Episode Details

Welcome back to the Hope Bible School verse-by-verse Bible study of 1 John. Get a new lesson every other week on Monday at 12:00 PM Eastern.

We are now on Lesson 19 and we are going to study 1 John 1:10.

But first, let’s review what we learned from 1 John 1:9 in Lesson 18.

We learned that our faithful and just God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we recognize how we are sinning and confess our sins to God. Since we all have a sin nature and are not perfect, there will be a lot of opportunities to confess our sins to Him. Confessing your sins to God will deepen your relationship with Him. Study God’s commands, meditate on them, and memorize them. Pray to God about His commands and ask Him to show you where you fall short and to give you the strength to obey His commands. When you do this, He will purify you and will help you grow spiritually. Over time, you will become more and more like Jesus.

In Lesson 19 we’re going to learn about the consequences of saying we have not sinned.

Let’s read our verse.

1 John 1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.

Let's focus on the first part of the verse, "If we say we have not sinned.”

The word "if" is a conditional clause. This means provided you do this, then the following will happen.

"We have not sinned" means we have not missed the target of keeping God's commands.

In 1 John 1:9 we learned about the importance of confessing our sins. To confess means to say the same thing God says about sin and to acknowledge that we have missed the target of keeping God's commands.

1 John 1:10 is in contrast to 1 John 1:9, because instead of confessing our sins, we are saying we have not sinned.

In Luke 18:10-14 we read a parable from Jesus about a Pharisee and a tax collector praying. During his prayer, the Pharisee thanked God that He wasn't like other men--swindlers, evildoers, and adulterers.

He wasn’t acknowledging his sins, but rather being prideful about how he kept the law by fasting and tithing.

The tax collector humbled himself before God, called himself a sinner, and asked God for mercy.

Listen to what Jesus has to say about these two men.

Luke 18:10-14 “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and pay tithes of all that I acquire.’ 13 But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’