We do not know for certain if the false teachers were suggesting that the Ephesian believers were without sin, or if that is something the Ephesian believers fell into by themselves. Either way, it is an error that needs to be corrected. A person might not be conscious of sin, but this does not mean he or she is free from it.
There are two kinds of sin—doing those things we ought not to do and not doing those things we should do. The longer we live and mature with Christ, the more likely it is that we will put aside more and more of the things we ought not to do. If we came to Christ as adults, we might be successful in putting away many of the overt sins we committed during our non-Christian days. We might go through a day or more in which we are not aware of committing an obvious sin. Although, we still must contend with the thoughts that may occur that are slanderous or filled with hate and anger.
On the other hand, when we grasp that we are to do all the things that Jesus would do if he were in our shoes, we fail continually. You will see that as many Christians mature in their faith, something weird happens. As we grow in our relationship and maturity with Christ, we should theoretically feel like we are getting closer to Him. Some can even say they do not need Him as much because they have matured and know the right and wrong things to do or not to do. However, something different happens. As we grow and mature, the mature believer sees how far they are truly away from Christ. They can see the weight of their sin better. They can see how perfect Christ is and how amazing it is that He lived every day of His life without one single sin. As the Christian matures, they see how much they truly need Him. They need Him not only to cover their sins, but His love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
This is different than what happens in the world. As we grow in experience with our jobs, we begin not to need as much help as we did when we first started. On our first few days and weeks in the new role, we needed help with everything (same with new believers as well). We needed help in understanding how the process works and what to do when requests come in. We have to figure out where to look and what to look for. As we grow in our jobs and gain experience, we do not need as much help unless there is a unique situation that arises. We know the software better. We know what filters or buttons to turn on or off. We know how the boss likes the data and what type of metrics to provide. We know how to tailor our communication better to match the audience. We grow in our jobs to stand on our own and become Subject Matter Experts (SME). We find ourselves knowing as much about the role and position as possible and people turn to us.
Christianity is different though, isn’t it? We may be able to grow and know more about a subject or doctrine. We may be able to discern teachings better or interpret Scripture better. We may be able to teach a class or lead a group. But as we grow, we see how little we truly know about the infinite Triune God. We could spend our lives studying and never be on His level or know a percentage of Him. He graciously reveals Himself to us and we can learn as much as humanly possible, but we will never fully know. And as we grow in knowledge and this affects our spirit, we must surrender and truly see how far we are away from Him. We see the great separation. The separation because of our sin. The separation because of His holiness and perfection. But, then, we see what Jesus did. And we see our great need and are reminded of our great need for Christ every day. This for me is one of the many reasons to confess, because “He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” No matter how mature we grow (or are), maturity should lead us to see the beauty and perfection of Christ and our need for Him moment by moment.
None of us loves perfectly as Jesus did. Therefore, we sin, because a failure to love perfectly is a sin. If we think we are without sin altogether, we are deceived and we live a lie
Verses:
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (NASB)
Key Takeaways:
- When a Christian realizes, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, that they have sinned, he/she should agree with God about their sin, confess it, and receive the restoration to fellowship that is promised in this section
- God’s forgiveness of our sin is based on His justice. He is just and will forgive our sins. God is just because Jesus paid the penalty for our sin when He died on the cross. God has promised to forgive our sins in Christ (2:2) when we confess them, and He will abide by His promises.
- Cleansing has two sides to it: the judicial and the personal. The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, delivers us from the guilt of sin and gives us right standing (“justification”) before God. God is able to forgive because Jesus’ death has satisfied His holy Law.
Closer Look:
Verse 8: When a believer is experiencing true fellowship with God he/she may then be tempted to think or say that he/she is, at that moment at least, free from sin. John warned against this self-deluding conception. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (v.8; cf. v. 6; 2:4). If Christians understand the truth that God’s Word teaches about the depravity of the human heart, they know that just because they are not conscious of failure does not mean that they are free from it. If the truth is “in” them as a controlling, motivating influence, this kind of self-deception will not take place. Whether someone claims to be “without sin” for a brief period of time or claims it as a permanent attainment, the claim is false.
Verse 8 provides another false response, “If we say that we have no sin, we’re deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” The problem is what is meant by “sin”? Excellent Bible teachers on both sides propose different answers. Many, many say (and these are good people), the word “sin” means sin nature. Thus, it would read, “If we say we have no sin nature….” Two things support that; the word “sin” is singular in verse 8 and plural in verse 9 (“If we say we have no sin,” verse 9, “if we confess our sins,” plural). So they say, “See the distinction between verses 8 and 9 is the distinction between the singular and the plural.” Verse 8 is talking about the sin nature and the sins themselves are verse 9. The second reason why they say it’s the sin nature is that the verb “have” is present tense. One thing you will have constantly through your whole life is that sin nature. That’s just with you all the time. So again it would read, “if you say we have no sin nature, we deceive ourselves.” I am not sure that is what John is saying. Obviously, we all have a sin nature and we all agree with that (or should but that is a different topic). But in this context, sin nature may not be in view.
