Not Flawless, But Forgiven
We are not defined by the absence of struggle, but by the presence of God’s grace
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).
There’s a subtle lie that haunts many believers: “If I were really saved, I wouldn’t struggle with this sin.” But Scripture tells a different story. In 1 John 1:8–10 we read:
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Dear believer, the gospel does not create flawless people. It creates forgiven people—people who love God, hate their sin, who are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus, and who walk in honesty before Him. Christians are not defined by the absence of struggle, but by the presence of God’s grace. And the love of God does not waver on our worst days. Christ’s finished work means that nothing, not even our ongoing imperfections, can separate us from His love. The 19th-century Scottish minister William Arnot said it best:
The difference between an unconverted and a converted man is not that the one has sins and the other has none; but that the one takes part with his cherished sins against a dreaded God and the other takes part with a reconciled God against his hated sins.
So take heart. Your struggle is not evidence of failure; it’s evidence of spiritual life at work in you. Jesus is not walking away from you. He’s walking with you.