EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/1/2024 11:46 PM
My Worship Time Focus: “Those In
Deception”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 1:8
Message of the verse: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
This evening we want to look at a second group of
false professors who claim to have no sin.
This position was prouder than the stance of those in the first category
who ignored their sin. Jeremiah 19:9 “"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is
desperately sick; Who can understand it?”
This verse fits in well with our verse that we are looking at this
evening. I remember when I was a really
new believer as I was taking care of a Christian Book store for a friend of
mine who had to leave early. This was
not my regular job, just a temporary fill in to help a friend. While there a man came up to me and told me that
he was a believer and was working on becoming sinless as he says this can
happen. This group that John is writing
to were saying the same thing, but it is not the truth as no one can reach a
higher spiritual plane, where sin no longer exists in their lives, completely
misunderstand their condition and the Spirit’s work of progressive
sanctification. As a person grows in the
Lord it is kind of what Chuck Swindoll says in the title of a book that he
wrote “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back.”
The more mature that you are in the Lord the more that you will be
tempted to continue to sin, as Satan will work on a person who is serving the
Lord to try and cause him to fall.
MacArthur writes “Again, any who
ignore the existence of sin give clear evidence that the truth is not in them. The Bible plainly teaches the principle of
human depravity. In Romans 3:10-23 Paul
wrote:
10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not
one; 11 There is none
who understands; There is none
who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become
unprofitable; There is none
who does good, no, not one.” 13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With
their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under
their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their
feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in
their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear
of God before their eyes.”19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to
those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh
will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21
But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no
difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Here
is the truth and that is that Jesus Christ was the only human being who could
ever claim to be without sin. “For we do
not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who
has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” All who
make such an bizarre claim are only fooling themselves. It is not until believers are glorified in
heaven that their sanctification process will be complete and then they will be
without sin. “19 For the anxious longing
of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves,
having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of
our body” (Romans 8:19, 23). I can truly
say AMEN to those promises.
9/2/2024 12:12 AM
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