WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.080 Let's turn to God's Word to 1 John chapter 1. 00:00:04.259 --> 00:00:06.360 1 John chapter 1. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:16.280 1 John chapter 1 and reading from the beginning through to chapter 2 verse 2. 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:19.580 Let's hear the Word of God. 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:28.320 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:37.020 which we have looked at and our hands have touched, this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:45.519 The life appeared, we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, 00:00:46.060 --> 00:00:50.219 which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 00:00:50.219 --> 00:00:58.240 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:05.060 And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:09.340 We write this to make our joy complete. 00:01:10.299 --> 00:01:15.019 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:17.039 God is light. 00:01:17.039 --> 00:01:20.840 In him there is no darkness at all. 00:01:20.840 --> 00:01:29.840 If we claim to have fellowship with him, yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:36.480 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:43.439 and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:52.140 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 00:01:52.859 --> 00:02:04.840 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:02:04.840 --> 00:02:14.480 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word has no place in our lives. 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:20.840 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:29.379 But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:33.120 Jesus Christ, the righteous one. 00:02:33.840 --> 00:02:44.599 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:45.719 Amen. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:50.319 May God bless his holy and inspired word. 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:55.939 Please turn to 1 John chapter 1. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:59.199 Let's turn back to 1 John chapter 1. 00:03:00.459 --> 00:03:06.539 And looking in particular at verses 8 to 10. 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:11.079 And I want to begin with the question this morning, 00:03:11.080 --> 00:03:20.760 When was the last time that you said sorry to someone for something that you had done wrong? 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:25.760 When was the last time you said those words, I'm sorry? 00:03:26.600 --> 00:03:28.100 Or I could ask another question. 00:03:28.220 --> 00:03:32.900 When was the last time that you said sorry to God? 00:03:32.900 --> 00:03:42.800 Probably you said those words to God more recently than someone else. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:53.599 But the point is we don't always find confessing easy, whether it's to other people or whether it's to God himself. 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:58.019 We don't find confessing our sins easy. 00:03:58.019 --> 00:04:07.379 But here in 1 John 1 verse 9, we have one of the clearest and most beautiful promises in all the Bible. 00:04:07.819 --> 00:04:18.519 That if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:24.120 In some ways, this beautiful promise seems too good to be true. 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:28.240 It's such a wonderful statement of Scripture. 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:31.519 And you could think, well, is there a catch? 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:33.279 And there is no catch. 00:04:33.359 --> 00:04:34.659 There is a condition though. 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:37.819 There's a condition in the verse. 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:44.740 It is for those who confess their sins to God who find forgiveness. 00:04:44.979 --> 00:04:46.899 That is the condition. 00:04:46.899 --> 00:05:01.879 And so, as God's people, as Christians, we are those who go back to God again and again and again, hopefully every day, confessing our sins to him. 00:05:02.439 --> 00:05:10.000 There's a visual picture of that in John 13 as Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:22.360 But after those feet have been washed, the disciples will go back out into the world again and walk around Jerusalem and their feet will get dirty again. 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:27.199 And they will need to wash their feet again and again every day. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:37.519 And so, it is spiritually that we as Christians, we come to God, we ask him to forgive us, and as it were, he washes our feet. 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:50.439 But we have to go back time and time again because as we walk through life, we do lots of things and think and say lots of things that we ought not to do. 00:05:50.439 --> 00:06:00.579 But before John in this passage before us deals with confession, he deals with denial in verse 8. 00:06:00.719 --> 00:06:01.219 Denial. 00:06:01.620 --> 00:06:07.899 And what I want us to do is think about a set of traffic lights this morning. 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:18.859 Perhaps because as we were trying to park, we couldn't turn in to get closer to Beclue because of the roadworks, as James mentioned, 00:06:19.139 --> 00:06:25.699 and because of all the no-right turns, and because of all the blocked-off roads for the marathon, 00:06:25.699 --> 00:06:31.739 and all these reasons that I was looking a lot at traffic lights this morning. 