Seeing Ourselves as God Does
1 John 1:8
"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
There are only two kinds of people in the world. There are sinners who have received God's free offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, and there are sinners who have not. There is not a third group of people who are Christians but no longer sinners. As long as we live on this earth and in our temporal bodies, we will still struggle with sin. We will still have sinful and fleshly desires and appetites as long as we live. There is a constant struggle to avoid evil and do good. Paul described his internal conflict this way: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:18-19).
The temptation to try to portray ourselves as more holy and righteous than we really are finds ground to grow in the pride of our hearts. There is no place in the Christian life for proclaiming our own holiness to others or to ourselves. Whether this declaration is inward or outward, it is wrong. We are sinners saved by grace, and none of the glory for any good changes in our lives belongs to us. The Lord is not deceived by our words—He sees our hearts. He knows the sins that may be hidden from everyone else in the world. He knows the truth, and despite that, He loves us anyway. But if we cling to prideful declarations of how good we are, we cannot expect to be received in close fellowship with Him. Jesus said, “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 14:11).
Growth Principle:
Though we cannot get rid of our sin nature, we do not have to give in to it either.