Sinless?
I've known him, haven't you? (And I'm only using "him" here for convenience—I could just as easily be referring to a "her.") That person who is a legend in his own mind? That person who holds everyone around them to an impossible standard? That person who is the first to "tattle" on someone who fails to meet that standard? That person who claims, if not in words at least in attitude, to be without sin? You know him. You've met her. Maybe you've even allowed their "holier-than-thou" mindset to manipulate you. You find yourself wanting his approval, her look of welcome. Such manipulation will only lead to ruin and discouragement, because you will never, ever measure up.
The truth is such persons will always find fault in what you say or do. He will be the first to "blow the whistle" when you mess up. She will be the first to point out your flaws to others. You will seek his approval but never find it. Because you can't measure up.
Neither can they.
In fact, John reminds us that such a person is setting an impossible standard. John even has a name for such a person: "liar." Too far? Well, John goes even further. He says to claim we have not sinned is to make Jesus out to be a liar. Such a person is not, according to John, a real follower of Jesus.
Here's how John puts it at the end of the first chapter of his first letter: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:8-10).
The truth is such persons will always find fault in what you say or do. He will be the first to "blow the whistle" when you mess up. She will be the first to point out your flaws to others. You will seek his approval but never find it. Because you can't measure up.
Neither can they.
In fact, John reminds us that such a person is setting an impossible standard. John even has a name for such a person: "liar." Too far? Well, John goes even further. He says to claim we have not sinned is to make Jesus out to be a liar. Such a person is not, according to John, a real follower of Jesus.
Here's how John puts it at the end of the first chapter of his first letter: "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us" (1 John 1:8-10).
That's fairly strong, and it makes me wonder what was behind it. What was happening in the church at Ephesus that would cause John to write such a strongly worded beginning to his letter? Probably the same thing that happens in our churches today, when some begin to believe they have the corner on the market on holiness, when some begin to take God's job of judging others on themselves, when some just make life miserable for those around them because they act (or believe themselves to be) so much better than others. In two thousand years, we've developed better technology and maybe more efficient ways to sin, but as a race we have not changed all that much.
What John says about me I freely admit: I am a sinner. I make mistakes. I do not measure up. I disappoint people. And I'd rather admit that (the truth) than make Jesus out to be a liar by claiming something other than what is true. I am not sinless, but I have a great savior. And every time I come to him with my brokenness, he is there waiting to repair it and me. Thanks be to God for my great savior!
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