Proverbs 20:9 - Meaning and Application

This question is not just a challenge to anyone in the world to prove he is sinless, whatever he claims. It is also a sorrowful statement about how corrupt mankind is, even in the best people that remain. Sadly, who can say, “I am sinless”?

Notice, first, who is ruled out from making such a claim: everyone, without exception. In this imperfect life, no one can honestly say that he is without sin. Adam could have said that in innocence, and saints can say it in heaven, but no one can say it here on earth. Those who think they are as good as they ought to be cannot say it, and those who are truly good will not dare to say it.

Notice, second, what claim is being ruled out. We cannot say, “We have made our hearts clean.” By God’s grace, we may say, “We are cleaner than we were before,” but we cannot say, “We are completely clean and free from every trace of sin.” Or, even if we are free from open and serious sins, we still cannot say, “Our hearts are clean.” Or, even if we have been washed and cleansed, we cannot say, “We made our own hearts clean,” because that was the work of the Spirit. Or, even if we are free from many other sins, we still cannot say, “We are free from our own sin, the sin that so easily hangs on us, the body of death that Paul complained of” (Rom 7:24).