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:38.079 And as we know, the colors of traffic lights, red, amber, and green. 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:43.379 And those are our three points this morning, red, amber, and green. 00:06:43.720 --> 00:06:46.079 So, as we begin, point one is red. 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.500 And as we know, red means stop. 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:52.900 Stop making excuses. 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:55.680 Stop making excuses. 00:06:56.300 --> 00:06:57.240 Verse 8. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:06:59.019 John 1, verse 8. 00:06:59.019 --> 00:07:08.560 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:17.859 In John's day, there were those, the Gnostics, who claimed that they did not sin. 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:21.879 It didn't matter to them what they did in their bodies. 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.779 They thought that was of no consequence. 00:07:24.779 --> 00:07:28.919 And so, they were in effect saying that they did not sin. 00:07:29.019 --> 00:07:32.079 They were claiming to be without sin. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:34.379 That was a long time ago. 00:07:34.739 --> 00:07:43.539 But today, in 2018, there are many who claim in different ways to be without sin. 00:07:43.539 --> 00:07:47.899 And I just want to unpack that for a few moments just now. 00:07:47.899 --> 00:07:54.439 In what ways today can people, including ourselves, claim to be without sin? 00:07:54.500 --> 00:07:59.639 Because verse 8 says we can deceive ourselves. 00:08:00.179 --> 00:08:05.259 And the first way we can do that, I want to call the blame game. 00:08:05.979 --> 00:08:08.659 We blame other people. 00:08:08.660 --> 00:08:18.439 You could call this Adam and Eve syndrome because it's been going on since Genesis chapter 3, since the very beginning. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:20.100 Genesis 3, 12. 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:28.760 The man said to the woman, after both Adam and Eve had sinned against the Lord, the Lord speaks to Adam. 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:30.960 And what does he say? 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:38.799 The man said, the woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it. 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:41.120 So, Adam blames Eve. 00:08:41.539 --> 00:08:44.899 Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this you have done? 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:49.799 The woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:51.399 And we're all good at that. 00:08:51.399 --> 00:09:05.639 Even whether you're a Christian or not, here this morning, there is something within us that rather than admit our own wrongdoing, because of our pride, we can blame someone else. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.459 It's not my fault I'm living this way. 00:09:08.679 --> 00:09:09.559 It was my parents. 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:12.500 It's because they brought me up like this. 00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:15.000 And we blame our parents. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.939 Or yes, I lost my temper. 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:19.480 But it's not my fault. 00:09:19.819 --> 00:09:20.879 You provoked me. 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:23.679 It was what you did that resulted in me. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.799 What else could I do but lose my temper? 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.639 And so, we blame someone else. 00:09:33.319 --> 00:09:42.659 And it's true that as human beings, we all have this propensity that we can see other people's sin very clearly. 00:09:42.860 --> 00:09:43.899 It's in sharp focus. 00:09:43.899 --> 00:09:48.539 We have 20-20 vision when it comes to the sin in other people. 00:09:48.539 --> 00:10:00.259 But often, we have a great blind spot when it comes to seeing the sin in our own hearts, including myself. 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:02.299 We all have those blind spots. 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:06.659 We just don't always see the sin in our lives. 00:10:06.659 --> 00:10:10.500 And we can deceive ourselves in that way. 00:10:10.500 --> 00:10:14.539 As well as blaming other people, we can blame other things. 00:10:15.219 --> 00:10:16.939 That's another way to do it. 00:10:16.940 --> 00:10:22.540 So, nowadays, sin is no longer the wrong things that people do. 00:10:22.540 --> 00:10:27.260 But sin is an internal weakness that we just can't help. 00:10:27.460 --> 00:10:28.840 So, we blame our genes. 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:35.960 Or perhaps sin is a result of external forces outside our control. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:38.139 We just can't help it. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.000 And that's our environment. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:43.500 So, I might have a terrible temper. 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:46.759 And it's just because I've got red hair. 00:10:46.940 --> 00:10:49.040 And that's why I've got a fiery temper. 00:10:49.400 --> 00:10:50.400 It's my genes. 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:53.360 Or it's because I grew up in Cumbernauld. 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:54.620 What do you expect? 00:10:56.740 --> 00:10:59.400 And I blame my circumstances. 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:01.620 Leon Morris says this. 00:11:01.620 --> 00:11:07.379 Modern fallacies claim that sin is a disease or a weakness. 