The expression to have sin means to be guilty. This phrasing is found in three other places John 9:41; 15:22, 24; 19:11. These are all the expressions of this phrasing. By the way, the only writer that uses the expression “to have sin” in the whole New Testament is John; nobody else uses that expression, only John. And these are the only other references that he has.
Now look at John 9:41, “Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now that you maintain, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Remember John 9 is the healing of the blind man, and the Lord says, “If you just admit that you are guilty, if you just admit your sin, you would have no sin, your sins would be washed away. But since you say – we’re not blind, we can see – you’re blindness remains, your sin remains.” But when Jesus says, “You have sin,” He means guilty. We could understand it as, “If you just admit your guilt.” He is not saying, “Oh we don’t have a sin nature,” he’s talking about the guilt of sin.
John 19:11 says, “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” Regarding this topic, this is probably the key verse and most important one. The NIV translates it this way, “…Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
All these passages indicate to have sin means to be guilty. So what John is saying in 1 John 1:8 is not if we have no sin nature, he is saying, “If we say we are not guilty, we deceive ourselves.” Now the first reason I take it is because of the references in John. That is pretty good supplemental support. There is a second reason why I take it. That is because that is exactly what a dualist would say. The dualist would say, “I’m not sinning, my body made me do it. My body did it therefore I’m not guilty, I’m not responsible.” That is precisely what a dualist would say. There is a third reason why I take this; the passage is talking about cleansing from sin. It’s not talking about a sin nature, it’s talking about cleansing from sin. So John is not talking about the removal of a sin nature or overcoming a sin nature, he’s just talking about cleansing from sin. So when you put it all together, he’s saying, “If we say we are not guilty, we deceive ourselves.”
Have you ever noticed how we do the same thing? We’re not as sophisticated as a dualist but what we say is, “Oh everybody does it. Since everybody does it, I’m not guilty.” That’s not logical.
Verse 9: Verse 9 parallels verse 7 and is just saying the same thing, “if we walk in the light,” what happens? “We confess our sins.” Did you notice the verb “confess?” It doesn’t say beg or pleads. There’s nothing wrong with asking for forgiveness, that’s in the Lord’s Prayer. But that’s not the idea. We could cry a bucket of tears, but the key is to confess. Confess (homologeo, which means acknowledge and is the best synonym for confess) is to speak the same language, to agree with, and that’s what you’re doing here; you’re agreeing with God, you’re acknowledging the sin. You’re saying, “Yes, God, I was wrong. I’m guilty. I did that and I should not have. I acknowledge my guilt.” If we acknowledge our guilt, He’s faithful to forgive us our sins.
I want you to underscore in your minds the adjective faithful. That means there has never been a single person, who’s a believer, who has ever confessed his/her sin and God has not forgiven. If you confess your sin, God has forgiven it. Now that’s very important because here’s what you’re going to find out in your Christian life. Somebody will come to you who has been a believer for years and they will tell you something they’ve never told anybody else about some sin they committed 20 years ago. And many times it’s a scarlet sin. And you will ask, “Were you a Christian when you did this?” “Yes, I was a Christian.” “Did you confess it to the Lord?” “Oh, many times.” And we can say, “That’s your problem. If you confess it many times that means you don’t believe God forgave you. Confess it once. Leave it behind you and for God’s sake and for your sake, move on.” Forgetting the things that are behind we press on so leave it behind you. If you don’t and you confess it over and over again, I guarantee that sin’s going to haunt you and it may even rise up and conquer you all over again. So leave it behind you, just acknowledge it, leave it behind you.” I know this is difficult and something I struggle with. It is not easy, but we can trust our faithful Father.
And He’s faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And then to “cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I love that. I’m sure you’ve had the haunting thought that I’ve had if you confess your sins and think, “Oh man, I can’t remember.” You may not even know about certain sins you’ve committed. What about the sins you’ve forgotten or the sins you don’t know about? What about those sins? In fact, I do that all the time. What do you do? God only holds us responsible to confess the sins of which we’re aware; the sins we know about. We confess those sins, and He forgives those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
In view of verse 8, Christians ought to be ready at all times to acknowledge any failure which God’s light may expose to them. John comforts us, however, with the truth that even though we have sin in our lives, we can still be purified from this sin and maintain our fellowship with God (and resultant fellowship with other believers). Accordingly, John wrote, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Though the NIV‘s translation “our sins” (after the words “forgive us”) is entirely acceptable, “our” is not in the Greek text.[1] The phrase (tas hamartias) contains only an article and noun and it is conceivable that the article is the type that grammarians call “the article of previous reference.” If so, there is a subtle contrast between this expression and the “all unrighteousness” that follows it. John’s thought might be paraphrased: “If we confess our sins, He … will forgive the sins we confess and additionally will even cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[2] Naturally only God knows at any moment the full extent of a person’s unrighteousness. Each Christian, however, is responsible to acknowledge (the meaning of “confess,” homologōmen; cf. 2:23; 4:3) whatever the Spirit makes them aware of, and when they do so, a complete and perfect cleansing is granted to them. There is thus no need to agonize over sins of which one is unaware.
