Can a Christian ever claim that he/she has no sin? Or the better question would be; can a born again Christian in right mind sin and not repent? The answer appears to be obvious; a Christian can not claim to be sinless in or by himself/herself and neither can a genuine Christian remain unrepentant in case of moral failures. A born again believer, if falls in sin (moral, ethical or religious), will stand before God with a broken and contrite spirit, pleading the blood of Christ that was shed for the remission of sins once and for all. In fact, When a a believer realizes that he/she has violated God's commandment of love, will look to the heavens and thank God for sending Jesus Christ as the substitutionary atoning sacrifice on his/her behalf so that the wrath of God could be averted in the events of such failures. Therefore, a genuine Christian will not live in a state of un-confessed sins even for a moment.
But the problem arises when we read 1 John 1:8-9 where John implies that there is such a possibility of a Christian not confessing sin. There is no doubt John was writing to the Christians and in his writing, he supposes this possibility. He says;
"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 is not in us."
The conditional clause "if we claim, if we confess" implies the existence of the opposite "if we don't claim, if we don't confess". John thinks that Christians can deny sin and make themselves liars by refusing to confess the existing sin. The question then arises; what kind of Christian is John thinking about when he writes this passage? How can a genuine Christian not confess one's sin?
The answer lies in the kind of sin John is talking about. In 1:5-7 John says;
"5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
The un-confessed sin has to do with walking in darkness. It seems that a Christian can claim to be walking in the light while still being in darkness. There appears to be some kind of deception or the believer's inability to distinguish between darkness and light. How could this be? John answers this by connecting "confessing sin" and "having fellowship with one another". In both cases, the result is the forgiveness of sins and truthfulness. So, if we are walking in the light, we will confess our sins and remain in fellowship with fellow believers. But if we walk in the darkness, then, we will not confess our sins and will not be in fellowship with one another. Then, the next question is, what is walking in the darkness? John answers this in 2:9-11;
"9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them."
Now we can see what walking in darkness means; it is as if walking with eyes closed. A blind person cannot differentiate between the light and the darkness. There seems to be the possibility of blind Christians refusing to confess sin and live in immorality while claiming the opposite. According to John, the cause of such a blindness is hatred towards fellow human beings. Especially the hatred of fellow believers in the church. Once a Christian entertains hatred in the heart, he or she loses the ability to see the light; which means, loses the ability to confess one's sins and live in fellowship with fellow believers. It is in this state that we hear about great preachers living in immorality and still pretending as if everything is all right; if the root of their immorality is traced, it will inevitably lead to a broken relationship from where the slide in immorality began.
Such a believer not only loses the fellowship with others, if not dealt in time and manner, he/she also loses fellowship with God "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (4:8); receives no rest in the heart, no confidence before God and thus no answers for the prayers (3:19-24). In fact, a Christian with hatred in the heart has the possibility of losing life "Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him" (3:15).
Now, hate may be a strong word for many Christians; many will think that they don't hate anyone. But hate can begin with a small resentment, a small dislike, a small disagreement. These things if not dealt in time, will gradually climb the ladder of hatred and blind the believer in such a way that he/she may never be able to see the sin of hating someone. Hatred also may have a legitimate beginning; one may be an innocent victim of the other people's actions. One may have suffered with no fault of own. Whether it begins with a small dislike or a tragic offence committed against, hatred has such a blinding effect that even when we stand before God, we think we are "RIGHT" to feel that way. We think it is the fault of the Other person and not ours. It becomes like the plank in our eyes (Matt.7:5) while blaming the other for the offense committed. We refuse to confess either to God or to the one who we hate. When a Christian falls victim to such a blindness, his or her life generally deteriorates. Prayers are not answered, health fails and relationship continue to go sour; joy of life flies out of the window. Christian life becomes a miserable journey.
On the other hand, John tells us that if we confess our sin and walk in the light we have fellowship with one another and we live in the truth; we know God, we have clear conscience, we have confidence before God, and our prayers are answered because we forgive those who offend us and pray for those who persecute us instead of hating them. We are dead to what people do to us but alive to what God does to us.
That is why John has taken a great pain to remind us of this danger and he asks us to fulfill the commandment of love instead of being blind and live in sin. In 3:21-24 John says;
"21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
In order to live a forgiven life before God and a harmonious life with fellow brothers and sisters in this world, John reminds us two commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ himself; 1) believe in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 6:29), and 2) love one another (John 15:12). If we obey these two commandments, there is very less chance of a believer committing sin and if in case one does commit sin, there is no possibility of remaining in sin without confessing it. If this is accepted with whole heart, we become the temple of God; God dwells in us "greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world" (4:4); God hears our prayers and our heart's desires are fulfilled; life becomes a joyful journey!
Let us therefore, confess our sins of pride and hate and be healed and helped in our life here on earth. Let us walk in the light as he is in light!!