00:11:07.779 --> 00:11:10.580 Something due to hereditary or environment. 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:12.179 Necessity or the like. 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:17.560 People come to regard sin as their fate, not their fault. 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.179 Such people deceive themselves. 00:11:21.340 --> 00:11:28.720 And so, we are part of a culture these days where we don't even like to use the word sin anymore. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:34.460 And many people would say, there's no such thing as sin. 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:36.740 And so, we deceive ourselves. 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:43.440 Or we can deceive ourselves another way, not just by blaming others or other things. 00:11:44.279 --> 00:11:49.540 But we can think of ourselves more highly than we ought. 00:11:49.639 --> 00:11:53.879 We can have an inflated opinion of ourselves. 00:11:53.879 --> 00:12:01.919 We see that in the Bible in the rich young man where Jesus brings before him the commandments, 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:03.799 the Ten Commandments. 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:09.399 And these commandments should make us conscious of our own sin. 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:13.840 They should operate like that when we even hear the Ten Commandments read. 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:23.000 We should be thinking, these are like an x-ray exposing the gunk and garbage in our hearts. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.259 But what does the rich young man say? 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:31.480 He says, all these I have kept since a boy. 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:34.340 He has that blind spot. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:39.019 He thinks more highly of himself than he ought to. 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:45.120 Even over the last few weeks as I've been speaking with people in Fife, 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:51.720 I remember visiting an elderly lady and we were talking about the things of salvation. 00:12:52.299 --> 00:12:56.279 She's heard the gospel for over 60 years. 00:12:56.840 --> 00:13:01.299 But she still thinks she is a good person. 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:05.399 And she said to me quite openly, I don't swear. 00:13:05.860 --> 00:13:07.460 I've never really done that. 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:12.639 And I've always brought up my children the best that I can. 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:14.400 And all these things are good. 00:13:14.920 --> 00:13:22.840 But she has a blind spot to the fact that she has done many wrong things in her life. 00:13:23.560 --> 00:13:24.440 Ordinary people. 00:13:25.280 --> 00:13:27.100 And yet they just can't see. 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:29.120 And we can't see without God. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:35.779 Without God's spirit at work, we can't see our great need of salvation. 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:41.539 Or a man in a shop I was speaking to who I've known for quite a number of years. 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:47.019 And he opened up and started talking about all these wrong things he'd been doing in his life. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:48.259 I won't go into details. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:55.179 But then immediately he started almost justifying these things by saying, 00:13:55.319 --> 00:13:58.799 But I do this and I do that and I'm kind to people and I help people. 00:13:59.460 --> 00:14:07.379 And as if one would wipe out all the other sins that he had committed. 00:14:08.319 --> 00:14:15.439 And so within us all, sometimes we think we're much better than we actually are. 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:18.540 Another woman whose life was falling apart. 00:14:19.080 --> 00:14:25.120 And yet she kept saying how good a person that she was. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:28.920 So we can have an inflated opinion of ourselves. 00:14:29.120 --> 00:14:38.200 And finally, another way we can make excuses and deceive ourselves is by no longer calling sin, sin. 00:14:38.460 --> 00:14:40.640 We no longer call sin, sin. 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:44.680 I came across an interesting quote from David Jackman. 00:14:44.679 --> 00:14:45.279 He says, 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:48.620 It happens all the time in our culture and in the church. 00:14:48.959 --> 00:14:51.219 Adultery is called having an affair. 00:14:51.859 --> 00:14:54.199 Theft is helping myself to perks. 00:14:54.599 --> 00:14:57.039 Selfishness is standing up for my rights. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:05.219 The last thing, says Jackman, the last thing we human beings will admit is that we sin. 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:13.759 So euphemisms is another way of explaining away sin and covering sin in a wrong way. 00:15:13.860 --> 00:15:21.639 Other euphemisms include pro-choice, termination, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, living together. 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:29.440 And so we try to sanitize, if you like, the sinfulness of sin in the language that we use. 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.820 Let's go back to the traffic lights. 00:15:34.040 --> 00:15:34.560 Red. 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:38.300 Stop making excuses. 