Truth, Sin, and Deceit
Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply
Title: Truth, Sin, and Deceit-------------------------------- Date: 04/30/2000
Keywords:
"confess" "deceit" "faithful"
"forgiveness" "lies" "truth"
Welcome
to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual
temptation.
Passage: 1 John 1:8-10*
8. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth
is not in us.
9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive
us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
10. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and
his word has no place in our lives.
Question
1. Who is the liar when we deny our own sin?
2. If we stop denying sin, what must we then do with it?
3. What can we expect in return for confession?
Practical help
These three verses could be laid out like a flowchart of a computer
program, with three logical if-then branches and the conclusions to be drawn. We could
take this passage apart and put it into the little boxes, or we could absorb it in our
hearts and make room for what it is saying to us.
Just about everyone is an addict to something. The first line of
defense of the addict is to deny. "Problem -- what problem?" "Yeah, I do
that, but it's no big deal." "What's the matter -- doesn't everybody else do
this too?" If your problem is pornography addiction, then the first step toward
freedom is the same first step as for any other addiction: confess it. Not just privately,
between you and God, but with people you love and trust. When you go through life's
interactions with others as if you don't have a problem, you're living a lie. Worse than
that, you're accusing Jesus of being a liar. When you confess, you're not guaranteed that
it will be pain-free; only that you will be forgiven and cleansed (not by the people
you've hurt -- no guarantees there, but certainly by God).
A warning -- don't try this if you haven't first given sway in your
own heart to the truth of who Jesus is. His forgiveness and cleansing is for those who
know him as the one-and-only son of God, whose death and resurrection were for the sole
purpose of accomplishing the defeat of Satan and sin. That is the plain truth of what the
Easter celebration is about. If this is news to you, spend some time learning more about
what Jesus did by clicking here.
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*Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version © Copyright 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.