Job 15:14
“What is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
No human is righteous in themself, only Jesus, all man all God is. He gave His sinless life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world that we can stand in His righteousness before our holy Father. In Holy Spirit which He gives to us we learn the meaning of life and are changed, precept by precept, to live like God intended. When we confess our sins to God He is faithful to forgive us. In Christ all things are possible. Carla
1 John 1:8-10
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (NKJV)
The second false claim is that we have no sin. The idea would be that our sin nature is completely gone. To say this is to deceive ourselves (2 Chronicles 6:36; John 9:41). The truth is God’s revelation, which says just the opposite. To have no sin is to have no need of a Savior, which would make the coming of Jesus unnecessary.
Though John uses we primarily to refer to himself and the other apostles as eyewitnesses of Christ (verse 1), here the term includes all believers who confess (acknowledge) sin. God says that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. To confess is to agree with Him, to admit that we are sinners in need of His mercy. If a believer confesses his or her specific sins to God, He will cleanse all unrighteousness from that person. Forgiveness and cleansing are guaranteed because God is faithful to His promises. Those promises are legitimate because God is just. God can maintain His perfect character and yet forgive us because of the perfect and righteous sacrifice of Jesus, His own Son (2:2).
We may admit to having a sin nature while still denying any personal sin and therefore any need for confession. The Greek verb translated we have not sinned indicates a denial in the past that continues to the present. Unlike verse 8, which speaks of the guilt of sin or a sinful nature, this verse is about the denial of any particular sins. To make this denial is to call God a liar because God’s word emphasizes the penetrating nature of sin (Romans 7:14–24). Denying that sin is in us indicates that God’s word is not in us. In other words, a person who denies committing sinful acts does not have the Word of God changing his or her life. The NKJV Study Bible
Every person should admit to themselves and God that they are sinful. John’s opponents apparently claimed that they did not sin and therefore did not need to be cleansed.
For John, the position of his opponents is the ultimate form of self-deception, since it prevents a person from accepting the truth of their sinful nature (1 John 2:10–14). By contrast, true believers are defined in terms of their admission of sinfulness and need for Christ’s sacrifice (verse 9).
Confession of sin opens a person to the work of God within them, relinquishing the power of sin over their life through the power of Jesus (2:1). John is not suggesting that the act of confession is required for salvation. God does the saving work; people cannot save themselves (2:12; John 3:16–17). Instead, confession opens a person to the work of the Holy Spirit, leading to the removal of sinful behaviors and desires (1 John 3:24).
Confessing sin to God is the opposite of declaring a lack of sin (verse 8). When sins are declared, God’s work has the opportunity to replace sin in the life of a Christian. He refers to God, who will forgive us through the atoning death of Jesus (1 John 1:7).
God is true to the agreement He made with His people, which established the true cost of sin (Deuteronomy 7:9; Jeremiah 31:31–34). God demonstrates this attribute by carrying out His promise of bringing people into relationship with Him through Christ’s sacrificial death (Isaiah 53:10–12). When people admit that they are sinful, God honors His word by both forgiving them and giving them the power to overcome sin.
When someone claims to have not sinned, they also are, in essence, rejecting God’s statements about sinfulness and denying the need for Jesus’ sacrifice. John reminds his audience of Jesus’ saving work and exhorts them to love one another—which will show that they are true believers in Jesus. By contrast, those with hateful dispositions are clearly not followers of Jesus. Faithlife Study Bible
Psalm 32:5
I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
James 3:2
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.
1 John 5:10
He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
Some years ago, on a visit to a friend's house in Paso Robles, hanging on a wall with very remarkable art, I see a hand drawn crayon picture of a dragon (drawn “in the hand” of a young child). The dragon is pink and purple and lavender.
I really liked the dragon, and mentioned it to my host.
“My daughter did that drawing when she was very young,” the friend told me. “And her teacher was not pleased, and told her that she did it all wrong. Everyone knows that ‘dragons are not That Color!’”
“It hangs there today,” the mother tells me, “as a reminder to my daughter, to be one of a kind.”
One of a kind. Yes. Remember Mother Teresa’s reminder to a roomful of lepers, of how much God loved each one of them. She told them that they are “a gift to the rest of us.”
Interrupting her, an old leper raises his hand, and she calls on him. “Could you repeat that again?” he asks. “It did me good. So, would you mind; just saying it again.”
Yes please. Just say it again.
We easily forget, don't we... the cathartic power of grace?
And on the days when public opinion pesters, I keep this Parker Palmer quote close by. "It is a strange gift, this birthright gift of self. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice ‘out there’ calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice ‘in here’ calling me to be the person I was born to be, fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God."
And in my heart, I know that vocation is not just my job, or calling, but the mark I leave, and the place I take, in this world, by being “purple dragon” Terry.
It starts early, doesn’t it?
Don't be different.
What will people think?
What makes you think you have an opinion?
Do you really feel that way?
That person is strange, isn't he?
This I do know: Just like purple dragons, labels never help. They limit us and tempt us to compare ourselves to others with similar labels. Which exacerbates the temptation to play to public opinion. But here's the deal: Playing to public opinion I too easily sacrifice; my emotions, my feelings, my passion, my gifts, my heart, and my humanity. Because there will always be some voice telling me that whoever I am today, is not enough.
True, living into this authentic—purple dragon—self is neither easy, nor managed by a checklist. But this much is certain: living into our authentic self begins with a whole heart.
I read this once, “she was reclaiming herself, alive in her own skin.” Yes, that’s it. At home in our own skin… Unabashed in a skin (a self) that feels, values, honors, esteems, loves, fears, desires, hopes for, believes in, and commits to. With nothing to earn or prove, because life isn’t a race or contest or beauty pageant.
At home in my skin, I have a self to give.
I can dance, and savor life.
I can choose to be an anchor and a listening ear.
I can be a hand to hold, and a hug to keep the heart alive.
“This is the categorical imperative of the Christian Faith: You shall lovingly accept the humanity entrusted to you. You shall accept yourself.” Johannes Metz
Sabbath Moments
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