if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves
ourselves
and the truth is not in us
if we confess our sins he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to
purify us from all unrighteousness if we claim
claim
we have not
sinned we make him out to be a liar
and his word has no place in our lives
i write this to you so that you will not
sin but
if anybody does sin
we have one who speaks to the father in
our defense jesus christ
the righteous one he is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours
ours
but also for the sins of the whole world
now you'll notice the sequence here
verse 6 if we claim
here is concealing sin
by the things that we claim
we're lying we're deceiving
in verse six we're lying to others if we
claim to have fellowship with him yet
walk in the darkness we lie
and do not live by the truth we're lying
to one another the word for this in the
people sometimes come to us and say
i feel like such an awful hypocrite
and i say well why
well i'm just not living up to to what i
know who does
hypocrisy is not missing the mark when
you're striving hypocrisy is trying to
make people think you've hit the target
the word hypocrite means a play actor
so how do we conceal our sin
by deceiving one another but it gets worse
worse
remember the scripture we read says
he who conceals his sins
does not prosper doesn't say he will not
prosper when he starts concealing sin
one of god's purposes in salvation is
we talk about getting god's work done
the first thing god does is build the worker
worker
and god's more concerned about the
worker than he is the work that's why he
jonah preached the greatest evangelistic
meeting in bible history and hated the
and we would have ended the book at
chapter 3.
the city got saved what else matters
jonah matters
and so god continues in chapter four
dealing with his servant why he wants to
build character he had an angry preacher
on his hands
and so what begins with lying to others
in verse six gets worse in verse eight
if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves
ourselves
and the truth is not in us now we're
lying to ourselves that's not hypocrisy
that's duplicity
duplicity is the opposite of integrity
and it's possible for a child of god
to try to deceive himself
well i've had my devotions ah but they
didn't touch my heart
i'm going back to the same old life oh
but i've been to a service ah but it
didn't change me
and so what begins with hypocrisy lying
to others becomes duplicity lying to
myself and it gets worse
verse 10
now i'm lying to god and making god a liar
liar
if we claim we have not sinned we make
him out to be a liar
and his word has no place in our lives
when we start living by lies there's no
room for truth
and you notice the sequence here
in verse 6
we're not living by the truth
in verse 8 the truth is not in us in
verse 10 the word has no place in us
and yet it's possible for me to go
through the external activities
activities
of a christian walk
and be concealing sin
sin
in the first two chapters of first john
the apostle deals with fellowship
and the illustration is light versus darkness
darkness
in chapters three four and five he deals
with sunshine
and it's a matter not of light and
darkness but life and death
and the key phrase in chapters three
four and five is born of god born of god
born of god but in one and two we're
walking with god he's talking about fellowship
and he's saying we're either walking in
the light
which means living by truth
did you ever
walk through the bible
when you hit upon a spiritual truth and
look for illustrations i recommend that
to you
when god gives you a spiritual truth
from his word some fundamental principle
that just thrills your heart something
you can live by
start walking through the bible and say
where is this illustrated he's talking
about light and darkness and i was
pondering this
and i said now where do we find in the
bible people who started in the light
well there's several of them
early in the morning as the sun was
coming up says first samuel chapter nine
as the sun was coming up early in the morning
morning
samuel took saul off by himself anointed
him kissed him and made him king over israel
israel
his life began
how did it end
at night disguised
disguised
going to a witch's lair
seeking for help
and then ultimately dying on the battlefield
battlefield
saul started in the light ended in the darkness
samson the very name samson means sunny s-u-n-n-y
s-u-n-n-y
he brightened up the home when he came
god indued this young man with power
and then he began to go down
and where does he end up blinded
in the darkness
i know at the end of his life he brought
down the house and he killed more in his
death than he did during his life i know
all of that but i'm also reminding
myself of the fact
that he started in the light
and he ended in the darkness why saul
saul
lied to other people i have done the
will of the lord he said to samuel about
samuel says what's this i hear well the
people yo we kept the best of the spoils
to sacrifice to the lord doesn't that
saul
lied to others samson lied to himself
he'd sin and say well i got away with
that and he'd sin and say well i got
away with that
and when that ultimate
night came
he woke up and said i'm going to
shake myself like i always do oh no
saul started in the light and ended in
the dark the samson started in the light
ended in the darkness judas
was an intimate of the lord jesus as the
treasurer of the disciples group
and i think one of the most ominous
statements in the gospel of john which
of the most ominous statements is and
judas went out and
and it
it was
was night
night
and for judas it still is night
and it always will be night saul
lied to others
samson lied to himself
judas tried to lie to god
he who
conceals his sins
does not prosper
psalm 51 makes that very clear oh you
