The Freedom Of Forgiveness

The Freedom of Forgiveness

1 John 1:5-10

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to 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.

Introduction: This past Sunday the Lord led me to deliver a message on the subject of apostasy and one of the points that I shared with you concerned the issue of backsliding and we said that a Christian who sins may be forgiven and that they can be restored to a right relationship with God.

I. The Fact of Our Sin v. 8

a. The denial of sin - (If we say that we have no sin)

A PREREQUISITE TO FORGIVENESS

A pastor finished his message early one Sunday, (and that pastor was not me) and he wanted to check his congregation’s understanding. So he asked, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?"

There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up, "You have to sin."

This is true of us all. Before we can come to God we must we willing to admit that we have sinned. I heard and old preacher say years ago that, “…before you can get a sinner saved you must get him lost.”

b. The deception of sin – (we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us)

To deny that we have sinned is to deny the truth that God Himself has declared about us in His word therefore we are deceiving ourselves in the worst way possible.

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Sin is deceptive. It is like an apple worm, which is really codling moth larva. On the outside of the apple you see a small hole, a little blemish. But when you open the apple up it is ruined.

There are few experiences that equal biting into a crisp, flavorful apple, but few worse than finding half a worm in the remaining portion.

Sin we destroy you life from the inside out just like the codling moth larva, or apple worn. You might be able to hide the blemish from the rest of the world, but you are ruined on the inside just the same.

You know everyone who sees you is seeing a mask, because you are too guilty to show them the real you.

II. The Focus on Our Sin v. 9a

a. The confession of sin (If we confess our sin)

Confession of sin starts with our admission of sin. Forgiveness cannot occur without the acknowledgement that we have sinned.

NOT "IF"

Warren Wiersbe tells of a counselor who was trying to help a man who had come forward during an evangelistic meeting. "I’m a Christian," the man said, "but there’s sin in my life, and I need help." The counselor showed him 1 John 1:9 and suggested that the man confess his sins to God.

"O Father," the man began, "if we have done anything wrong--" "Just a minute!" the counselor interrupted. "Don’t drag me into your sin! My brother, it’s not ’if’ or ’we’—you’d better get down to business with God!"

The counselor was right.

(Bible Exposition Commentary - New Testament)

We must be honest with God and with ourselves!

b. The cleansing from sin (the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin)

Purifying Agent

The Apostle Paul writes about the empowering agent that enables the child of God to live that victorious life: Romans 8:9-11 says, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you." 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." "Purify" (katharizo) in the spiritual sense is to cleanse from the pollution and guilt of sin.