00:15:39.040 --> 00:15:42.700 Don't claim to be without sin. 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:45.640 Don't deceive yourself. 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:56.039 Well, the Bible clearly says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 00:15:57.939 --> 00:16:02.319 Perhaps some of you here aren't Christians yet. 00:16:03.220 --> 00:16:06.439 And maybe you think, well, I'm quite a good person. 00:16:06.440 --> 00:16:10.200 I have not done too many wrong things. 00:16:10.260 --> 00:16:12.960 I'm not as bad as he is or she is. 00:16:14.300 --> 00:16:19.760 And while God would say from his word to you today, well, you're deceiving yourself. 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:22.460 You've lost touch with reality. 00:16:23.160 --> 00:16:27.680 Because the reality is that all have sinned. 00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:32.500 And we're all sinners in God's sight. 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:39.220 As Jesus said, out of the heart comes all kinds of evil. 00:16:39.740 --> 00:16:48.480 Not only that, but if we look at our passage in verse 10, God says to us here that if we claim we have not sinned, 00:16:48.700 --> 00:16:51.100 we're making God out to be a liar. 00:16:51.620 --> 00:16:54.620 Because God says, I've given you my laws. 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:56.820 Of course you break them every day. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:58.480 Are you calling me a liar? 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:00.740 Are you saying that you're not a sinner? 00:17:00.940 --> 00:17:02.220 That you don't need me? 00:17:03.299 --> 00:17:06.779 And so the Bible very clearly says, don't deceive yourselves. 00:17:07.099 --> 00:17:09.779 Don't think of yourselves more highly than you ought. 00:17:10.019 --> 00:17:12.259 Don't think, I'm a good person. 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:14.900 Stop making excuses. 00:17:15.539 --> 00:17:17.059 Don't blame someone else. 00:17:17.539 --> 00:17:22.200 But own up to the fact that we all have sinned. 00:17:22.200 --> 00:17:28.059 And if we claim to be without sin, and if we deceive ourselves, we're making God out to be a liar. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:32.620 And we're mocking what Jesus has done on the cross. 00:17:32.619 --> 00:17:44.379 Because we know, and we've been singing this morning very clearly in the hymns, that the blood of Jesus was shed so that sinners could be wiped clean of all their sins. 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:51.360 And if you say, well, I don't need Jesus, you're basically saying to God, Jesus didn't need to do that for me. 00:17:51.660 --> 00:17:53.160 I don't need your salvation. 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.460 And that also is a terrible thing. 00:17:56.900 --> 00:17:59.420 So the first point is red. 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:02.100 Stop making excuses. 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:05.080 Then we'll move to the next color. 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:07.359 And it gets more positive. 00:18:08.179 --> 00:18:11.139 Even when you're at traffic lights, you like to see the amber. 00:18:11.339 --> 00:18:12.659 So let's move on to amber. 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:15.059 And amber, of course, means get ready. 00:18:15.439 --> 00:18:24.939 Instead of deceiving yourself, instead of making excuses, get ready to confess your sins to God. 00:18:24.940 --> 00:18:36.140 Verse 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:43.279 So instead of denying that you have so many wrong things in your heart, confess. 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:46.200 That is a much better pathway. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:49.840 The pathway of denial leads to hell. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:51.920 It leads to lostness. 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:58.580 But God says here, rather, confess your sin. 00:18:59.240 --> 00:19:09.500 Remember in the lost son, the parable of the prodigal or the lost son, he has that amber moment, doesn't he? 00:19:09.700 --> 00:19:13.700 Because he's there feeding the pigs and the penny drops. 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:24.019 God is working and he realizes, I have sinned against heaven, against God and against my father. 00:19:24.220 --> 00:19:25.340 I'll go back. 00:19:25.640 --> 00:19:27.600 He's stirring within himself. 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:30.539 He's coming to that point of confession. 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:35.740 And he wants to go back and confess his sins to his father. 00:19:35.740 --> 00:19:38.940 And that's exactly what he has done. 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:47.440 And it is amazing, isn't it, that the simple fact that whenever we sin, we always sin against God. 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:56.059 So if we lose our temper with someone, we're sinning against that person, but also against God because it's his commands we're breaking. 00:19:56.059 --> 00:20:09.159 Or if we tell a lie, or if we have a lustful thought, all these things, we are always sinning against God because it's God who makes the rules. 00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:16.059 Well, let's look at this word confession and what does that word confession mean? 00:20:16.220 --> 00:20:17.099 We use it a lot. 00:20:17.099 --> 00:20:19.039 We need to confess our sins. 00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:27.579 And literally, this word means to say the same thing as God does about our evil. 00:20:27.779 --> 00:20:32.179 To say the same thing as God says about our evil. 