If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Have you ever rationalized sin or justified your sinful behavior before God? I am talking about making excuses for our sins before the Lord, when we should be confessing them. When we do this, John says we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Yes, when we deny our sins, we deny the truth. We deny God’s Word. We tell ourselves this truth or that truth does not apply to our lives. We excuse away the truth until there is no truth. And while we think we’re standing on solid ground with our arguments against the truth, we only deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us.
I once read where the conscience, like a home alarm, guards our minds and our hearts against sin. This is its job. When we do something wrong, our actions set off the alarm. And this alarm will not shut off until we deal with our sin properly. In essence, we will spend our days trying to silence this alarm, but it won’t stop, until we confess our sins to God.
A home alarm has a code. This code arms the alarm and shuts it off. The alarm guarding our conscience has a code. This code will shut off the alarm and reset it. We do this when we confess our sins before the Lord. True confession is only code that silences the conscience. However, if we continue to sin the same sin, over time, we will realize confession is a temporary code and is powerless to silence our conscience. The only way to permanently silence the alarm is to die to our sins. We must allow God, through the Holy Spirit to put them to death. When we allow the Holy Spirit to do this, the alarm resets and we rejoice.
In this postmodern world few people admit their sins. Instead they justify, make excuses or blame others for their behavior. The post-modernist equates sin with freedom. In essence, the only way to experience true freedom is to remove purity’s boundaries and embrace those acts we once called sin. Postmodernists do not realize their sinful actions will eventually enslave their minds and hearts. Soon, their sin becomes them. When this happens, they will justify their behavior before others. But their behavior will not stand before a holy God. Eventually, their sins will destroy them or they will find the Lord and He will set them free.
The Word says we cannot serve two masters. We have a choice. We can become slaves to righteousness, where we find true freedom in Christ. Or we can become slaves to sin, where freedom flees and bondage occurs (Rom. 6:12-6:22).
We cannot flee from our conscience. It has a job to do. It keeps us in line with God’s goodness and righteousness. However, if we ignore it or try to silence it we will suffer the consequences. We cannot mock God. Nor can we continue in sin and not feel ashamed.
Therefore, when the alarm goes off in your mind, telling you something is wrong, you need to handle it properly. Do not make excuses before the Lord. Instead, confess your sins before Him. It’s the only code that will silence this alarm.