The Truth of LIFE | 1 John 1:8-10

If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves

and the truth is not in us. If we confess our

sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our

sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say we have not sinned we make him a liar

and his word is not in us. Good morning everyone.

It's great to have you with us. If you're visiting

with us for the first time, my name is Michael.

I'm one of the pastors here at Grace. And as

Eric said just before, we would love to meet

you straight after the service, so please don't

feel like you need to run off. I think the urn

is working, so we'll have warm tea and coffee,

warm conversation. and hopefully a warm handshake

as well. Before we get into the passage that

we have before us this morning, why don't we

come to our Lord in prayer and ask him to help

us understand these words. Would you please pray

with me? Father God, we're so thankful that we're

able to be together this morning, to be around

your word, your holy word, words from you to

us. We ask this morning that as we explore, as

we peer into these wonderful words that you would

please by your spirit, build us up, edify us,

correct us, strengthen us for the sake of Christ.

And we ask for this in His name. Amen. Imagine

for a moment, if you will, if you went to a doctor

and you went and got some tests and then were

called back in to hear the results. Imagine if

the news wasn't good. But not to worry, you were

then told there is a cure. Now, imagine after

hearing such great news that you said to the

doctor, I don't believe you. I've heard that

there's actually no such thing as the thing that

you're diagnosing me with and I don't need your

solutions and then just walked out of the office.

What do you think would happen? What do you think?

the results of that decision would be. Now I've

asked you to engage your imaginations for just

a moment because that was the sort of situation

that our author was writing into to avoid with

the church there in first century Ephesus. As

we've seen there were false teachers that had

come into the church and they were marrying the

mission of Jesus to Greek philosophy and thus

tainting the Apostles doctrine about the work

of Jesus and what he had come to do. And it was

leading the church into the darkness about their

own spiritual condition and health. For example,

as you read through the book of 1 John, it seems

that these teachers had taken a knife to what

it is to be human, cutting the flesh from the

soul sort of thing. And thus teaching that when

you became a Christian, then it didn't really

matter what you did with your body because your

soul had escaped its clutches, it had been set

free from its prison so to speak. So go and do

what you want because the soul was forgiven and

the body, well it didn't matter what you did

with it anymore. That was the sort of context

that our author was writing into there at the

Church of Ephesus. He was concerned with the

sort of rhetoric that he was hearing repeated

in the Church. People were saying, I have fellowship

with God, yet they were leading these sinful

lives. And he could see, as he says there in

verse 6, that they were walking in darkness.

And it was all because these false teachers who

were building with the wrong building blocks

as Mark shared with us last week. They were playing

up the status of the soul and they were playing

down the seriousness of sin that continues to

threaten to hinder the Christian walk on this

side of Kingdom Come. And so continuing on with

what Mark shared with us from verses five to

seven last week, our apostle is going to diagnose

the disease that riddles every single one of

us in this room this morning while also giving

to us good news about how to apply the cure.

And I hope to show you just three things from

our text this morning. First, sin matters and

shouldn't be ignored. Second, confession matters

and also shouldn't be ignored. And third, though

we might not be perfect just yet, there is good

news in the gospel. So the first thing that I

want to draw your attention to has to do with

the way that we as Christians are to view sin

in our lives. There's a right way and there's

a wrong way. And so let's look at how John deals

with those who were saying in the church that

I have no sin. Let's have a look at verse 8 together.

He says if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves

and the truth is not in us. I want to draw your

attention to just the first few words there of

our text this morning. First notice how our apostle

says if we say we have no sin. I think what he's

doing there is he's summing up what people were

repeating from these false teachers. They were

going around and saying we have no sin. Now they

may have been saying that there was No such thing

as a sin nature in the first place or maybe they

were saying that once they started to follow

Jesus that they had nothing to worry about in

regards to sinning because the soul as we heard

before has been made pure and thus sin was nothing

really to worry about anymore. Whatever the case

may be John is saying to us through the church

from the get -go that for someone to think that

sin on this side of our Lord's return is no longer

an issue, or not to be thought about anymore

by the Christian, well they're completely deluded.

