Keep Asking

DEVOTION 1 JOHN KEEP ASKING 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. NIV A confusing bit of truths which some have determined this sin spoken of here is that which only occurred prior to accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. These people state, at least, that once they accepted Jesus they no longer have any sin, that in fact, they have stopped sinning. I have actually been witness with my own hears to those kinds of words and ideas. It is difficult to understand how anyone could ever make a statement like that. It is clear they have deceived themselves into that kind of thinking. In the first place it would seem saying we have no sin, that we have stopped sinning, would be in some sense spiritual pride, if not fleshly pride, which both would in fact be sin in themselves. Therefore by merely saying we do not sin, is sin, and therefore we lie, and we make God out to be a liar at the same time. Now it is certainly true that we need to when we come to Christ we need to acknowledge that we are sinners, and we need to ask for the forgiveness of God for such behavior. It is absolutely true that if we ask, he will forgive, he will cleanse us, he will purify us of all unrighteousness. But that does not mean we will never sin again, for it is simply impossible for us to be perfect sinless people, no matter what anyone says. Our lives must be a continued seeking of forgiveness, and he will continually forgive and cleanse us. It is when we start thinking we do not need to ask for the forgiveness of sin, that we have no sin to ask forgiveness from, that we are lacking his forgiveness and cleansing and purifying and are in very danger itself. If we love him and his word is in us then we must know we are not perfect like Christ and that we fail on a regular basis to live up to the standard God has laid out for us. It is when the word is actually not in us, that is we have developed our own ideas of Christianity, our own doctrines, and our own rules and regulations that we begin to think we are “good” Christians because we follow our own set of ideas. How dangerous is that? No the word declares we need the forgiveness of God all the time, not just once. Keep asking.