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:35.039 To agree with God. 00:20:35.399 --> 00:20:37.059 And that's what confession is. 00:20:37.179 --> 00:20:46.339 And so if we're feeling proud, we come and we confess that to God and we say, yes, this is wrong. 00:20:46.339 --> 00:20:48.740 You say it's wrong, God, and I agree with you. 00:20:48.959 --> 00:20:53.079 I'm confessing it to you because I know that you're right, Lord. 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:55.000 This is wrong. 00:20:55.799 --> 00:21:00.419 So confession means to say the same thing as God about our sin. 00:21:01.379 --> 00:21:05.279 Who decides what's right and wrong, of course, is God. 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:06.959 This is God's world. 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:08.639 He makes the rules. 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:10.439 He sets the parameters. 00:21:11.439 --> 00:21:13.679 He tells us what's right and what's wrong. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:18.220 And he is the one to judge that. 00:21:18.420 --> 00:21:20.060 1 John 3 verse 4. 00:21:20.220 --> 00:21:22.539 Sin is lawlessness. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:26.320 What is God's attitude to sin? 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:33.740 Very briefly, even reading through the children's Bible with my children recently, 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:38.840 it's so clear what God's attitude to sin is. 00:21:38.839 --> 00:21:44.319 Because as Adam and Eve rebel, they're thrust out of the Garden of Eden. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:51.480 Or you come to Genesis 6, which isn't in the children's Bible about lifespan, 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:55.579 but lifespans reduced to 120 years. 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:58.179 That's what God thinks about sin. 00:21:58.439 --> 00:22:01.599 Or then we come to Noah and the ark and the flood. 00:22:01.819 --> 00:22:04.399 That's what God thinks about sin. 00:22:04.500 --> 00:22:05.699 He judges sin. 00:22:05.819 --> 00:22:06.919 He will punish sin. 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:10.060 Then there's Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel. 00:22:10.519 --> 00:22:15.140 And God scatters the people and confuses their language. 00:22:15.259 --> 00:22:22.779 And so we know God's attitude to sin is that it's very serious indeed. 00:22:22.980 --> 00:22:28.100 And he cannot and will not leave sin unpunished. 00:22:28.560 --> 00:22:34.279 Genesis screams that at us as we read through the first book of the Bible. 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:37.599 It tells us again and again, sin is serious. 00:22:37.879 --> 00:22:40.200 My sin is very serious. 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:42.879 Your sin is very serious. 00:22:43.420 --> 00:22:49.160 And so this is why we mustn't be casual or flippant about our sin. 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:52.380 We see in verse 9. 00:22:52.759 --> 00:22:57.400 If we confess our sins. 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.880 And this is written in the present tense. 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:04.259 This is something we should habitually do. 00:23:04.860 --> 00:23:12.040 We shouldn't be just confessing our sins to God once in a blue moon, once in a while, once a week. 00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:12.639 No. 00:23:12.639 --> 00:23:19.879 This is a mindset we need to have continually that we apologize to God day by day. 00:23:20.019 --> 00:23:22.859 That we run from sin, flee from sin. 00:23:23.399 --> 00:23:30.039 And that every day we confess to God our pride, our jealousy, our greed, our selfishness. 00:23:30.379 --> 00:23:33.019 We confess these things to God. 00:23:33.019 --> 00:23:38.740 If, verse 9, we confess our sins. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:41.220 Not just sin, singular, sin plural. 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:43.400 All our sins. 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.019 And so to be practical, it's very good for us. 00:23:47.139 --> 00:23:50.160 Just to go over this basic point, it's very good for us. 00:23:50.339 --> 00:23:59.220 Especially at night time, as we pray, to be very specific in our apologies to God our Father. 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:02.460 So easy just to tag it on the end of our prayers. 00:24:03.059 --> 00:24:04.519 Forgive me my sin, Lord. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:05.140 Amen. 00:24:05.579 --> 00:24:06.380 And that's it. 00:24:06.579 --> 00:24:10.920 And we're not really thinking about how we've offended God that day. 00:24:11.120 --> 00:24:17.000 So let me encourage you, even though it's a basic thing, let me encourage you to go back to these basics. 00:24:17.420 --> 00:24:21.640 And as we pray prayers of confession, to be really specific. 00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:28.759 So that we can pray, Lord, I've lost my temper with my wife or my husband today, and I shouldn't have. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:31.220 Lord, I'm sorry for that. 00:24:31.360 --> 00:24:35.520 Or I was embarrassed to share my faith today. 00:24:35.960 --> 00:24:38.740 Father, forgive me for that. 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:46.759 Or Lord, I know that I've just been so caught up in finance and money and not really thinking about your kingdom. 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:50.500 Or my heart, Lord, it's lukewarm to you. