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.