They're deceived, as he says here in verse 8.

No, to say that we have no sin at all, well that's

to walk in the darkness and not in the light.

And that's not good because second, the Christian

is called to live in the truth. I'll say that

again, the Christian, our call is to live in

the truth. And I want you to see that because

to say that we don't have any sin or that we

don't struggle with it in any which way just

because we're now following Jesus, well that's

to show that we've pushed reality away. that

we're now living a lie. Let me say that another

way church. Every Christian on the face of the

planet knows that when we give our lives to Christ,

that as we start to walk in the light of our

new life with Him, we see that sin is still there

hindering our new lives. It's not like we give

our lives to Jesus and then all of a sudden we

have like this perfect walk, not at all. In fact,

it's as we start to walk with Jesus that we see

just how deeply rooted sin really is. And John

is saying to us, to the church, to deny that

reality, to deny that truth of the matter, to

do that. Well that's to show that the truth isn't

in us. And so the Christian must be aware of

false teaching that says that once you become

a Christian that you're now sinless and have

nothing to worry about because if we're truthful

with ourselves we know that we still have sin

knocking on the door and more than that, more

than that sometimes we answer the door to our

own shame. And so our apostle says do not deal

with that reality by living in denial and pushing

away the truth. No, to deal with sin by self

-deception is absolutely ridiculous for those

who live in the light. It's like saying to a

doctor you don't know what you're talking about

and then just walking away. No, there is a way

for Christians to deal with sin and it's not

denial, it's not with delusion and it's not with

walking in darkness. So if we're not to live

in denial and face up to the fact that as Christians

we still do struggle with sin, then what are

we to do? Well this is where our Apostle brings

in the antidote to this particular problem. The

Christian isn't to deny that we struggle with

sin, it's in fact the opposite. It's to come

to terms with the truth and then do something

about it. If you have your Bibles with you, look

with me at verse 9 there. Our Apostle says if

we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to

forgive us our sins and to cleanse us. from all

unrighteousness. Notice that. Notice what our

apostle said. He gives the answer to this situation

that we find ourselves in. The proper response

for the Christian when we see sin in our lives

isn't to live a life of denial, but a life of

confession. Now confession, it's a really interesting

word here in the Greek. It actually means to

acknowledge or to admit offence. That's what

confession means. It means to acknowledge or

to admit offence. And so in very much the opposite

way of denial, John says when you see it, when

you see your offence, Don't run away from the

truth or lie to yourself. No, acknowledge it

to God and admit where you've gone wrong. That

is to live in the truth and in the light. Brothers

and sisters, this tells us a couple of things

about the Christian life. First, John wants us

to know that confession is a normal, ongoing

aspect of following Jesus on this side of eternity.

In other words, confession of sin to our Heavenly

Father isn't the exception to the rule. No, it's

part of the ongoing life of being a disciple

of Jesus Christ. Why don't you cast your minds

back with me? to the first few pages of the Bible

in Genesis. We see our first parents there. They

have relationship with God, but when they had

committed sin against the Lord, when that relationship

was broken, they run behind a bush, right? And

then what do we see? Adam blames Eve and then

Eve, she blames the snake. No one in that scene

acknowledged or admitted the offence that they

had committed. No, they were in denial and shifted

blame every step of the way. That's what people

in the dark do. And so our apostle tells us,

don't be like that. Don't be deluded and deny

when you've blown it. That's not how this works.

