Mensa Otabil - The Danger of Self Deception
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First John chapter 1, verse 8: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. As I stated earlier, First John is addressing problems in the early church. At this point, there are some people who believe that Jesus Christ did not come in the flesh.
So, John had to affirm that they saw him, they touched him, and they heard him. There were other Christians who were saying that they are past sin. They are so holy, they're so righteous that they can't sin again. John is addressing them. Then there are those who were living in sin but denying that they were living in sin. John is addressing that, too. This passage has been a source of worry for a lot of Christians, and there are still some Christians today who hold some of these views. Sometimes you even hear preachers pronouncing some of these positions, which were addressed 2,000 years ago in the early church. There are those who believe that the blood of Jesus doesn't cleanse us thoroughly from sin. Then there are those who believe that this message that John is talking about doesn't apply to Christians. A fair reading of First John will tell you that he's talking to Christians.
So what does this passage in First John address? Firstly, it addresses the self-righteous believer. The self-righteous believer is a person who loves God. He's living right; he's doing the will of God, and feels so good about how well they are doing in their Christian life that they are tempted to think that they have no sin whatsoever. Sometimes people feel that if they get close to God, serve God, and love God, then they would be perfect and without any sin. They become very puffed up and think very highly of themselves while thinking very lowly of other Christians. That is the self-righteous believer, and this is what the passage is addressing. God wants us to live for him; he wants us to live a holy life. He wants us to live righteously. But as we seek to live that life, we must not become so high-minded that we think, "Oh, we are so good; we don't sin anymore." That is what John is addressing.
Secondly, he's addressing the sin-denying believer. This is a believer who loves God but sins. Some of them live openly in sin but don't care much about their sin and think that because their spirits are in union with Christ, sin cannot touch them. They can do all the wrong things, but sin cannot touch them. Unfortunately, there are people who continue to believe that today, living in sin and thinking that sin doesn't touch them because their spirits are in union with Christ. When you read the New Testament, it is very evident that a person can be a Christian, live for Christ, and be tempted, sometimes falling into sin. Our Christian life is not supposed to produce self-righteousness in us or sin denial.
There are those Christians whose consciences are so seared that they live the wrong life but have no sense of guilt, no sense of remorse, and are unable to go to the presence of God to ask for forgiveness. If you really think that you are sinless, then you'll never pray for forgiveness. You will never confess your sins; you will never ask God to forgive you of your sins. John is saying if we do that, the truth is not in us. We must aspire to live a holy life for God, while at the same time having the humility to know that we are human and sometimes make mistakes. When we do, we go to God and ask him for forgiveness. Today we learn not to be self-righteous, nor should we become sin-denying Christians. We must be real Christians, authentic Christians who understand that we love the Lord, but sometimes we do the wrong thing. When we do, we go to God for forgiveness.
Let's pray. Say with me, "Heavenly Father, you know me in all my frailties. Help me to be always true to you and to myself, in Jesus' name. Amen."