Deceiving Ourselves

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (I John 1:8) 

As we read the first epistle of John we must remember that he is a believer, a Christian, writing to other Christians. He uses the personal plural pronoun, “we,” as he writes verses eight, nine and ten.

We Christians are capable of committing some pretty deplorable sins. To say we have no sin we deceive ourselves. It is a beautiful truth that the blood of Jesus is constantly cleansing us from all sin, as verse seven tells us.

A friend of mine told me of a man with whom he worked on heavy equipment. He was trying to become sinless. One day he told my friend he had finally become sinless. A little while later one of the big wrenches he was using slipped off the head of a bolt causing him to skin the knuckles on his right hand. As blood dripped off his hand he turned the air blue with curse words and profanity. My friend told the fellow, “I believe you need to start over on your claim of sinlessness.”

The person, saved or unsaved, who thinks he is sinless also thinks he does not need Jesus and is deceiving himself.

More tomorrow...