“God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:10
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
God’s nature is holy, righteous and pure. God does not look with favor upon any form of sin. Imagine being in an unfamiliar room and the lights go off. You can’t see around you but when the light flips on, Truth is revealed. God’s Truth lights our dark hearts.
“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, ‘I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12
Instead of hiding from God and truth, turn to His word to expose what is standing between you and our Holy God.
“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” 1 John 1:6
In order for a person to be in fellowship with God, there can be no hiding of sin. Saying, “I love God while choosing to live in sin or denial is self-deception! Words, mind-set, heart-stance and lifestyle must agree. If my husband claims he loves me and takes off his wedding band to flirt with other women, his actions, mindset, heart-stance and lifestyle do not match his words. He is a liar and a hypocrite.
“Such people claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live.” Titus 1:16
Ask yourself, where in your life are your actions not lining up with your words?
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” John 1:7
What this boils down to is not exploiting the Grace of God by walking in obedience to His word and by the conviction of the Holy Spirit. When we do this, we walk in fellowship with God and man and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sins; past, present and future. God desires we have an honest fellowship of walking in the light and dealing honestly with our sin. Instead of trying to ‘clean yourself up’, make an honest confession of your sin and turn from it.
“If we say we have no sin; we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
Denying sin is the deepest self-deception. If we lie to God, others and ourselves we will lose fellowship with God. We will also destroy our own character and God’s strong witness through us. Aren’t you tired of the phrase, “Christians are hypocrites!” We have the honor and responsibility of bearing Christ’s name on earth. Don’t take that lightly or for granted. Denying sin is like ignoring the check engine light to our soul. God can only fix what we are willing to address.
We must:
- Recognize how easy it is to deceive ourselves.
- Admitting we have a problem is the first step towards healing.
- Come into Confession about our sin. (Just like dirty laundry doesn’t get clean by hiding in a bag, Confession puts our hearts in God’s cleansing cycle.) What we don’t Confess will control us!
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
- Embrace the truth that God’s faithfulness is greater than our failures.
“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” 1 John 1:10
Refusing to admit sin doesn’t just deceive us, it accuses God of lying, since His word says we all fall short. It is a flat contradiction of His word and a complete denial of the reason Jesus came to suffer, bleed and die.
“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.” 1 John 5:10
5. We must choose The Truth over image and Humility over Self-Deception.
Summary:
God is light.
Hypocrisy (pretending) is a lie.
Walking in light brings Freedom.
Denying sin deceives us.
Confession brings Forgiveness and Cleansing.
Self-Deception keeps us in darkness.
Encouragement:
God’s light is not to shame you but to free you!
Right after you confess, ask for forgiveness an receive God’s cleansing!
The enemy will try and condemn but don’t listen. Fight back with scripture. Override the lie with God’s truth.
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” Romans 8:1-2
“There may be some sins of which a man cannot speak, but there is no sin which the blood of Christ cannot wash away.” Charles Spurgeon
Prayer against Self-Deception:
“Heavenly Father,
I’m tired of lying to myself and hiding from you.
I’ve been drawn to the shadows because it made me feel better about my sinful condition.
Forgive me for allowing anyone and everything to influence my decisions.
I have no idea who I really am or what I’m capable of for I’ve limited myself by not listening to you!
Today, I repent for making myself god; for leaning into arrogance, ignorance and entitlement.
I reject the Spirit of Pride which has opened the door to a twisted and rebellious mind.
I will not partner with self-destruction, stubbornness or bad habits which hamper my ability to hear your voice.
Lord, light every corner of my heart! Reveal every loophole and excuse which has darkened my path.
Let the gravity of my sin weigh upon me!
I gladly receive your conviction for this is a gift from my loving Father who has good plans for me.
Thank you for washing me clean and directing my steps. I choose to trust you because I know I can’t trust myself.
In Jesus’ name, I give you every part of my heart and declare, everything changes today. Amen.”
A special thank you to Jessica Prines for sharing the teaching portion.
