The Doorpost: Be careful not to fool yourself
By Ray King · Mar 01, 2015
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8
We are always in danger of fooling ourselves. All we have to do is say that we have no sin.
When we have sinned, and we say we didn’t, we are in grave danger. Inner falsehood corrupts every part of our lives without us even recognizing what is happening. We are deceived.
In the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14, the man who was confident that he hadn’t sinned was the one whose prayer God didn’t hear.
There is only one way to escape from this self-deception and the resulting corruption. That is openness and confession. First John 1:7 says that if we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. First John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we want to escape self-deception and falsehood, our only hope is to admit our sin and rely on the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Be careful not to fool yourself.