The Trial Of Sin Series

THE TRIAL OF SIN

Text: 1 Jn. 1:8-2:2

Introduction

1. Illustration: Kay Arthur, a Christian author, put it this way.

If you tolerate sin in your life, that sin will not only take you farther than you wanted to go, it will keep you longer than you wanted to stay and it will cost you more than you thought you’d pay...

2. The Assistant General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, Alton Garrison, once said that his form of counseling was simple; admit it, confess it, and get over it!

3. It seems the Apostle John has a similar method of dealing with sin...

A. Admit It

B. Confess It

C. Get Over It

4. Let's stand together as we read 1 John 1:8-2:2

Proposition: If we admit our sin, and confess it to God, we will be forgiven.

Transition: The first and most important thing we should do with our sin is...

I. Admit It (8, 10).

A. If We Claim We Have No Sin

1. If we are honest, and have any understanding of human nature, we are willing to admit that we are sinners.

A. We always say, "Well, none of us is perfect!" In reality, what we are saying when we say that is that we are sinners.

B. However, the reality of life is that we that don't want to admit it.

C. We don't like it when people point out our mistakes, our sin.

D. In fact, we get offensive when they do. We like to say, "Don't judge me!"

E. Yet, the truth is that we are all sinners in need of a Savior, and to think otherwise is to fool yourself.

2. That's what John is saying here in v. 8, "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth."

A. John exposes another faulty doctrine. There are those who believe that, having been redeemed, they no longer sin.

B. This is a serious form of self-deception that results in spiritual frustration and defeat. The Spirit of God, dwelling in the lives of believers, leads them into truth just as Jesus Himself had taught His disciples.

C. Jesus promised His disciples that the Spirit’s work would stir conviction of sin as well as reveal the eternal truth about the Son of God.

D. One of the early heresies taught the concept that once a person was redeemed, his spirit was secured in that salvation, but his physical behavior would not affect his spiritual condition. One could indulge in any sin without consequence (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 301).

E. They claimed that they did not need to be cleansed from sin because they had no sin from which to be cleansed.

F. To admit to our sin is to face up to the reality instead of pretending, and it is as we confess our sin that it is cleansed and it no longer counted against us.

G. If, however, we do not admit to our sin, it remains unconfused and unforgiven, and the truth is not in us (Marshall, 113).

H. John explained that those who believe the possibility of human sinlessness are fooling themselves and refusing to accept the truth as expressed in God’s word.

I. The truth of God’s word does not change: people are sinful. Though Jesus condemned sin once for all, Christians still sin (Barton, 1152).

3. Then in v. 10, John takes it a step further. He says, "If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."

A. John addressed those who say that they have no sin. Such people are deceived.

B. It may be that John was speaking of those who claimed to have been redeemed by God and now felt that they could live in a state of sinless perfection.

C. It may also be that John was addressing those who declared that they had never sinned. In both cases, these people are deceived by self-righteous conceit.

D. Such assertions negate the whole plan of redemption, and thereby make God a liar.

E. It would mean that God’s diagnosis of man’s sinful condition is wrong. The creature has shaken his fist in defiance of his Creator and has told Him that He is out of touch with the truth.

F. John warns that those who adhere to such a doctrinal fallacy are those whose walk is void of God’s word.

G. John says that such people are not redeemed at all. If the Word does not live in these people, they do not belong to God.

H. They have rejected the Son of God Who was sent to show all mankind the truth about its lost and dying condition (Easy-to-Read Commentary Series – The General Epistles: A Practical Faith, 302).