No, the proper attitude of the Christian is when

you see sin. Not to deny that you have a sin

problem or blame shift or run behind the so -called

bush No, it's to realize the ongoing reality

of sin and then go to your Heavenly Father with

it Far from being perfect church Part of our

prayer life should include the words Lord, I

recognize my struggle with this and that Lord,

I admit to you that I've done wrong. I confess

to you that I've again fallen short. Do you see

what our apostle is lovingly showing us here,

Church? Repentance and confession isn't something

that we do just at the very beginning of the

Christian life. No, it's something that we practice

right throughout the Christian life on this side

of Kingdom Come. And we do this because confession

to our Lord, confessing to Him where we know

we've fallen short and broken His law and quenched

and grieved His Spirit, it's integral to our

relationship with Him. That's the first thing

that John wants us to see here. He wants us to

see that the proper attitude of one who is walking

in the light One who confesses Christ, one who

is a Christian when it comes to sin, isn't to

say that we have no sin problem and that we are

perfect and then ignore and deny when you do

stuff up, but to confess and admit to our God

our struggles and failures. There's a second

thing that our apostle wants us to see here and

it's absolutely incredible. It's absolutely amazing

what he says. He says that when we go to God

in this way, when we go to him in confession,

we can know that we will be restored to him in

perfect relationship because as it says here

in verse nine, he is faithful and just to forgive

us of our sins. Now there's something very interesting

here that I want you to notice. You see, mercy

love and righteousness define our God's character

all throughout the Bible. And in a way you might

expect John that when he speaks about confession

and we go to God that he would say something

like because he loves us so much he'll show mercy

to us and that's certainly not being denied here.

But it's interesting that our Apostle brings

in covenantal language into this whole picture.

That's what John is doing here when he says he

is faithful. He is faithful. What John's saying

in no uncertain terms that God has revealed something

in his Word and that's that he will forgive anybody

from anywhere who's done anything who calls upon

the name of the Lord and who puts their trust

in Christ alone because God said that he would

forgive in his word and because he's a covenantal

making and keeping God he can be trusted because

his word is his bond. All that to say anybody

who comes to the Lord confesses their sins can

know that they will be forgiven continually because

God said that they will be forgiven. He's faithful

but there's more. John points out something else

to us. He's just to forgive us our sins. Now

John's drawing on courtroom language here which

is to say that God is a judge and justice must

be served when it comes to sin. And this makes

sense of what we see here, excuse me, in verse

seven, where John tells us the blood of Jesus,

God's son, cleanses us from all sin. And I say

this makes sense of verse 7 because it shows

us that God isn't a judge that just sweeps things

under the carpet and forgets about injustice,

but is a just judge that really dishes out the

full penalty of what our sin deserves. But, but

by meeting it on the Lord Jesus Christ. who shed

his blood on our behalf on the cross at Calvary.

And so putting this all together brothers and

sisters, if Christ has shed his blood and the

full penalty of our sin has been met on him,

how would it be just of God to then meet it again

on those that come to him in confession? Do you

see the tremendous news that John gives to us

here? Because of God's Word, because of His character,

because of the work of His Son, Jesus Christ

on the cross, it would be absolutely illogical

for him to say one thing and then turn around

and punish his trusting and confessing people

for sin that's already been paid for. In no way

Has our sin just been swept under the carpet?

No, our sin has really been dealt with, but it's

been dealt with by being met on the Lord Jesus

Christ. And so when we go to God in confession,

because He has promised to forgive those who

trust in Christ, we can know that His forgiveness

is a real and present reality. Maybe this is

a real problem for you. Maybe just maybe you're

here this morning and you're so ashamed of the

things that you've done that you can't bear the

thought of going to God because you think that

he's going to be disgusted with you and cast

you away from his sight for all eternity. Maybe

you're here and even thinking about the sin that

you've committed makes you sick. to the stomach,

to such a point that you've tried every which

way to deal with it in your own strength. Maybe

you're here this morning and you've made all

sorts of excuses for the sin that you've done.

Maybe you're at the point that you've not done

anything wrong at all. You've denied sin there

altogether. Dear one, hear the news, the good

news. That's being held out to you this morning.

The living God has bound his reputation. He's

bound his reputation to the promise to forgive

anyone who comes to him who confesses their sin.

Notice that it doesn't say he'll forgive some

sin. No, it says he forgives all sin. All sin.

