| Volume XXX |
AUGUST
2009
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Number
1
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Facing Our Sins by Gene Burgett
The purpose of this study is to encourage each of us to face our sins. I do not believe we can really attain spiritual maturity, something for which we are urged to strive many times in the Bible (Heb. 6:1), until we examine ourselves and face our sins. Gnosticism and Sin In the Book of First John the apostle was writing to people concerning a peculiar doctrine that had begun to take root in the first century church called “Gnosticism.” A brief explanation is necessary in order to reveal how the doctrine of Gnosticism relates to the idea of denying one’s sins. The word “Gnostic” comes from the Greek word gnosis, which means “to know.” In fact, our English word “agnostic” can be seen in the word gnosis. The word “agnostic” is a compound word coming from the prefix, “a” which means not, and the Greek word gnosis, which means “to know.” So an agnostic is someone who claims to not know something. Often we use this word to describe someone who claims not to know whether or not there is a God. Those following the Gnostic philosophy were claiming to have special knowledge that made them spiritually superior to others. What did these Gnostics claim to know? One thing Gnostics claimed to know was that matter was inherently evil and corrupt, while spirit was inherently good and pure. In fact, so different were the two in their eyes that one could not come into contact with the other. Spirit was simply too good to ever contact evil, corrupt matter. This philosophy resulted in at least two heretical and anti-Christian ideas. First, since they believed spirit could not come into contact with flesh, and since God is a spirit, they rejected that God had come in the flesh. In other words, they rejected the incarnation. They did this by maintaining that the body of Jesus was not real, but merely an illusion. Of course, this also meant they denied the suffering and death of God on the cross. This is a case where understanding a little something about the first century situation helps us to understand the Bible. Knowing that these Gnostics were denying the incarnation, we suddenly see why John wrote some of the things that he did. For example, First John 4:1-3 is a clear indictment of the Gnostic doctrine.
We also can see why John placed so much emphasis on his having physically experienced Jesus in the flesh. First John 1:1-4 states,
John wanted them to know that Jesus had come in the flesh. He also wanted his readers to know that he knew Jesus had come in the flesh because he had personally seen Him and touched Him. In fact, it is interesting that the word “know” appears with great frequency in the Book of First John. It is as if John is using the Gnostic’s favorite word against them. The second heretical doctrine that resulted from the Gnostic separation of body and spirit, was the idea that their sins did not affect their spirit. In other words, they could indulge in all kinds of sinful and carnal activities and still deem themselves spiritual and holy people. You see, in their way of looking at the situation, since the body and the spirit could never contact one another, what one did with his body did not affect his spirit. This is why John stresses several times the connection with what one does as a way of revealing one’s character. This is what is behind John’s statements in First John 2:3-6.
John teaches that a person cannot claim to “know Jesus” unless he is obeying Jesus. In First John 3:7-8, John writes that a righteous person is one who acts righteously.
It is apparent that John did not buy into the idea that one can live a carnal life and still claim to be righteous because one’s flesh did not affect his soul. In fact, the verses that we read in the very beginning of our study have this same motivation behind them. The Gnostics were doing corrupt things, yet claiming they were without sin. John says anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar. Gnostic Ideas Today Gnosticism is not dead in the religious world today. We can see some of their ideas in the religious group known as Christian Science. Christian Science, like first century Gnostics, denies the reality of the material body. It is an illusion; it is evil. So also, like first century Gnostics, they deny the incarnation.
The verbs in this passage are in a peculiar Greek tense that denotes continuous action. Thus, John was not saying that an individual never commits even one more sin after being born again. He is simply stating that the person who abides in Christ does not continuously live in sin. If one understands John to be saying that the person who becomes a Christian never again commits a sin, then he has John contradicting himself, for John also stated that if a person says he has no sin he is deceiving himself and is a liar (1 Jn. 1:8, 10). However, dear friends, let us not think that one must be a Gnostic, Christian Scientist, or Nazarene to deny his sins. The truth is there are much more creative ways for people to deny their sins. Probably the most common way we have of denying our sins is by leaving them generic. We may piously confess that we are a sinner, but such a confession does not require us to actually face our sins because it leaves sin in a very general realm. It is not a personal confession of any specific sin or sins. Yet, if we confess we are a sinner then we must be guilty of some specific sin. Let me give an illustration that I hope will reveal how important it can be to get specific about things. Imagine that we have gone to the doctor with what could be some very serious symptoms. We have been having terrible headaches, along with nausea and a pain running down our left leg. So we go to the doctor who runs a battery of tests. Finally, the doctor comes back with a smile and says, “I think I know what is wrong with you.” A look of anticipation crosses our face, and then the doctor says, “You’re sick.” Now that diagnosis is so generic that it does not provide any clues as to how the illness should be treated. Notice that in First John 1:9, John tells us to get specific about our sins. He states, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Now please notice that he did not tell us to confess that we are a sinner. He said to confess our sins, confess what we have done. That is specific. Whether our sins are lusting after the opposite sex, greed, laziness, slander, or cursing, John says to confess them. Admit to our sins. To whom we confess our sins to is another study entirely, but until we are willing to get specific about our sins, we are no better off than the Gnostic or the Nazarene that denies the possibility of sinning. Self Examination Now there are several reasons why we need to examine ourselves and get specific about our sins. First, because the general attitude of the Bible toward sin is that we face it, not hide it. Sin usually does not remain hidden forever. Moses spoke of the tendency of sin to make itself known when he said, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Num. 32:23). A second reason we need to confess our sins is because we cannot deal with them effectively until we admit to them. It is rather like the example earlier given about a doctor whose most specific diagnoses is, “You’re sick.” We have to know what we are fighting before we can have a plan for dealing with it. The truth is, sin holds us in its power until we face it. Do you remember David and Bathsheba? David had sexual relations with another man’s wife, and she became pregnant. David did everything he could to hide his transgression, which only resulted in more transgressions. It was not until he confessed his crimes that he was able to conquer them. Often we refuse to face our sins because we are making provision for them and do not want to admit it. In Romans 13:14, the Bible says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” Sometimes, however, there is a little game played with sin. As long as we never admit to the specific nature of our sins, then we can fool ourselves into thinking that we are not setting ourselves up for opportunities to commit our favorite sin. If our problem is that we like to slander others, then a little introduction like, “Now I usually don’t like to talk about other people, but...” may make us feel like what we are doing is not wrong. However, once a person admits he is a gossip, when he uses that little introduction he knows he is making provision for the lust of the flesh. Conclusion In short, when we face our sins, we become uncomfortable with them, which is good because we need to be uncomfortable with our sins. They need to nag us and bother us. We must eliminate the little arrangements we have that make us feel rather cozy with our sins. Facing our sins requires self-examination. There is no one we fear taking a serious look at more than ourselves, but we must face our sins.
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If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 Jn. 1:8-10)
