8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.…10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:8, 10
That seems pretty clear — we all sin. That’s exactly what Paul wrote to the Romans as well — “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). That word “all” is pretty inclusive.
Ok, so no argument there. I’m a sinner. But I want to be this guy: “…the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Psalm 32:2, quoted in Romans 4:8).
Quick recap: No one can claim to be without sin. If we claim we haven’t sinned, we’re calling God a liar. There is someone who, when he sins, God doesn’t count it against him.
Do I have that straight? Because it’s not really adding up.
It’s not adding up because I’m not considering the whole context. Let’s see that 1 John passage again:
5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But 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. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:5-10
“All have sinned”, but if we don’t see ourselves as sinners, we have no need to confess anything (v. 9), do we? I believe John is telling us that if you’re “living in the light”, as opposed to “living in darkness” (v. 6), your focus is on Jesus rather than on yourself, and you’re living for Him rather than for yourself. If that is the case, then you are the one “whose sin the Lord will never count against him” (Psalm 32:2). Therefore in a very real sense you can claim, through the victory of Jesus, that you have no sin because Jesus has taken it away! Those who claim because of their own pride and their own goodness that they have no sin — they are deceived indeed, and have no truth in them (v. 8).