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:52.619 Forgive me for that. 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:57.879 We need to be specific as we confess our sin. 00:24:58.640 --> 00:25:01.180 So amber is get ready. 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:04.339 Get ready to confess your sin. 00:25:04.460 --> 00:25:06.779 Are you ready to do that? 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:15.000 Are you ready to confess, to say the same as God says about your sin? 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:22.460 Again, perhaps you're not yet a Christian here today. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:30.920 Will you go to God and say the same thing about sin as he says? 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:35.039 Will you confess your sin to him today? 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:49.339 Will you swallow your pride and not think that you're a good person, but admit that you are in great need of God's forgiveness because you've broken his rules? 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:52.319 So red is stop. 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:54.079 Stop making excuses. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:55.639 Don't deceive yourself. 00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:57.680 Amber is get ready. 00:25:58.039 --> 00:26:01.039 Get ready to confess your sin to God. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:03.460 And green, of course, is go. 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:06.619 Our favorite color in the traffic light. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:07.639 Sequence. 00:26:07.819 --> 00:26:08.639 Green is go. 00:26:08.839 --> 00:26:09.359 Go where? 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:11.079 Go to God. 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:13.659 Go to God. 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:16.299 And what happens when we do that? 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:21.480 We receive forgiveness and cleansing. 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:22.660 Verse 9. 00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:33.480 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:34.240 What a thrill. 00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:43.079 What a thrill to sing the hymn that it's the blood of Jesus that washes us as white as the snow. 00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:53.119 What an astonishing, astounding fact that as Christians, God views us as white as the snow. 00:26:53.639 --> 00:27:06.199 It is a wonderful, wonderful promise that we have here in 1 John 1 verse 9 that we can go to our Father in heaven and we can unburden ourselves. 00:27:06.200 --> 00:27:17.279 We can take that burden of guilt off our shoulders and lay it at the cross and find forgiveness in Jesus Christ. 00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:20.160 Why will God forgive us? 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:30.580 Why is God, if he's so just and if he hates sin and if sin must be punished, why is it that God is able to forgive us? 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:43.099 And we're told in verse 7, because the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 00:27:43.879 --> 00:27:50.480 And it's so wonderful to sing in the Psalms and in the hymns, in both. 00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:59.799 We have really focused this morning on the cleansing which comes from the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:02.699 He forgives our sins. 00:28:02.699 --> 00:28:04.460 Our sins are so many. 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:10.960 They're like that massive, enormous debt that we can never begin to pay off. 00:28:11.539 --> 00:28:15.939 And yet God in Christ cancels the debt. 00:28:16.419 --> 00:28:19.199 He wipes out the whole thing. 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:21.019 Such is his grace. 00:28:21.579 --> 00:28:23.099 Such is his love. 00:28:23.539 --> 00:28:24.059 He says, 00:28:24.059 --> 00:28:26.339 I will forgive your sins. 00:28:26.679 --> 00:28:31.659 And I will purify you from all unrighteousness. 00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:39.519 That unrighteousness which is like filthy garments, clothes that are so stained and awful and ugly. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:42.039 And we can't get rid of the stains. 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:44.500 We can't wash them away ourselves. 00:28:45.679 --> 00:28:49.139 And yet God is offering us this green light. 00:28:49.140 --> 00:28:49.800 He's saying, 00:28:49.800 --> 00:28:49.820 He's saying, 00:28:50.120 --> 00:28:58.700 Come to me and my blood will wash your clothes clean so that they will be as white as the snow. 00:28:58.900 --> 00:29:02.500 I will remove the stains from your life. 00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:08.740 If we confess our sins. 00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:12.880 He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins. 00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:18.920 And purify us from all unrighteousness. 00:29:19.119 --> 00:29:19.819 All of it. 00:29:20.460 --> 00:29:24.799 Not just some of the sins that you have done and that I have done. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:28.220 But even the greatest of sins. 00:29:28.819 --> 00:29:32.980 The things you are most ashamed of in your lives. 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:34.200 God says, 00:29:34.579 --> 00:29:38.019 I will forgive you these things. 