If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth .… If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. …. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
(1 John 1:6, 8, 10 ESV)

We talk all the time. When we are not praying (talking to God), we are talking to each other or, more often, talking to ourselves. The problem is not THAT we talk, but WHAT we say. Note the thrice mentioned “If we say.” The situation the Apostle addresses is that some proclaim one thing and live another.

If we say we have fellowship with Christ, but live the kind of thoughtless, uncaring, unloving, unholy life that says otherwise, we LIE. We are attempting to lie to others, although they often see through our façade. We are lying to God, telling him that we want to have a relationship with him, but live like we don’t. But note that we also lie to ourselves. Jesus said that in the judgment some would even point out to God how much they did for him, even calling him “Lord,” only to be told to depart from him because they were workers of iniquity. Self-deception at its height.

I happen to believe that self-deception (lying to ourselves) is the most common and pervasive form of deception we face. We may not believe what others tell us, but we are very likely to trust ourselves and what we tell ourselves. The Word often points out how self-deception undermines our faith and witness. We are constantly telling ourselves that we are okay with God, when we know that we aren’t and that something is wrong, even though we don’t want to know what is wrong. We tell ourselves that our sin is small and insignificant, that it doesn’t really matter to God. We tell ourselves that we aren’t really in danger or harmed by the sin in our lives. We tell ourselves that it might not really be considered sin at all, just a problem or mistake. We tell ourselves that God doesn’t care, or even that he doesn’t care about us. We tell ourselves that God is vindictive, trying to punish us or prevent us from enjoying life, that his rules are too restrictive, that his Word is too narrow, old-fashioned, or out of touch. We tell ourselves that this sin is too powerful, too addictive, too challenging to overcome. We tell ourselves that we are basically good people with this little problem. I could go on, because we talk to ourselves a lot and what we tell ourselves is often lies. Speaking the truth begins with telling ourselves the truth and talking back when we try to lie to ourselves.

If we say we have NO SIN (sin as a governing principle) is a reminder of the problem we have with the flesh. We may have a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17), but we live in a body, deal with a mind, emotions and will, and face a tempter that have left their mark. We dare not become overly confident about our ability to deal with our sin, or underestimate the power of sin, the world and the devil to oppose and tempt us. The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is weak. We dare not trust our own. The power of sin has been broken, and a life of victory over sin is possible, but it is not automatic and it is not without effort and active trust in God’s cleansing and empowering grace. When we deny or ignore our problem with sin, we only deceive ourselves, and show that the truth is not ruling in our lives.

If we say that we have no sin – This is tantamount to 1 John 1:10 : If we say that we have not sinned. Adam Clarke, Methodist commentator

Now I have great respect for Adam Clarke, but I disagree that these two statements are identical or that they convey essentially the same message. Not only do the differences deal with the word SIN, but the action and the result differ as well.

If we say we have NOT SINNED (individual acts of sin) is a reminder that we have an unbelievable capacity to justify ourselves, to redefine sin, to blame others, and to deny we are at fault. Children, even my almost perfect children, would often do these things. It’s amazing how many things happened in our home that NOBODY was responsible for doing. I have witnessed children (but not just children) vehemently deny any wrongdoing, holding clear evidence to the contrary. Although the Bible is clear about specific sins, we seek to make its demands seem vague, obsolete, and misunderstood. When we refuse to accept God’s definition of sin, when we refuse to admit that we have sinned against him, or when we attempt to redefine or explain away sin, we are essentially calling God a liar. His Word is not in us: either we aren’t aware of what it says, we misunderstand what it says, or we refuse to accept what it says.

To remove the barrier, we need to understand HOW BIG THE BARRIER IS, and WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE to deal with it.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 ESV)