Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
5/22 Reading Portions: Numbers 31; Psalms 75-76; Isaiah 23; 1 John 1
1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
SIN
Why are we not living as holy a life as we might like? There are two reasons. First, we take a dim view of sin. We shrug sin off as if it were a minor infraction, a mere “oops” in the kingdom of Christ. The second reason is this: we take a dim view of God’s holy character. We forget, or worse, forsake the loftiness of His majesty. For you and me, saved by God’s grace, we will never walk in sinless perfection while on this planet. The plan of God in Christ is not designed like that. Only one Person ever lived a life of sinless perfection as Man on earth— the Lord Jesus Christ. Then how can a sinner saved by grace live a holy life? I’m so glad you asked. To be holy basically means to be separate or set apart (Lev 20:26). The saints in Christ are not perfectly sinless. We are sinners whom God has set apart from the sinful world by His grace to be His own. The best of what we do in our mortality contains corruptions of flesh (Rom 7:18); otherwise, the Scripture wouldn’t tell us that when Jesus returns we will put on incorruption (1 Cor 15:50-54). We inherited Adam’s DNA, and if we were to become mystically perfect, we’d forsake God, just as Adam did; we’d forget the cross and forsake Christ’s precious blood. The doctrine of “entire sanctification” is deceptive and dangerous. The design of saving grace is to keep us joined to God in Christ, seeking forgiveness through Christ’s precious blood daily. The best of what we do for Christ has enough corruptions attached to it that we need all of God’s grace to stand before Him. It does not remove our responsibility for acting honorably, behaving morally, and submitting to God obediently. It means humbling ourselves daily to confess that we are sinners in need of God’s grace every moment of every day. John’s next verse says,
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
If we say we have no sin lurking in the corruptions of our mortal flesh, it only proves how much we need His grace and forgiveness.
