1 John 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 John 1:10

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

1 John 2:4

2:4 The one who says “I have come to know God” ²  and yet does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in such a person.

1 John 4:20

4:20 If anyone says ³  “I love God” and yet ⁴  hates his fellow Christian, ⁵  he is a liar, because the one who does not love his fellow Christian ⁶  whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. ⁷ 

Matthew 7:22

7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ⁸  many powerful deeds?’

James 2:14

Faith and Works Together

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, ⁹  if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith ¹⁰  save him? ¹¹ 

James 2:16

2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, ¹²  what good is it?

James 2:18

2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” ¹³  Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by ¹⁴  my works.

Revelation 3:17-18

3:17 Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired great wealth, ¹⁵  and need nothing,” but ¹⁶  do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, ¹⁷  poor, blind, and naked, 3:18 take my advice ¹⁸  and buy gold from me refined by fire so you can become rich! Buy from me ¹⁹  white clothing so you can be clothed and your shameful nakedness ²⁰  will not be exposed, and buy eye salve ²¹  to put on your eyes so you can see!

[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).

[2:4]  ² tn Grk “know him.” See the note on the phrase “know God” in 1 John 2:3 for explanation.

[4:20]  ³ tn Grk “if anyone should say…”

[4:20]  ⁴ tn “Yet” is supplied to bring out the contrast.

[4:20]  ⁵ tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.

[4:20]  ⁶ tn See note on the phrase “fellow Christian” in 2:9.

[4:20]  ⁷ sn In 4:20 the author again describes the opponents, who claim to love God. Their failure to show love for their fellow Christians proves their claim to know God to be false: The one who does not love his fellow Christian whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.

[7:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:14]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:2.

[2:14]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “the faith,” referring to the kind of faith just described: faith without works. The article here is anaphoric, referring to the previous mention of the noun πίστις (pisti") in the verse. See ExSyn 219.

[2:14]  ¹¹ sn The form of the question in Greek expects a negative answer.

[2:16]  ¹² tn Grk “what is necessary for the body.”

[2:18]  ¹³ tn There is considerable doubt about where the words of the “someone” end and where James’ reply begins. Some see the quotation running to the end of v. 18; others to the end of v. 19. But most punctuate as shown above. The “someone” is then an objector, and the sense of his words is something like, “Some have faith; others have works; don’t expect everyone to have both.” James’ reply is that faith cannot exist or be seen without works.

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Or “from.”

[3:17]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and have become rich.” The semantic domains of the two terms for wealth here, πλούσιος (plousios, adjective) and πλουτέω (ploutew, verb) overlap considerably, but are given slightly different English translations for stylistic reasons.

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[3:17]  ¹⁷ tn All the terms in this series are preceded by καί (kai) in the Greek text, but contemporary English generally uses connectives only between the last two items in such a series.

[3:18]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “I counsel you to buy.”

[3:18]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “rich, and.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation, repeating the words “Buy from me” to make the connection clear for the English reader.

[3:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the shame of the nakedness of you,” which has been translated as an attributed genitive like καινότητι ζωῆς (kainothti zwh") in Rom 6:4 (ExSyn 89-90).

[3:18]  ²¹ sn The city of Laodicea had a famous medical school and exported a powder (called a “Phrygian powder”) that was widely used as an eye salve. It was applied to the eyes in the form of a paste the consistency of dough (the Greek term for the salve here, κολλούριον, kollourion [Latin collyrium], is a diminutive form of the word for a long roll of bread).