Cleansed from All Sin

First John 1:8 is the verse most commonly used (actually, misused) in attempts to undermine or deny biblical holiness. It has become a trump card, of sorts. Teachers quote a single verse and believe there is nothing more to be said. They believe it wipes out dozens and dozens of passages that teach the practical reality of sinless Christianity.

Of course, the verse is always quoted out of context, and the abusers twist the verse to say exactly the opposite of what the passage teaches.

Here is the verse by itself: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” And sometimes verse 10 is also used. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

Here is the context:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. (1 John 1:1-4)

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)

The first four verses state the reason for John’s letter, to proclaim what he has seen so that his readers can have the fellowship of eternal life. He wants to proclaim the gospel message. Then, verses 5 through 10 contain that message: “This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you …” and the rest follows to the end of the chapter.

So, verses 5 through 10 contain a message that conveys what is necessary to gain fellowship and eternal life.

The first point is that God is light and there is no darkness in Him. That is the bedrock of the message.

The second point follows logically. If we say that we have fellowship with God and walk in the darkness, obviously we are lying. Why? Because there is no darkness in Him. This helps us see that “we” in this context cannot mean only Christians, as some assert. Since fellowship with God is equated with having eternal life, the person who walks in darkness must not be a true Christian, so "we" cannot be "we Christians." The intent must be a larger “we,” such as “we people.” This understanding of “we” fits every verse in this passage.

The third point also follows and adds a cleansing act. If we walk in the Light, we have fellowship with God and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

Many teachers jerk the next verse out of its context and destroy the meaning of the entire passage. Remember, this is a gospel message designed to bring eternal life. John has established that if a person walks in the light, he will be cleansed of his sin and granted eternal life. So, this passage is designed to show an unbeliever the way of salvation. An unbeliever must admit that he has sin in order to be cleansed. So if he says he has no sin, he is deceiving himself, and the truth is not in him.

This isn’t about a Christian claiming not to have sin. It’s about someone making this claim who still needs to be cleansed. If this wasn’t the case, then verse 7 makes no sense at all. It says that the blood cleanses from all sin. It’s gone. What sin would be remaining? None. Did Jesus do a poor job in cleansing from all sin? Of course not.

So these teachers have this completely backwards. It doesn’t say that Christians cannot claim sinlessness. The passage is teaching the exact opposite. All Christians are cleansed from all sin. It is the one who hasn’t been cleansed yet who cannot make such a claim.

And verse 9 gives the solution for the one who hasn’t been cleansed yet: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Again, this is a complete cleansing. The sin is gone. Verse 9 is a conversion passage, what someone needs to do to be saved and gain the eternal life that John desires for his readers.

Those who teach the false interpretation of verses 8 and 10 have to contradict verses 7 and 9. Does Jesus cleanse from all sin or not? Of course He does. Therefore, a Christian has no sin. Those who have not been cleansed need to confess their sins so that they, too, can be cleansed from all sin and be saved.

This passage is a gospel message, and those who need cleansing are the ones in mind in verse 8 and 10. These teachers twist the passage completely around. The passage teaches complete sinlessness, and these teachers make it their trump card to prove that sinlessness is impossible. This seems quite backwards to me.

And even more amazing is that some use 1 John 1:8 to assert that people who believe they live without sin are not Christians at all! They say, “if you think you’re now sinless as a Christian, then the truth is not in you, so you’re not a real Christian.” This passage teaches that believers are cleansed from all sin, and these teachers use it to say the exact opposite, that only those in sin are believers. Again, this is backwards.

Simple logic also demonstrates that these teachers’ understanding of this verse is off the mark. If verses 8 and 10 mean that it is improper to say you have completely stopped sinning, the “have no sin” and “have not sinned” phrases must have a definite time frame involved. For example, if I say that I have not sinned in the last year, someone may say, “But 1 John 1:10 would call you a liar for saying that you have not sinned.”

If, however, I changed the time frame to claiming that I have not sinned in the last 10 seconds, would 1 John 1:10 apply? I am making the same kind of statement but with a different time claim. Many would say that it is reasonable to claim a sinless ten seconds. If even this is denied, the argument could be divided into microseconds, and the teacher would have to admit that he could not claim a sinless fraction of time of very minute proportions.

Some would believe even this, that they are constantly sinning in every iota of time. This would mean that Christians are always sinning, in direct contradiction to numerous descriptions in Scripture of a Christian's actual behavior:

We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. (1 John 5:18)

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. (1 John 4:17)

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3-4)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2)

And I could list many more.

These teachers would also have to admit that they are never obedient. That’s where the logic of their interpretation must take them.

The only reasonable interpretation is that if a person claims that he has never sinned, and by this thinks that he does not need a savior, he is deceiving himself and makes God a liar, because he directly contradicts Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Next time, I will move to chapter two of 1 John to show that John was consistent in his teaching that complete sinlessness is the standard for every real Christian. Stay tuned.