Moreover, it is comforting to learn that the forgiveness which is promised here is both absolutely assured (because God “is faithful”) and also is in no way contrary to His holiness (He is “just”). The word used here for “just” (dikaios) is the same one that is applied as a title to Christ in 2:1 where it is translated as “the Righteous One.” The word Dikaios is also used of God (either the Father or the Son) in 2:29 and 3:7. Obviously God is “just” or “righteous” when He forgives the believer’s sin because of the “atoning sacrifice” which the Lord Jesus has made (2:2). As is already evident from 1:7, a Christian’s fellowship with God is inseparably connected with the effectiveness of the blood which Jesus shed for him.
This always brings up a problem. We think back to our opening and thought this was written to Christians. We say, “I thought our sins were forgiven already. That is what you see in chapter 2 verses 12 – 14. I thought our sins were forgiven already. What do you mean to confess our sins, walking in the light?”
Scholars offer two major interpretations of this verse. The first possible meaning is that this confession refers to the confession of sin at salvation. It is a once-for-all confession that solves the problem of eternal judgment for sin. The reasoning is that if it referred to sins we commit after salvation, we might die after we commit a sin but before we confess it. Therefore, that sin would be unforgiven, since this verse teaches that we are not forgiven until we confess. If so, we would go to hell. Since the Bible doesn’t seem to allow a person to lose his or her salvation (at least in my interpretation of Scripture, you may have a different view), the reasoning goes, it must be referring to confession at salvation.
Others take this interpretation a step further and teach that a Christian does not have to confess his/her sins and ask forgiveness from God after he/she has become a Christian because a believer already has forgiveness in Christ (Eph. 1:7).[3] Many Christians, according to this understanding, spend too much time in morbid introspection. They wonder if they have confessed all their sins and if they are in fellowship with God or not. They never experience freedom in Christ. This is needless since Christ has already granted us forgiveness. We do not have to keep some detailed journal of every sin we are aware of that we committed; just confess them. There are tons of sins we commit that we are not aware of until the Spirit convicts us. We just have to live under the realization that our sins are already forgiven, enjoying our freedom in Christ.
In modern times some have occasionally denied that a Christian needs to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. In this instance, it is claimed that a believer already has forgiveness in Christ (Eph. 1:7). But this point of view confuses the perfect position that a Christian has in God’s Son (by which the person is even “seated … with Him in the heavenly realms” [Eph. 2:6]) with their needs as a failing individual on earth. It is true that all our sins are forgiven at the moment of salvation in the sense that none of our sins after salvation will keep us out of heaven. In that sense, all of our sins are forgiven, and we will never have to pay the penalty for those sins. This is the teaching of Ephesians 1:7.
However, it does not mean that if a person sins after salvation he/she will go to hell. Verse 7 says that if we walk in the Light—meaning if we are saved, if we are children of Light—then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
Also, this does not mean we no longer have to ask for forgiveness from God for our sins. This interpretation seems to miss the point given to us by our Lord in the disciple’s prayer (Matt. 6:11–12). Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts” (trespasses). This is a needless instruction if we need not ask for forgiveness after our salvation.
This interpretation is contrary to our human experience. Generally, in a loving relationship, we often get forgiveness before we ask for it, or without asking for it. But healthy, sensitive, intimate relationships tend to be those in which the guilty person readily asks forgiveness from the offended party, not because forgiveness must be given or else the relationship will be broken, but because it is the loving and caring thing to do. It is careless and insensitive not to ask forgiveness for our sin against someone else, even though we may feel assured of receiving it.
The forgiveness John talks about in 1:9 can be understood as parental or familial forgiveness, not judicial forgiveness. That is, we all receive judicial forgiveness one time when we receive Jesus as our personal Savior (Eph. 1:7; Rom. 5:6–11). We were, at that time, saved from the penalty of our sins. It is called judicial forgiveness because it is granted by God acting as a judge. After our salvation, we still sin (Phil. 3:12; Jas. 3:2, 8; 4:17). This sin does not cause us to lose our salvation (Rom. 8:37–39), but it does break the fellowship between us and God, just as the sin of a child or a spouse breaks the fellowship with parents or a mate.
