1 John 1:8-10

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

sin (v.8) — Not the committal of sins is in view here, but the principle of sin: yet not merely what is called original sin, but sin in the general sense, sin of every description. — Vine, page 15.

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we deceive ourselves (v.8) = lit. “we lead ourselves astray.” “Ourselves” bears emphasis. On the one hand, we neither deceive God nor our neighbors, and, on the other hand, we do ourselves what Satan seeks to do for us. We are responsible for the error. — Vine, page 15.

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This is … a worse condition than “not doing truth” (v.6). The truth is “the body of Christian doctrine,” the revealed counsels and will of God, communicated to our hearts by His Spirit. To claim sinlessness is to be void of that revelation, just as to walk in darkness is to fail to do those things by which truth is translated into the life. — Vine, page 16.

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Compare verse 8 with verse 10. Verse 8 has to do with denial of the sin nature, while verse 10 has to do with denial of acts of sin. Both are contrary to truth but are the characteristics of the self-righteous Jew who always wants to justify himself by outward conformity to [Jewish] religion. Gentiles often suffer from this same problem. People must “come to an end of themselves” and see the futility of self-justification, and that religion does not save. Only faith in the shed blood of Christ will avail to wash away sin and give lasting peace, joy, and fulfillment (Romans 3:24-25). — Grace, page 2218.

forgive (v.9) = lit. “to send away.”

Confession of sin was prominent in God’s prophetic purpose with Israel (Leviticus 26:40-42; Numbers 5:5-7; 1 Kings 8:33-36; Nehemiah 9:1-3; Daniel 9:20; Matthew 3:1-2, 5-6; Mark 1:4-5). Remember that this verse was addressed specifically to Jews during the era of the Book of Acts and it has to do with their salvation, not the confession and forgiveness of sins after salvation. (The kingdom believers that John addressed had already received the forgiveness of sins (1 John 2:12).) For these two reasons it cannot mean, as is commonly and erroneously taught by some, that believers today need to confess their sins to get them forgiven after salvation. The commonly taught “short accounts” system (in fellowship — out of fellowship) is foreign to John’s thought and intent in verse 9. This system only plants doubt and robs believers of their boldness and confidence. For us today ALL of our sins; past, present, and future, were forgiven when we were saved (Colossians 2:13). — Grace, page 2218.

To say that believers need to confess their sins implies that, if we don’t confess, God isn’t faithful and just and that He doesn’t forgive our sins. Since in Christ we have become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and are now complete in Him (Colossians 2:10), we don’t have to confess our sins to have them forgiven. God already sees us as perfect.

That’s not to say that we don’t still sin in our old natures or that we should not pray about our sins and ask God to give us strength to resist. We are to pray about everything (Philippians 4:6). But our new natures are never out of fellowship with God, our sins are already forgiven, and confession isn’t a requirement, although it can be a means of putting our new natures back in control.

we make Him a liar (v.10) — what we say is entirely inconsistent with God’s character. He has declared that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23). … To profess not to have sinned is to deny the facts of human nature and the need of a Redeemer, and to impugn both the character of God and the whole scheme of His redemptive work. — Vine, page 17.

make Him a liar (v.10) — contradict Him