1 John 1:8: If We Say We Have No Sin

1 John 1:8
[8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (ESV)

The woman was in her eighties. She had been a proud school teacher for many years and was a respected person in her community.  She had been a longtime member of the church in the center of town and served in many leadership capacities.  Christian?  You bet.  Or so she would say.  But, there was a problem.  In a conversation she declared defiantly, "I do not sin.  I have never sinned."

Does this sound like a far-fetched story?  I wish it was.  Sadly, there are many people who will not enter heaven because they cannot admit their need of a savior! John says that those who claim to have no sin are self-deceived.  The fact is that all of us know inherently that something is wrong about our actions.  We know that we are prone to be selfish and to be prideful.  Those who choose to deny such reality willfully deceive themselves.  Those who choose to acknowledge their sin are able to find the Savior.

Many of the people who have deceived themselves into believing that they do not sin have fallen for the lie that we simply make mistakes.  We are not perfect, but that does not mean that we sin.  And so, if we are just imperfect people we just need to work on ourselves a bit, but we are not evil.  We do not sin.  That is a lie that will keep us from ever coming to the Savior.

"Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor-that is the only way out of a "hole." This process of surrender-this movement full speed astern-is repentance."
- C. S. Lewis

How do you view yourself?  Do you admit that you are a sinner in need of a Savior? It is the only way that you can begin to know the Savior.