We confess our sins out of respect and love for the person we have sinned against. God forgives our sins, purifies us from all unrighteousness, and restores us to his fellowship. We need judicial forgiveness only once. We need parental or familial forgiveness whenever we sin.
What is considered in 1 John 1:9 may be described as “familial” forgiveness. It is perfectly understandable how a son may need to ask his father to forgive him for his faults while at the same time his position within the family is not in jeopardy. A Christian who never asks their heavenly Father for forgiveness for their sins can hardly have much sensitivity to the ways in which he/she grieves their Father. Furthermore, the Lord Jesus Himself taught His followers to seek forgiveness of their sins in a prayer that was obviously intended for daily use (cf. the expression “give us today our daily bread” preceding “forgive us our debts,” Matt. 6:11–12). The teaching that a Christian should not ask God for daily forgiveness is an aberration. Moreover, confession of sin is never connected by John with the acquisition of eternal life, which is always conditioned on faith. First John 1:9 is not spoken to the unsaved, and the effort to turn it into a soteriological affirmation is misguided.[4]
It may also be said that so long as the idea of walking in the light or darkness is correctly understood on an experiential level, these concepts offer no difficulty. “Darkness” has an ethical meaning.[5] When a believer loses personal touch with the God of light, they begin to live in darkness. But confession of sin is the way back into the light.
To further illustrate this section and maybe sum it all up, the best illustration I can give of this confession is John 13. This is the famous story of Peter and the Lord Jesus washing Peter’s feet. Remember Peter says, “Oh Lord You’re never going to wash my feet in the ages.” Very emphatic in the Greek by the way. “By no means will You ever wash my feet in the ages.” Jesus responds, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part (no meros)with Me.” Meaning no fellowship with Me. Peter responds, “If that’s the case – not my feet only but my head and my hands – give me a bath.” Then the Lord says, “He who has had the bath,” and John uses the word louo for the idea of a bath. “He who has bathed needs only to wash (nipto) his feet” – wash a part of your body. So what he is saying is, “He who has had the bath does not need to have a bath all over again, just need to have his feet washed.” Then Jesus says, “And you are all clean but not all of you.” He’s not saying, “Some of you around here really stinks.” Obviously, that’s not what He’s talking about. You are all cleaned in the sense that you have all had your sins forgiven in the sense of regeneration except one, Judas. You are clean but not all of you, that is why you have to have your feet washed. So there is forgiveness of sins in the sense of salvation but there is also cleansing in the sense of fellowship. This is why I think John 13 is so beautiful in illustrating that. You have had the bath of regeneration now in part for your day by day by day walk with God. There needs to be the cleansing that comes from confession or acknowledging of sin. The one is salvation and the other is fellowship and he is here talking about fellowship with God and with one another and that is why I think he’s discussing this whole matter.
Verse 10: However, after a believer sins, they should not deny that sin. John says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” This statement should be read in direct connection with verse 9. When a Christian is confronted by God’s Word about their sins, they should admit them rather than deny them. To deny one’s personal sin in the face of God’s testimony to the contrary is to “make” God “out to be a liar.” By contradicting His Word, a person rejects it and refuses to give it the proper “place” in their life.
Again “His word” is the message about Christ. If you want some idea here of that, put the message of Christ the Word equals the message of Christ. John 5:38 and 8:37 speak to His Word is not in us. John is obviously talking about the heretics so when you look at verses 6, 8, and 10, they are all the responses of heretics. Verses 7 and 9 are the responses of believers as they are to respond to the fact that God is light.
One more thing did you notice the progression verse 6: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Verse 8: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” That is worse. Many of us have had someone in our lives who was very rigid about telling the truth. They just drove it into us, to tell the truth, no matter what the consequences are. Just tell the truth. There are some people who lie so much they believe their own lies. Many will say “That’s ridiculous. How can anybody lie so much they would believe it themselves?” Then I ran into some fishermen and understood this better. Yes, you can lie so much you believe it yourself.
This is what you have here, we deceive ourselves. Verse 6 you deceive others, verse 8 you deceive yourself, verse 10 you make God a liar. There is the progression. You can just see that John is building to show the consequences of not dealing with sin in your heart. It is disastrous. So deal with sin in your heart because in the end, you could make God a liar. John is talking about false teachers and what the false teachers do could be influential in the believing community.
[1] Zane Hodges, “1 John,” John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 885.
[2] Ibid.
[3] David Walls and Max Anders, I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude, vol. 11, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 158.
[4] Zane Hodges, “1 John,” John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 886.
[5] Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. “skotos,” 7:444