Having No Sin and No Pride

[robert derrick]

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Them in Christ Jesus are purified from sin within the heart, even as He is pure in heart, and so even as there is no sin in Him, there is no sin in them that are purified in Him.

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

Therefore, the Scripture is not declaring that them in Christ Jesus are unclean and still have sin, else Christ Jesus would have sin in Himself and building an spiritually unclean church, But rather the Scripture is warning the righteous saints to never think to say within ourselves, that we are the righteous and holy ones ourselves.

"It is no more Christ that liveth within me, but I myself am pure and do righteousness by my own power and holiness."

The warning to the newly purified is not to fall from grace as Lucifer did by pride in his own beauty and goodness:

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

It is by grace of God and power of the blood of the Lamb to have no sin, whether man or angel, but it is pride to declare it by oneself, as though we have need of grace of God to help us endure and continue overcome sinning unto the end.

And if we think within ourselves we have arrived by our own holiness, to have no sin of the devil to resist, as though we were already resurrected to become as Christ and God Himself, then we fall quickly as any star from heaven:

Her Nazarites were purer than snow, they were whiter than milk, they were more ruddy in body than rubies, their polishing was of sapphire: Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

 

[robert derrick]

Only God Himself has holiness of power within Himself to never be tempted with evil, and only by His power and holiness given by grace, can any living creature, whether man or angel, resist sinning within themselves to disobey God and not love Him with all our being.

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

If the saints ever forget their need of grace to resist the devil, and think the devil flees them by their own power of will, then they deceive themselves and are fallen as Lucifer did in his own pride:

The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?

While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

We cease to worship Jesus Christ as Lord and God, and begin to idolize our own purity of heart and righteous living, and so become as filthy rags in sight of God in spirit and in flesh:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.

 

[robert derrick]

No man other than Jesus has not sinned, and so no man can be without sin, except receiving Jesus as Christ, Lord, and God.

And no man can continue without sinning, except abiding in Jesus as Christ, Lord, and God.

Otherwise, we become righteous, pure, and holy lambs ourselves, full of pride, wickedness, deceit, filthiness, even if our outer living remains righteous by the law:

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

We may still look like a lamb of Christ on the outside, but we speak like a dragon within our hearts, saying I am the righteous and holy one myself:

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

 

[robert derrick]

By unthankfulness the holy saints become unholy again, and by forgetfulness do they despise the Lord that bought them:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

These are all sins of the spirit, for them that deny the power of godliness is God's alone, forgetting that He only gives grace to whom He will.

And so they begin to take pleasure in their own power of holiness, and despise them that need grace everyday to resist thinking evil within their pure hearts.

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

Saints that forget the degradation of sin they come from, like Adam forgetting Who made him and the garden, will presume their own desire and will is godly, and so become as gods unto themselves.

They say like Lucifer in their hearts, they have no sin of temptation to resist, as well as forgetting they ever had sinned to be forgiven of.

If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The fallen saints become worse than degenerate man, who says in their heart, there is no God other than me, and so there is no God for me to sin against:

The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

They begin to think themselves righteous and holy gods to themselves, to say within them, I am my lord that has saved me by my own right hand, and none other:

See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.