Misconception 2:Man is not totally sinful and depraved.
Introduction: John the Apostle has declared that the Son of God has come to earth. He has come to reveal who God is, what God is like and how God wants us to live. In addition to this, He has come to die for us and cleanse us from our sin.
I hear people say all the time, “We aren’t that sinful. We can change our behavior and act responsibly. Man has the discipline to control his own life. Man has the power to please God himself. We are good on the inside. We mean well. As long as I’m educated, religious and have good moral values God is proud of me.” The point is that man objects to the idea that he cannot become acceptable to God on his own. Man objects to the idea that they need a Savior to die for their sins. Man objects because the idea of needing a Savior means that man is: - Sinful and depraved
- So sinful that he is totally unacceptable to God
- So sinful and depraved that he cannot fellowship with God, that all his prayers, worship, and thoughts to God are in vain and empty.
This is the reason why many persons object to Jesus Christ. Many accept Him as a great religious teacher, but reject His claim to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world. They are unwilling to accept the fact that man is totally sinful and depraved. This is the great subject of this passage and the second major misconception of man about the deity of Jesus Christ.
Man: the misconception is forcefully stated, “we claim to be without sin.” Note that the word sin is not plural, but singular. The sin being talked about here is sin as a root within man. It’s apart of mans nature, as a principle, a law, a force, an energy within man. People who say they can approach God on their own are saying that they have no sin, no root of sin, no nature of sin, no principle of sin within them. They are saying that they can handle sin themselves. They are saying that they can stop sinning enough to change their lives and to please God. They are saying that they don’t need the Son of God to die for them. They are saying that they can control their lives enough to keep from sinning.
Let’s see what scripture says about this misconception. Verse 8 tells us, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” No person can keep from sinning. If any person thinks that he can keep from sinning, the truth is not in him. He is being utterly deceived. If we cannot keep from sinning that means that we have a nature to sin. We have a root down deep within us to sin. Remember that sin is imperfection. Sin is falling short of God’s glory. There are people who think man is not responsible for his sin, therefore cannot be charged with sin. They blame it on their upbringing, parents, society, environment, education or lack of it. They say that man is a product of his environment. The reason man sins is because someone else made him do it. Yes, our environment and our upbringing do affect us and have some bearing on our actions, but we are not just some robots responding to the trigger of the environment. We are free moral people who have the choice to sin or not to sin. The problem is not our environment. We sin because it is in our roots. Sin is a force within us.
The person who thinks they alone can control their sin has to small a view of God and to high view of themselves. Think about how weak man really is. We are not only sinful in our acts, we fall short of the glory of God every day.
- “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
- “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.” Romans 5:12
- “He made him, who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, that we may become the righteousness of God through Him.” 2Corinthians 5:21
God has given testimony to the sinfulness of the world, by providing a sufficient, effectual Sacrifice for sin, needed in all ages. The sinfulness of believers themselves is shown, by requiring them continually to confess their sins, and to apply by faith to the blood of that Sacrifice. Let us plead guilty before God, be humble, and willing to know the worst of our case. Let us honestly confess all our sins in their full extent, relying wholly on his mercy and truth through the righteousness of Christ, for a free and full forgiveness, and our deliverance from the power and practice of sin.
Confession of Sins- the truth is that we must confess our sins. Man is deceived if he denies that he has sinned. The Son of God came to earth to die for our sins and it is His blood that cleanses us from sin. When we are in Christ and God looks at us all he sees is the blood of Christ. Therefore, if we confess our sins, God will forgive our sins. He’ll do even more. He will purify us from all unrighteousness.
- To forgive our sins means that God forgives the guilt of sin. God justifies us. He counts the death of Christ as our punishment. Jesus Christ bore our guilt of sin. We stand before God, no longer guilty of sin.
- To purify us from all righteousness means that God cleanses us from all the dirt, pollution, filth and contamination of sin. Not a single stain or spot of sin remains on us. We stand before God sinless and perfect, but remember why. Because we believe in Jesus Christ and confess that we are sinners who trust the blood of God’s son to purify our sins.
How do we know that God will forgive our sins and purify us? How do we know that God will count the death of Jesus Christ as punishment for our sins?
- God is perfectly just and righteous. Therefore, he must condemn and punish sin, but God is also perfect love and mercy, so therefore, He must demonstrate His love and mercy and provide a way of forgiveness for man. This is exactly what He has done in Jesus Christ. God has demonstrated His love in the most perfect and supreme way possible. He has given His Son to die for the sins of man.
- Having done this for man, He will forgive man. He is faithful and righteous. He will do exactly what His word says. God will forgive any repentant sinner who truly turns away from his sin and turns to God and confesses his sin. God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins.
- “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” Acts 13:38
- “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” Ephesians 1:7
- “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.” Isaiah 43:25
