‘ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.'
Those who are His are very much aware of sin, the sin that plagues their hearts and lives and seeks to draw them away from His ways. For the truth is that if we are His the light of God will shine on the hearts of His own, revealing to us our sinfulness. But it will also bring home to us Christ as our Saviour and Lord. And being such men we will never doubt our own sinfulness as we are in ourselves.
This ‘sin' is defined in 1 John 3:4 as ‘lawlessness', the refusal to respond to and obey God's law. Thus John is declaring that there is within us all a streak of lawlessness, of rebellion, of unwillingness to submit. And the response to such is to come to the light and be open with God and with each other for the purpose of submission.
The message that John brings is not that men have been purified as a result of some religious ordinance and can therefore come into God's presence without a qualm, (which probably some were declaring), and therefore do not need continual forgiveness. It is that men without exception are sinful. ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.' Note the singular for sin. This may be because it speaks of the sinful tendency within our nature, the sin that is so much a part of what we are, deeply rooted within us, our lawless nature. Or it may refer to sin seen as a whole, differing in sins done from one to another although all coming from the same root and all disobeying the law of God. Or it may be referring to the guilt associated with sin. Or it may include all with each left to apply it to his own situation. It tells us that to deny this fact, or to claim that some religious ordinance or experience has totally removed it, is not to improve us or increase our worthiness. It is to deceive ourselves about what we are and to avoid the truth. It is to ignore the fact that morality is of prime importance. It makes us liars to ourselves and to God. It means that we have not truly come to Him who is pure light. For if we had so come we would be aware of our sinfulness within from which we can never be fully free in this world, although we may be victors over it. If we would come to God we must first face up to sin and morality.
For the truth is that we are all made up of sinful flesh which constantly seeks to drag us away from the ways of the Spirit, to drag us down into sin and disobedience (Galatians 5:16). And to be aware of that is to be on our guard and with Christ's help and the uplifting power of the Spirit to find deliverance from it. But let us drop our guard and grow careless towards God, and sin will have us in an instant. Once we deceive ourselves and fail to recognise the truth, we are undone and will soon find ourselves constantly sinning. As Cain was told so long ago, ‘if you do not do well, -- sin crouches like a wild animal at the door' (Genesis 4:7).
‘The truth is not in us.' If we say that we have no sin we are controlled by falsehood and not by truth. Truth has not been allowed its way within us. It has been turned out and rejected.