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:39.460 All of it. 00:29:39.700 --> 00:29:40.619 I love the hymn. 00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:42.460 It is well with my soul. 00:29:42.799 --> 00:29:44.859 And I particularly love the lines. 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:45.980 My sin. 00:29:46.419 --> 00:29:49.940 Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:50.980 My sin. 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:52.559 Not in part. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:56.519 But the whole is nailed to the cross. 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:58.399 And I bear it no more. 00:29:58.859 --> 00:29:59.980 Praise the Lord. 00:30:00.419 --> 00:30:01.460 Praise the Lord. 00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:02.720 Oh, my soul. 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:08.019 And so, in a short time, we'll be having bread and wine together. 00:30:08.679 --> 00:30:15.139 And as we break bread together and remember the body broken for us and the blood shed for us. 00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:19.759 Let's remember the freedom that we have in Christ. 00:30:19.759 --> 00:30:23.759 That he has forgiven all our sins. 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.700 All of them. 00:30:25.320 --> 00:30:30.320 And he has set us free by his grace to live for him. 00:30:31.980 --> 00:30:32.740 Green. 00:30:33.360 --> 00:30:37.320 Go to God for forgiveness and cleansing. 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:42.779 But verse 9 doesn't just say, if we confess, he will forgive our sins. 00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:46.240 It says a few other things in the middle of verse 9. 00:30:46.460 --> 00:30:53.059 It says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and he is just. 00:30:53.679 --> 00:30:55.839 Now, John didn't have to say these things. 00:30:55.899 --> 00:31:03.079 He could have just said, if you confess your sins, then God will forgive you. 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:04.220 And that would have been true. 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:11.179 But John, as it were, makes this green light shine more brightly to encourage us. 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:18.559 God gives us every encouragement this morning to come to him for cleansing and forgiveness. 00:31:18.799 --> 00:31:25.240 And part of that encouragement is in these words, he is faithful and just. 00:31:25.379 --> 00:31:27.960 First of all, God is faithful. 00:31:28.399 --> 00:31:29.299 God is faithful. 00:31:29.299 --> 00:31:32.680 In other words, he is true to his word. 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:38.119 When God says he's going to do something, he will certainly do it. 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.460 He never lies. 00:31:39.819 --> 00:31:44.500 We can always have complete confidence in God and his promises. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:57.159 So when we come to this promise, because God is faithful, we can be assured that we can confess our sin to him and he will forgive us. 00:31:57.160 --> 00:32:01.920 And that's true of all these wonderful promises of forgiveness in the Bible. 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:04.540 Isaiah 38 verse 17. 00:32:05.080 --> 00:32:09.980 You have put all my sins behind your back. 00:32:10.759 --> 00:32:11.920 Isn't that wonderful? 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:20.620 That God takes our sins and when we confess them because of Jesus dying for us, he puts them behind his back. 00:32:20.619 --> 00:32:25.279 Or that amazing Psalm 103 verse 12. 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:28.719 As far as east is from the west. 00:32:29.479 --> 00:32:35.259 That's how far God has removed our sin from us. 00:32:35.679 --> 00:32:39.759 You can't get much further than the east is from the west. 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:44.319 And so God wants to encourage us and say, you can trust me. 00:32:44.900 --> 00:32:50.700 I will bury your sins in the depths of the sea. 00:32:51.279 --> 00:32:59.259 And so when we come and confess, know for certain that God will do it. 00:32:59.579 --> 00:32:59.900 Why? 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:02.379 Because he is faithful. 00:33:02.380 --> 00:33:08.920 And so if he's given you this promise, the faithful God will certainly forgive your sins. 00:33:09.140 --> 00:33:10.720 But it doesn't just say faithful. 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:14.320 It says also he is faithful and just. 00:33:15.180 --> 00:33:16.180 And just. 00:33:16.340 --> 00:33:21.020 Why will God forgive you when you come and confess based on Jesus Christ? 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:22.620 Because he's just. 00:33:23.080 --> 00:33:27.600 For God, it's a matter of justice that he has to forgive you. 00:33:28.500 --> 00:33:30.080 God cannot ignore sin. 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.880 He can't ignore my sin. 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:33.620 He can't ignore your sin. 00:33:34.140 --> 00:33:43.040 But as Christians, if we're Christians already, then Jesus Christ has already received the punishment of our sin. 00:33:43.800 --> 00:33:52.660 And therefore, when we come and confess our sins, God says, as it were, it would be unjust for me not to forgive you. 00:33:52.660 --> 00:34:02.580 Because my son, the righteous one, the advocate, has already paid for your sin. 00:34:03.040 --> 00:34:06.779 We see that, don't we, in chapter 2, verse 2. 00:34:06.779 --> 00:34:08.779 We see it so clearly. 00:34:08.779 --> 00:34:14.639 That Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. 00:34:15.139 --> 00:34:19.300 Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. 