Everything. Don't be like our first parents and

try and hide and put the blame on something else.

God holds out the wonderful healing balm of the

blood of Jesus. And anything, anything can be

dealt with by the blood of Jesus. John tells

us in no uncertain terms, in just these couple

of verses, the Christian realistically looks

at sin in our lives and we deal with it. not

by running, not by hiding, not by denying, but

by admitting and confessing to our God. Maybe

you're here this morning and this is all quite

confusing for you and you would say to yourself,

but I've confessed my sin to God in the past,

why do I need to keep going to Him and telling

Him about my continual faults and failures? Surely

he's sick of it by now. Just so there's no confusion

among us this morning, and even from week to

week when we gather as a church to do corporate

confession, I want to put forward to you four

biblical reasons as to why we Christians must

keep going to God in this way. First, when we

go to Him in confession, we experience a fresh

our Heavenly Father's loving kindness and tender

mercy. I think of Psalm 32 here when King David

knew that he had completely blown it. He had

done wicked, wicked actions in the sight of God

and it was like the weight of the world was on

him crushing his bones as he puts it. But as

he goes to God and as he confesses his sin and

as he was restored to right relationship, the

whole psalm crescendos with our author rejoicing

and experiencing afresh God's love for his people.

And it's something that David wants for us to

experience as well. I mean, we get a taste of

this, don't we? Even in our human relationships.

Maybe with a spouse or a parent or a friend,

when we've hurt someone that we really love,

we feel the weight of it. And we feel sick and

we feel foolish about the things that we've done.

But how wonderful is it that when we go to that

person and admit where we've done wrong and they

forgive us, it's like the weight of the world.

taken off our shoulders and we feel even closer

to that person than ever before. Confession of

sin is a wonderful way to deal with our burdens

and unresolved guilt. Confession, it brings healing

and reconciliation to broken relationships and

relief to the weary soul. Second, because we

still slip and give into things that so easily

hinder us, even after coming to the knowledge

of the truth, we need to keep going to God because

sin, it still threatens us. Now, it's absolutely

true that the Christian is united to Christ.

It's absolutely true that our debt has been paid

and that our stain has been removed. But as we've

noticed before, noted before, because we still

live in the body, sin still comes knocking on

the door and its desire is to enslave you, even

as a Christian. That's why Paul warned the Romans

in the sixth chapter of his book, don't let sin

be a master over you. He wouldn't have said that

unless he knew that those in the church would

still wrestle against their old slave master.

It's as J .C. Ryle put it all those years ago,

the Christian life is a soldier's life. We battle,

we fight, we wrestle against sin. Yes, we've

been set free, but beware of those old ways that

come to tempt and to taunt. Confession. Confession.

It's not to make excuse of our sin. It's not

to make light of the blood of Jesus. Just the

opposite. It's to acknowledge that we still need

God as we struggle and strive to follow Him on

this side of eternity. Third, when we go to God

in confession, it's keeping a humble attitude

in admitting that we're not perfect just yet.

I don't know about you church but I find that

times of confession it gives me a deeper appreciation

and love for what Jesus has achieved on my behalf.

