Being Honest About Sin
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Learning to be honest with ourselves and with God, concerning His nature, our nature and the utter sinfulness of sin.
Text: 1John 1:8-10
Date: 02/01/2026, the Evening service.
Series: "Evenfall; Sunday Evening Worship" Part 42
Description:
John continues to expose the heresies of the Gnostics by focusing on their false teachings concerning sin. We will look at the last two of these errors and the biblically-established process of confession and its relationship to forgiveness. But in all of these issues and doctrines, we will emphasize the need for honesty. For if we are not honest about the nature of God, or we are not honest about our own sinful nature, or we are not honest about the nature of sin-- then our confessions are meaningless. We will learn that rather than confession being a magic formula that automatically absolves sinners of their guilt, true forgiveness can only come through a relationship with Jesus Christ. True confession, rather than an methodology, is the natural outworking of a believer who is "walking in the Light", ever striving for Christ-likeness and intensely aware of their own sin. And that is where John is leading us-- to be honest with ourselves, to be honest with God, and ultimately to be honest about sin.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, 1John 1:8-10.
A. Context
B. Being honest about sinfulness.
1. The heresy of denying the sinful nature, vs. 8.
a. The denial of the sinful nature.
b. The reality of the sinful nature, Jer. 17:9; Psa. 51:5; 1Cor. 15:21-22; John 3:3.
2. The inevitability of sin, vs. 10.
a. The denial of sin, Matt. 5:21-22.
b. The reality of sin.
i. Negating the Word of God, Rom. 3:10-12.
ii. Negating the need for Redemption.
3. The glory of forgiveness, vs. 9.
a. Reminding ourselves of John's focus, 1John 1:5-7.
b. Confession our sins.
i. Two levels of confession.
1) Confessing to ourselves.
2) Confessing to God, Psa. 69:5.
ii. Reading John honestly.
c. The glorious fruit of true confession.
i. The assurance.
1) God's faithfulness in forgiveness, Jer. 31:34; Deut. 32:4; 2Tim. 2:13.
2) God's justness in forgiveness, 1John 2:2.
ii. The Fulfillment, Isa. 1:18.
III. Conclusion
