Overcoming Sin

1 John 1:5–10 NIV84

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 yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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. 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.

1. We must acknowledge our sin

The human tendency to deny or minimize our sins

Sub Point 1.1: Deception of Self-Righteousness

Romans 3:10 “10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;”

This is a form of self-deception and goes against the truth

Sub Point 1.2: Reality of Sin

Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Sub Point 1.3: Need for Transparency

James 5:16 “16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

We must recognize and acknowledge our sins in order to receive forgiveness and purification

2. God remains Faithful in our unfaithfulness

Sub Point 2.1: God's Promise of forgiveness

Numbers 23:19 “19 God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”

Sub Point 2.2: God's Consistency

Malachi 3:6 “6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”

Sub Point 2.3: God's Love

Romans 5:8 “8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. The Act of Confession

Sub Point 3.1: Humility in Confession

Proverbs 28:13 “13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Confession is the key to breaking free from self-deception and living in the truth

Sub Point 3.2: Power of Confession

James 4:10 “10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

We must be honest with ourselves and with God, acknowledging our sins and turning away from them

Sub Point 3.3: Freedom in Confession

1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Only when we confess our sins can we receive forgiveness and purification

4. God promises to cleanse you from sin

Sub Point 4.1: You will be made white as snow

Isaiah 1:18 “18 “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Sub Point 4.2: God's Forgiveness is complete

Psalm 103:12, NLT “12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”

Sub Point 4.3: Living Righteously

Romans 6:13 “13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”

Matthew 3:8 “8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

Matthew 3:8, NLT “8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.”

This is true repentance, not just to turn from sin, only to turn back to sin—don’t just pause your sin—quit it

Turn from sin and keep turning from sin, and experience the fruit of righteousness, of freedom from sin