1 Yohanes 1:8

1:8 If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, ¹  we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 Yohanes 1:10

1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

Roma 7:14

7:14 For we know that the law is spiritual – but I am unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin. ² 

Roma 7:17-18

7:17 But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. 7:18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. ³ 

Roma 7:23

7:23 But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.

Amsal 20:9

20:9 Who can say, ⁴  “I have kept my heart clean; ⁵ 

I am pure ⁶  from my sin”?

Amsal 7:20

7:20 He has taken a bag of money with him; ⁷ 

he will not return until ⁸  the end of the month.” ⁹ 

[1:8]  ¹ tn Grk “say we do not have sin.” The use of ἔχω + ἁμαρτία (ecw + Jamartia) is an expression limited to John and 1 John in the NT. On the analogy with other constructions where ἔχω governs an abstract noun (e.g., 1 John 1:3, 6, 7; 2:28; 3:3, 15, 21; 4:16, 17; 5:12-13), it indicates that a state is involved, which in the case of ἁμαρτία would refer to a state of sin. The four times the expression ἔχω + ἁμαρτία occurs in the Gospel of John (9:41; 15:22, 24; 19:11) all refer to situations where a wrong action has been committed or a wrong attitude has already existed, resulting in a state of sin, and then something else happens which further emphasizes the evil of that action or attitude. Here in 1 John 1:8 the sense is the same. The author is addressing people who have sinned (resulting in a state of sin), warning them that they cannot claim to be free from the guilt of that sin. The context of 1 John does not imply libertinism (where sins are flaunted as a way of demonstrating one’s “liberty”) on the part of the opponents, since the author makes no explicit charges of immoral behavior against his opponents. The worst the author explicitly says is that they have failed to love the brethren (1 John 3:17). It seems more likely that the opponents were saying that things a believer did after conversion were not significant enough to be “sins” that could challenge one’s intimate relationship with God (a relationship the author denies that the opponents have to begin with).

[7:14]  ² tn Grk “under sin.”

[7:18]  ³ tn Grk “For to wish is present in/with me, but not to do it.”

[20:9]  ⁴ sn The verse is a rhetorical question; it is affirming that no one can say this because no one is pure and free of sin.

[20:9]  ⁵ tn The verb form זִכִּיתִי (zikkiti) is the Piel perfect of זָכָה (zakhah, “to be clear; to be clean; to be pure”). The verb has the idea of “be clear, justified, acquitted.” In this stem it is causative: “I have made my heart clean” (so NRSV) or “kept my heart pure” (so NIV). This would be claiming that all decisions and motives were faultless.

[20:9]  ⁶ sn The Hebrew verb translated “I am pure” (טָהֵר, taher) is a Levitical term. To claim this purity would be to claim that moral and cultic perfection had been attained and therefore one was acceptable to God in the present condition. Of course, no one can claim this; even if one thought it true, it is impossible to know all that is in the heart as God knows it.

[7:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “in his hand.”

[7:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “he will come back at.”

[7:20]  ⁹ tn Heb “new moon.” Judging from the fact that the husband took a purse of money and was staying away until the next full moon, the woman implies that they would be safe in their escapade. If v. 9 and v. 20 are any clue, he could be gone for about two weeks – until the moon is full again.