know we have.
But when we do see it because it is pointed out to us by the Lord, or by someone else and we then realize it; we are to confess it to our Lord, agree with Him that we were wrong, desire to turn from that which we have allowed, ask for forgiveness from Him, and from the one that we have sinned against if that is the case, and if it is possible to do.
The Good News is the fact that if we have sinned, missed the divine mark, does not bring condemnation. The Word says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 We are not condemned – we cannot lose our salvation – but the confession of a sin to the Lord, which of course He already knows about, will bring purification to our soul, and body, and restore righteousness and fellowship in that area.
We must guard against falling into sin. Even though we belong to Christ, it can happen if we walk in the flesh instead of the spirit. As Paul wrote, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith, be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.” 1 Corinthians 16: 13,14
Poppa B., CPC
Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, On Line