1 Peter 2:1-3
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Slander assumes salvation is possible through the condemnation of others. We should not look to manipulation to save us. We cannot run others down enough to elevate ourselves and we cannot talk ourselves up enough to chase down righteousness. But salvation is not a matter of being less bad, but of being forgiven for being worse than we imagined. The sins of others do not cleanse us of our own.
"Be careful not to measure your holiness by other people's sins." -- Martin Luther
1 John 1:8-10
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.
We are cleansed by confessing that we are dirty. Pointing out the dirt around you does not make you cleaner. Creating a higher contrast does not provide an excuse.
Only Jesus saves.
Only Jesus cleanses.
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