WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR SINS
1 John 1:8-2:2
INTRO: I think one of the most shocking things that comes to a new Christian is the realization that though he has been saved from his sins he is still a sinner. When you sin as a Christian the Devil will cause you to doubt that you’ve ever really been saved. If I’m saved then why am I still having the problem of sin.
What do we do with our sins? How do we as believers come to grip with the sin problem in our lives? What I want to do in this message from these verses is share with you three alternatives you have concerning the problem of sin in your life as a believer.
I. YOU MAY CONQUER YOUR SINS (2:1-2).
I want to caution you right here not to think for a moment that I’m talking about sinless perfection. You can never live above sin in this world. I am saying that provision has been made so that you can conquer sin on a daily basis. You don’t have to be defeated by sin. Provision has been made for you to have victory daily over your sin.
Look in 2:2, where it says that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” I want to focus for a moment on that word “propitiation.” The word “propitiation” is related to another word that is usually translated “mercy seat.” He is the mercy seat for our sins.
ILLUS: Do you remember in the Old Testament system of sacrifices at the temple? There was an Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. In that Ark of the Covenant were the tablets of stone, the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. On top of this Ark of the Covenant was a solid gold lid, a gold slab, that was known as the mercy seat. On the Day of Atonement the high priest would go in to that Holy of Holies, he would take the blood of the lamb that had been shed and would sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat.
In the New Testament we are told that Jesus is our Mercy Seat, that Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. Look in 1 John 4:10. What do we mean by that word “propitiation?” What is implied in the figure of the mercy seat? Well, the best word that really translates what it’s talking about is the word “satisfaction,” complete satisfaction. Jesus is the complete satisfaction for our sins.
Look at 1:7. “...and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us (present tense), keeps on cleansing us from sin.” That’s the daily provision right there. I do not have to be conquered by sin. I do not have to yield to sin. I can plead the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
ILLUS: At the bank where you do business, where you keep your checking account, it’s a pretty good idea for you to stay in the black. If you get overdrawn you’ve got all kinds of problems. You’ll pay more fees than you ever dreamed. It’s just not good business to get in the red in your financial affairs.
In your spiritual affairs it’s just the opposite. In your spiritual affairs it pays to stay in the red. It pays to stay under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what I need to do every day of my life. I need to claim the perfect salvation which is mine in the atoning work, the shed blood, of Jesus for my sins.
Now look at 2:1. Do you see the statement “that you sin not?” That statement suggests that on a daily basis we have a choice. We can make a choice concerning this matter of sin.
If you’ve never been saved you basically don’t have a choice. If you’re sitting here and you’re lost in sin the Bible says he who commits sin, in other words, he who lives a lifestyle of sin is a slave of sin. When you come to Jesus. You can choose not to sin. On the basis of the blood of Jesus I may choose not to sin.
II. YOU MAY COVER YOUR SINS (1:8, 10).
In 2:1, John is raising the possibility that we might sin. What do you do as a believer when you do sin. You may choose to cover your sin. How do you cover your sin? What is this concealment of sin all about? Look back at chapter 1. I want to show you something — three verses that begin the same way (6, 8, & 10). He is talking there about concealment. He is talking about a believer who is making the attempt to conceal his sin, to cover his sin. How does a believer do that? How do we conceal our sin?
We conceal our sin by lying. Look at v. 6. There are some people who come to church, go through the motions of church, put on a good show on the outside, but the fact of the matter is they are concealing their sin. They’re making a profession on the outside but the reality is far different from what they profess.
Some people have two sets of friends — church friends and other friends. Two vocabularies — a church vocabulary and another vocabulary. They’re living a life that’s putting on a front. They’re pretending a walk with God which they do not possess. They are living a life of concealment before others.
But then if you continue lying to others you may start lying to yourself. Look at v. 8. If you keep lying to others long enough about your walk with God, the next step is you begin to lie to yourself and you begin to live in self-deception. We deceive ourselves.
III. YOU MAY CONFESS YOUR SINS (v 9).
The word “confess” really is a word that means “to say the same thing.” It means to agree with God about your sin. It means you quit playing hide-and-seek with God and you just say to God, “God, you call it sin, I call it sin,” and you confess that sin. Admit it to God as sin.
CONC: ILLUS: I heard about a boy who had disobeyed his parents, he’d been ugly. So his father sent him up to his room and said, “You just go up there, you’ll not eat supper with the family tonight.” In a little while it was supper time and the rest of the family sat down to eat.
The father heard the little boy, “Father. Father.” So the dad got up from the table and went up there. The boy said, “Dad, it’s supper time, isn’t it?” “Yes, son, we’re having a good meal.” “You know, Dad, I’m getting a little hungry.” “Well, son, you know you’ve sinned. You’re out of fellowship with the family and you’re not going to sit down to the table and be in fellowship with the family.” The boy said, “Well, Daddy, if I’ve sinned I’m sorry.” The father said, “I’m sorry, son, that won’t do it.”
The man sat down to eat the meal and in a little while, “Father?” So he went up again. He said, “Dad, you and mother say I’ve sinned so if ya’ll say I’ve sinned, I’m sorry.” And he said, “I’m sorry, son, that won’t do either.”
He went on back and in a little while, “Father?” He went up again and the little boy was weeping. He said, “Dad, I know that I’ve done wrong. There’s no doubt about it. You know it and I know it and I’m so sorry and I want you to forgive me.” The father embraced him and he hugged him and he kissed him and he said, “Son, all is forgiven. Come on down and sit at the table and eat with us.”
There are some of you who need to come to the heavenly Father and quit playing with Him and saying “if I’ve sinned” and “if I’ve done this” and just say “Oh, God, I’ve sinned and you know I’ve sinned and I know I’ve sinned and I want you to forgive me.” And you can sit down in fellowship with the heavenly Father once again.
NOTE: This message is a revision of a sermon preached by my late father Ted Wood. It appears (though I can’t be certain) that he may have used Warren Wiersbe’s book "Be Real" for some of his inspiration.