00:34:19.559 --> 00:34:22.159 The removal of the wrath of God. 00:34:22.259 --> 00:34:23.920 That's what propitiation means. 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:27.940 God's wrath has been removed. 00:34:28.179 --> 00:34:30.599 And God doesn't just ignore our sin. 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:35.420 We all expect people to be punished for the sin that they do. 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:38.940 If someone steals your car, you want them to be punished. 00:34:39.579 --> 00:34:42.719 Criminals, we expect to be punished for their crimes. 00:34:43.860 --> 00:34:48.119 And we, too, ought to be punished for our sins. 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:57.400 That's why the psalm says, Lord, if you were to count my sins against me, I could not stand. 00:34:57.599 --> 00:34:58.519 Who could stand? 00:34:59.139 --> 00:35:00.359 None of us could stand. 00:35:00.839 --> 00:35:02.940 But God doesn't just let us off. 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:06.000 Our sin must be paid for. 00:35:06.940 --> 00:35:13.420 And it has been through the cross, through his body broken and his blood shed. 00:35:13.420 --> 00:35:21.000 That's what the physical torture that Jesus experienced for us was all about. 00:35:21.559 --> 00:35:27.340 That he experienced that physical suffering because he was paying for our sin. 00:35:27.340 --> 00:35:30.840 He experienced that spiritual suffering. 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:33.420 Abandoned, forsaken. 00:35:35.180 --> 00:35:38.820 For my sin and for your sin. 00:35:39.539 --> 00:35:41.980 His friends ran away from him. 00:35:41.980 --> 00:35:47.059 He was left for my sin and your sin. 00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:52.800 Jesus was punished so that you and I would not have to be punished. 00:35:53.260 --> 00:35:55.099 He died for us. 00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:57.519 He died instead of us. 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:05.059 I've got a pile of letters in the house. 00:36:06.280 --> 00:36:07.400 It's about this thick. 00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:11.180 And it's from a parking company. 00:36:11.780 --> 00:36:18.680 And they keep writing to me and saying, please give me, it was like £80, then £160. 00:36:18.680 --> 00:36:23.260 Then you're going to appear at court if you're not careful. 00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:29.400 And it all started when, sorry Sarah to reveal your flaws here. 00:36:29.520 --> 00:36:33.300 But when Sarah paid her £3 in an Inverness car park. 00:36:33.440 --> 00:36:35.760 And then she came out the car park. 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:39.540 And instead of typing, your car registration. 00:36:39.740 --> 00:36:42.620 I think just there was one little mistake. 00:36:42.860 --> 00:36:44.080 By accident. 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:50.579 And so for that reason, the company wanted to give us quite a hefty fine. 00:36:51.299 --> 00:36:53.639 And it went against my sense of justice. 00:36:54.779 --> 00:36:57.440 And we'd already paid her £3. 00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:03.159 Why should we pay £50 just for a little mistake in our car registration? 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:05.340 That doesn't make any sense. 00:37:05.340 --> 00:37:12.760 Surely, if you've paid for your parking once, you shouldn't have to pay for it again. 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:14.380 That's not just. 00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:19.720 You know, that is exactly what we have in the gospel in Jesus. 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:21.940 Because it is justice. 00:37:22.240 --> 00:37:27.720 That if something's paid for once, it shouldn't be paid for again. 00:37:27.719 --> 00:37:35.799 And as Christians, we can celebrate today that Jesus has paid for our sin. 00:37:36.419 --> 00:37:39.879 So it doesn't have to be paid for again. 00:37:40.539 --> 00:37:42.279 You don't have to pay for it. 00:37:42.719 --> 00:37:44.279 I don't have to pay for it. 00:37:44.279 --> 00:37:47.199 Because our trust is in Him. 00:37:47.419 --> 00:37:49.699 Not in ourselves and what we have done. 00:37:50.199 --> 00:37:53.459 But our trust is in Jesus. 00:37:54.259 --> 00:37:57.519 So Red, stop making excuses. 00:37:57.719 --> 00:37:58.859 For your sin. 00:37:59.839 --> 00:38:01.459 And Amber, get ready. 00:38:01.799 --> 00:38:06.799 Get ready to go to your Father to confess your sin. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:08.459 To admit them to God. 00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:11.959 Every day, say sorry to Him. 00:38:12.759 --> 00:38:14.759 And Green, go. 00:38:15.839 --> 00:38:19.419 Knowing that your Father has promised, 00:38:19.579 --> 00:38:22.739 because He is just, because He is faithful and true, 00:38:22.739 --> 00:38:26.480 He has promised to forgive you your sin. 00:38:26.480 --> 00:38:30.900 And purify you from all unrighteousness. 00:38:31.559 --> 00:38:33.500 And if you're not a Christian yet, 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:37.240 you need to do exactly the same. 00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:38.760 Go to Jesus. 00:38:39.059 --> 00:38:40.199 Go to God. 00:38:41.139 --> 00:38:43.420 And tell Him you're sorry. 00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:44.840 And say, 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:47.360 I need you to save me. 00:38:48.019 --> 00:38:49.119 Please forgive me. 00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:52.420 Please be my King in my life. 00:38:52.420 --> 00:38:52.460 Please be my King in my life.