You see, Jesus, He never once broke the law in

thought, in word or deed. Not once. He is perfect

in every which way, yet He went to the cross

on my behalf and took all that I deserve upon

Himself. And I can't even for a day live the

life that He lived. So when I go to God in confession

and reflect on my day in light of my Lord's perfect

life, it gives me a greater appreciation of what

Jesus has achieved for you and me. But there's

more. It also gives us great hope because Jesus

didn't stay in the grave dead. No, he was raised

victorious. And so you and I can know that there's

going to come a day that because of the work

of Jesus on our behalf, we too will raise from

the grave and sin will be fully removed from

us. We won't wrestle anymore in that sense and

we'll be with our Father for all eternity. Confession,

it reminds us of who Jesus is and what our Heavenly

Father is conforming us into as we humbly come

to him in full dependence. Fourth and finally

and in somewhat connection with that last point,

confession isn't just about being rescued from

hell and then that's that. Now admitting when

you've failed, when you've stuffed up, when you've

done wickedly, when you've broken God's law,

when you've quenched his Holy Spirit, when you've

fallen short and forgotten Christ's amazing sacrifice

yet again, that's coming to terms with how holy

God is and how far we really fall short. But

far from being dismayed, far from being trodden

down, we should be strengthened. Church, when

the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, when He's

conforming us to the image of Jesus, And the

promise is that He will never leave nor forsake

us. Paul says it plainly, what He has begun,

He will finish. And so when we go to God in confession,

when we reflect on our weakness and His holiness,

might we be encouraged to remember that we're

not in the fight alone. He is the one doing the

work, transforming us from the inside out. Yes.

Absolutely, we have been forgiven already. Our

debt has been paid in full. But ongoing confession

of our struggles, our failures, our wickedness,

our law breaking, it restores broken relationship

with our Heavenly Father. It keeps entrapment

of sin far away. It keeps us humble and it keeps

us relying on God's grace day to day and it reminds

us time and time again to look to Jesus as our

only hope in life and death. It's just one last

thing that I want to point your attention to

here and it's John's final warning to those in

the church. that claim to be perfect and not

struggle with sin any longer. We read here in

verse 10, if we say that we haven't sinned or

we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his

word is not in us. It's very simple what our

apostle tells us here. If you say that you don't

struggle with sin any longer, it's an assault

on the truth of God. It's an assault on God's

truthfulness because when one compares themselves

to the life of Jesus Christ, the perfect man,

the one who never once sinned and can walk away

saying that they've lived up to that standard

in every which way and have nothing to admit

or repent or confess to a holy God. That's clear

evidence that that person isn't living in the

light. That person's not living in truth and

still walking in darkness. Like we began, imagine

for a moment that when God gave the law, that

when it diagnosed you as a hopeless sinner, that

when the gospel cure was held out to you, that

you said, I don't believe you. I don't believe

that there's anything that is true about what

you've diagnosed me with. I don't need your solution."

And then just walked away. Imagine the result.

We don't actually have to imagine the result

because the Bible says that it will be eternal

ruin. It'll be hell. That's the very problem

that John writes to the church to avoid when

it comes to the Christian and sin. He urges us

to live a life of confession and prayerful dependence

on God, something that we are to continually

do on this side of Kingdom Come. To cast John's

diagnosis and antidote away would not be to walk

in the light of the truth. It would be to remain

in darkness. Church, I love how American theologian

and pastor Paul Tripp puts it. Our sin is what

separates us from God, but it's our self -righteousness

that keeps us from running to Him to receive

the grace that He willingly gives to anyone that

would come to Him. It might be for the first

time, it might be day by day, but the good news

of the gospel is that because of God's Word,

what He has promised in His Word, because of

His character, because of the once and for all

sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary,

and because of the Holy Spirit's work, we can

know beyond a shadow of a doubt that forgiveness

is sure. Reconciliation is the result and relationship

is the fruit. Perfection church, perfection that's

something that we look forward to one day and

we will have it on that blessed day but for the

moment as we live in the flesh. as we live and

strive in the body. Confession is a wonderful

and beautiful gift of God given to His people

so that we might get before Him continually to

realize our need, His strength, His holiness

and experience time and time and time and time

and time. How many times can I say it again?

His loving kindness and tender mercy towards

His people. Let's pray. Father God we thank you

for these words of eternal life and we began

our time this morning asking that Jesus would

be held to us that your spirit would work among

us and Lord I just ask that as your people have

heard your word that we would be encouraged to

come to you. no matter what we've done, no matter

what we've said, what we've thought, no matter

what we've physically done with these bodies

and know that because of the Lord Jesus Christ

you are for us and not against us. Lord we thank

you that this hasn't been made up in any which

way but this is the truth that you've given to

your church. Might we be a confessing people

and might we experience your forgiveness and

the overflow of that to those around us.