say we've read that so often would you
now let me
david committed two great sins in his life
life
a sin of the flesh bathsheba and a sin
of the spirit numbering the people
from the sin of bathsheba four people
died from the sin of numbering the
david married bathsheba god gave them a
son whom he loved dearly solomon
when david numbered the people
he bought a piece of property and he put
an altar on that property and he offered
a sacrifice to god and said oh lord
touch me don't touch these sheep
and god heard his prayer and god stopped
the plague now here's an interesting thing
thing
one day
solomon who was born of bathsheba took
that piece of property that was
purchased because of david's sin
and he built a temple on it only god can
take a man's two greatest sins
and build a temple out of it
where sin abound we're sit where sin
abounds grace
much more about that's not an excuse for sin
sin
david paid dearly
but i'll tell you what it is it's an
psalm 51 what did it cost david
verse 3 something happened to his eyes
my sin
is always before me
something happened to his mind verse 6
teach me wisdom in the inmost place
something happened to his ears
let me hear joy and gladness says verse
8 something happened to his bones let
the bones you have crushed rejoice
something happened to his heart verse 10
created me a pure heart o god
renew a steadfast spirit within me
something happened to his power
do not cast me from your presence or
take your holy spirit from me the way
god did with saul
something happened to his joy restore to
me the joy of your salvation something
happened to his mouth david was always
ready with a song ready with a witness
ready with a prayer but his mouth had
been closed
then i will teach transgressors your ways
ways
verse 14 my tongue will sing of your
righteousness o lord open my lips and my
mouth will declare your praise we can
conceal our sins
but if we do
we won't prosper
there's that deterioration on the inside
and that discipline on the outside
well thank god our verse doesn't end there
he who
he who conceals
his sins does not prosper but whoever
whoever confesses
confesses
and renounces them finds mercy we can
conceal our sin or the second approach
is we can
confess our sins now it takes us back
once again to first john chapter one a
verse that some people use as an
evangelical rabbit's foot
i will go out and sin because i know i
can come back and confess it
but that's not what he's saying
if we confess our sins
he says in verse 9
he is faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness now
what is he saying here
if we confess the word confess as we all
know means to say the same thing
if i say the same thing
about what i have done that god's word
says about it
then i can claim god's forgiveness
that was the difference between david
and saul saul was good at excuses i've
noticed that people who are good at
whenever saul did something wrong he had
an excuse he could find somebody to blame
and that tragic request that he made to
sammy will honor me please before the people
saul's problem was pride
judas's problem was covetousness by the
way those are the three
and put you in the dark
if we confess if we say the same thing
that god says that means i must go by
god's definitions
doesn't say if we come with explanations
now lord let me tell you why i did that
he knows better why you did it than
you know
than i know
no we don't come with explanations we
we come with confession
confession
we come saying
lord according to your word
my anger
was murder
and i confess
my sin
lord according to your word what i did
was deception
and i come and confess my sin i want to
say the same thing about it you're saying
saying
so david meant when he said that you
and true when you judge
the difference between saul and david
kept himself before him
now the thing that john is pleading for
here is honesty
honest with god
honest with ourselves
i have to live with myself and so i want
to be good for myself to know
edgar guest wrote that many years ago
and it's true
you don't have to live with me
and there are probably some silent amens
but you do have to live with yourself i
have to live with myself
i don't want to live with two selves duplicity
duplicity
honest with god honest with myself and
where necessary in the sphere of
confession honest with one another
doesn't mean we hang all of our dirty
wash out in public
unfortunately there are some evangelical
exhibitionists who feel everybody wants
to know what they've done
that's not always necessary in fact it
can do damage
but in the sphere of influence
honest with one another
david said a broken and a contrite heart
god would not despise that encourages me
doing what ezekiel said the jews would do
do
he said they will loathe themselves
because of their sin
not weeping because i got caught not
weeping because i hurt not weeping
because i'm being spanked no no
anybody can do that
but coming and saying i have sinned
how could i a child of god sin against
such love
how could i a student of god's word sin
against such light
how could i one indwelt by the holy
spirit sin against the holy spirit
loathing ourselves
sin not only confessed
confessed
but judged despised
now the promise is if we confess our
sins he's faithful to his word
and just toward his son
because jesus died for our sins
and he was buried and he arose again and
today he is at the right hand of the
majesty on high
and he is our advocate when i have
problems with the law i don't want a law
when i'm sick i don't want a medical
i need an advocate in heaven as my high priest
priest
he wants to give me grace to keep me
from sinning
but if i sin as my advocate he waits for
and then he forgives
the picture of this is beautifully given
in zechariah chapter 3. i'm sure you've
read it but i'd like us to look at it
zechariah chapter 3.
