The worst kind of deception is self-deception. There is no one to blame for self-deception other than you, yourself! What a tragedy to be so delusional that you deceive yourself! But in today's passage John is addressing a group of heretics in the early church who were just that, self-deceived. These people had been members of the church but left to pursue ideas and religion outside of Christianity. They were claiming to be sinless while telling others it was necessary to be sinless in order to have a relationship with God. This first part of the heretic's message is true! All heresy has an element of truth in it or it would be easily dismissed. But the heretics also taught their perfection was within themselves and not due to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. John speaks the truth pretty bluntly when he says such people are delusional!
We all need perfection in order to have fellowship with a holy and perfect God, but this perfection comes only through our faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins on the cross. In Christ, we are justified and made perfect in the eyes of God. Unfortunately for the heretics, they believed their perfection to be a product of themselves, not Jesus. Anyone who denies the need for Christ and His sacrifice for sin is completely and utterly lost!
We may think we (Christians) could never be so delusional as to deceive ourselves concerning sin and the sacrifice of Christ. But, if we tolerate sin in our life we do just that, deceive ourselves concerning the Cross of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ destroyed the power of ALL sin over the believer and we are free to obey God as a result. Do not be deceived into thinking there is some allowance for sin in the Christian life! Christ said, "Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect." The standard for the Christian life is Christ and we deceive ourselves if we accept any lesser standard than Jesus. Christ came to make us perfect so we could actually live perfect. Christ did not come to simply cover our sins but to eradicate sin and its power over us! Do not be deceived into believing anything less than God's full intention for your life in Christ!
While we may never actually act completely perfect this side of heaven, our weakness is never an excuse for the dismissal of God's power or standard for our life. We should never be deceived, excuse sin or accept imperfection where God intends perfection. In Christ, we can choose not to sin and instead be obedient to God.
Perfection is available to us through our faith in Christ. But, if we do sin, we have an advocate in Jesus who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins...more on that subject tomorrow!
James
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