Verse 10
The false claim here is that the sin we have committed is not really sin. This is the third and most serious charge (cf. 1 John 1:6; 1 John 1:8). It puts God’s revelation of sin aside and makes man the authority for what is and what is not sin. This claim says God is wrong in His judgment of man and is therefore a liar. The claimant dismisses His Word as invalid (e.g., Psalms 14:3; Isaiah 53:6; John 2:24-25; Romans 3:23).
Each of these three false claims in 1 John 1:6; 1 John 1:8; 1 John 1:10 is a denial of the truth that immediately precedes it in 1 John 1:5; 1 John 1:7; 1 John 1:9 respectively. The corrective to each false claim follows in the verse immediately after it.
| Truth | False claim |
| God is light (1 John 1:5). | We have fellowship with Him (1 John 1:6). |
| Walking in the light is necessary for fellowship with God (1 John 1:7). | We have no guilt for sin (1 John 1:8). |
| Confession is necessary to restore fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). | We have not sinned (1 John 1:10). |
"It would be difficult to find any single passage of Scripture more crucial and fundamental to daily Christian living than 1 John 1:5-10. For here, in a few brief verses, the ’disciple whom Jesus loved’ has laid down for us the basic principles which underlie a vital walk with God." [Note: Hodges, "Fellowship and . . .," p. 48.]
"What then is the principle of fellowship with God? Succinctly stated, it is openness to God and full integrity in the light of His Word." [Note: Ibid., p. 60. Cf. Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, p. 482.]
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