then he showed me joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the lord
and satan
standing at his right hand to accuse him
it's a law court scene
and joshua representing the nation is
dressed in filthy garments
and satan is standing there as the
prosecuting attorney accusing
when satan talks to me about god
he lies but often when he talks to god
the lord said to satan the lord rebuke
you satan the lord who has chosen
jerusalem rebuke you is not this man a
burning stick snatched from the fire now
joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as
he stood before the angel
the angel said to those who were
standing before him take off his filthy clothes
clothes
and then he said to joshua see
i've taken away your sin
and i will put rich garments on you
sound like the parable the prodigal son
and the prophet got so enthusiastic then
i said put a clean turban on his head so
they put a clean turban on his head and
clothed him while the angel of the lord
stood by when i have sinned satan accuses
accuses
when i come to my heavenly advocate who
intercedes for me and represents me it's
not as though the father is waiting
waiting to beat me and the son has to
say no don't do that oh no no way
the father and the son and the holy
spirit work in perfect harmony and love
no satan accuses and says
look what wiersby has done
and then my savior steps up
bearing the wounds of calvary he took
back to heaven
and he says i died for him
the lord rebukes satan
the lord removes the dirty clothing the
lord restores joshua with clean clothing
and that turban that had on the front of
it a golden plate that read
holy to
we can
conceal our sin but if we do we won't prosper
prosper
we can confess our sin and if we do he's
faithful to his word and just toward his son
son
to forgive us
and cleanse us but let's not stop there
there is a third approach we can take
in dealing with our sins
he who conceals
his sins
and renounce forsake
forsake
our sins
we shall find mercy that's what i need mercy
mercy mercy
mercy
depth of mercy
can there be mercy still reserved for me yes
yes yes
yes
because first john chapter 1
has another if
if we claim that's
that's
concealing our sin
if we confess that's confessing our sin
but verse 7 says if we walk
not enough just to be forgiven restored reinstated
reinstated
and then tumble again
conquering our sin how by walking in the
light if we walk in the light as he is
in the light as he is
so are we
in this world
as he is in the light we have fellowship
with one another and the blood of jesus
his son the work of calvary
purifies us from all sin walking in the light
light
your word is a lamp to my feet a light
to my path your word have i hid in my
heart that i might not sin against you
now you are clean through the word
how can a christian keep clean in a
dirty world and conquer sin if he
walking in the light of the word walking
greatest definition of worship in the
english language i think and i've not
read them all is the one by archbishop
william temple
for to worship god
is to quicken the conscience with the
holiness of god
feed the mind with the truth of god
purge the conscience with the beauty of
god open the heart to the love of god
devote the will to the service of god
god's church is a light where lamp
stands in a dark world
i don't think it's possible for a
believer to conquer sin in isolation i
think we need each other
we need the fellowship of god's people
and as we walk in the light
we can see the dirt coming
as we walk in the light we have a better
view of the path
as we walk in the light
particularly in the fellowship of god's
people there are those praying for us
and standing with us
and the path becomes easier
it's not enough
just to confess sin he said let's go on
the most expensive things in the world are
are
again i don't want anyone to be on a
guilt trip under a dark cloud i'm not
here to preach judgment i'm here to
preach mercy therefore i want to end
with those marvelous words
words that meant so much to alexander white
white
that great scottish preacher
from micah don't turn to it let me read
them to you
it's the last chapter of micah
he who conceals his sins
does not prosper
but whoever
confesses and renounces them
shall find mercy and the prophet says
who is a god
who pardons sin
and forgives the transgression of the
you do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy
you will again have compassion on us you
will tread our sins under foot
and hurl
all our iniquities
into the depths of the sea god's
hand is waiting for me to turn it over
to him
and he will hurl it in the depths of the sea
sea
and it will be remembered
as far as the east is
from the west
what shall we do with our sins cover them
we come our father
knowing that all things are open before
is the prayer of the psalm psalmist search
search
me o god
know my heart
try me know my thoughts
and see if there be some wicked way in
me and lead me
we long to be clean vessels
meet for the master's use
through christ our lord amen
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