1 John 1:10

"If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." His doctrine, that is, or word is truth.

Who is there on earth without sin? Even a baby has contracted it from its parents.

"If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." If thou shalt say, I have not sinned, thou makest Him a liar, while thou wishest to make thyself true. How is it possible that God should be a liar, and man true, when the Scripture saith the contrary, "Every man a liar, God alone true"? Consequently, God true through Himself, thou true through God; because through thyself, a liar.

Among holy men it is impossible not to fall into those small lapses which occur because of something said, some thought, some surreptitious act. These sins are quite different from those which are called mortal, but they are not without blame or reproach.

If we say that we have not sinned, we reject his word, which is spirit and life.

If we say that we have not sinned, etc. For he himself said through a man filled with his Spirit: There is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin (Ecclesiastes 7). But even through himself, he taught us that we cannot be free from sins, as he commanded us to pray thus: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6). Therefore, no one, being taught by Pelagius, should believe that he can live free from sins and debts, when he sees the apostles, being taught by the Lord, praying for their own sins. And elsewhere it is written: The just man falls seven times a day and rises again (Proverbs 24). For it is impossible for any of the saints not to sometimes fall into slight sins, which are committed through speech, thought, ignorance, forgetfulness, necessity, will, or surprise, and yet they do not cease to be just, because with the Lord's help, they quickly rise from guilt.

The Apostle repeats his speech several times, so that through abundant and frequent reproofs he might present to them the full gravity of the transgression and incline them to confession. How great a good is born from confession can be seen from the following words: "declare thou" thy sins, "that thou mayest be justified" (Isa. 43:26); and that a teacher frequently repeats the same thing to a beginning student, first briefly, then more extensively, in order to impart clearer knowledge — this is a common practice. God, says the Apostle, "is faithful." This is the same as saying He is true; for the word "faithful" is used not only of one to whom something is entrusted, but also of one who is himself most faithful, who by his own faithfulness can make others such as well. In this sense God is faithful, and He is "righteous" in the sense that He does not drive away those who come to Him, however sinful they may be (John 6:37). Therefore, to those who through repentance have recourse to holy baptism, He undoubtedly forgives sins, even if they have sinned against Him and against others. If, he says, we confess, then we shall receive forgiveness corresponding to our confession. But if we shamelessly say that we have not sinned, then we commit a twofold evil: we show ourselves to be liars and we utter blasphemy against God. For He says through the prophet: "they rewarded me evil for good" (Ps. 35:12), and He Himself personally: "if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike me?" (John 18:23). If even after this we say that we have not sinned, then we reject His words, which are spirit and life; for it is said: "the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).