Today we will look at a passage from the book of First John. First John was written by the apostle John, one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples. This letter was probably written between AD 85-90 from Ephesus, before John’s exile to the island of Patmos. Jerusalem had been destroyed in AD 70, and Christians were scattered throughout the empire. By the time John wrote this epistle, Christianity had been around for more than a generation. It had faced and survived severe persecution. The main problem confronting the church at this time was seduction and many believers were conforming to the world’s standards, failing to stand up for Christ, and compromising their faith. False teachers were plentiful, and they accelerated the church’s downward slide away from the Christian faith.
Things haven’t really changed much in 2,000 years. The church still faces seduction, and many believers are conformed to the world’s standards. False teachers are still plentiful today, and we can fall for their lies. Just as the Christians of John’s time, Believers in our time need to be reminded about how to live in God’s light.
1 John 1:5-10 AMP 5 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations]. 8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.
This passage from the 1st letter of John gives three basic instructions on how to live in God’s light. The first is to avoid spiritual darkness; second is: don’t be self-deceived; and the third is to freely confess our sins to God.
The first point of instruction in John’s letter to Christians is: Avoid Spiritual darkness.
V 5-7 AMP 5 This is the message [of God’s promised revelation] which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light [He is holy, His message is truthful, He is perfect in righteousness], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin, no wickedness, no imperfection]. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness [of sin], we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we [really] walk in the Light [that is, live each and every day in conformity with the precepts of God], as He Himself is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another [He with us, and we with Him], and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin [by erasing the stain of sin, keeping us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
Light represents what is good, pure, true, holy and reliable. Darkness represents sin and evil. To say “God is light” means that God is perfectly holy and true, and that He alone can guide us out of the darkness of sin. Light is also related to truth. It exposes whatever exists, whether it is good or bad. In the dark, good and evil can look alike; but in the light, they can be clearly distinguished. Just as darkness cannot exit in the presence of light, sin cannot exist in the presence of a Holy God.
If we want to have a relationship with God, we must put aside our sinful ways of living. To claim that relationship but live for ourselves is hypocrisy. Christ will expose and judge such deceit.
To walk in spiritual darkness means to live in sin and immoral pleasure. Such people do not have fellowship with God. They are not born of God. Those who have fellowship with God experience His grace and live lives of holiness in His presence.
Conversely, to walk in spiritual light means to believe God’s truth as revealed in His Word and to make a sincere and sustained effort by His grace to follow it in word and deed. The phrase “The blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” refers to the ongoing work of sanctification within the believer and the continual cleansing thought Christ’s blood for our inadvertent sins.
This process is called “Sanctification”. It means to make holy, to consecrate, to separate from the world, and to be set apart from sin so that we may have intimate fellowship with God and serve Him gladly.
1Peter 1:2 AMP 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace [that special sense of spiritual well-being] be yours in increasing abundance [as you walk closely with God].
Sanctification was God’s will for His people in the OT; they were to live holy or sanctified lives, separated from the lifestyles of the nations around them. Likewise, sanctification is a requirement for believer in Christ. Scripture teaches that without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Heb 12:14 AMP 14 Continually pursue peace with everyone, and the sanctification without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.
God’s children achieve sanctification by faith, by union with Christ in His death and resurrection, by the blood of Christ, by the Word, and by the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. Faith is not real unless it results in changed lives and good works and people cannot be true believers if they continue living in sin.
Sanctification is both a work of God and a work of His people. In order to accomplish God’s will in sanctification, believers must participate in the Spirit’s sanctifying work by ceasing to do evil, purifying themselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, and keeping themselves from being polluted by the world.
True sanctification requires that believers maintain intimate communion with Christ, engage in fellowship with believers, devote themselves to prayer, obey God’s Word, be sensitive to God’s presence and care, love righteousness and hate wickedness, put sin to death, submit to God’s discipline, continue to obey, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In the New Testament, sanctification is not pictured as a slow process of forsaking sin little by little. Instead, it is presented as a definitive act by which the believer by grace is set free from Satan’s bondage and makes a clear break with sin in order to live for God. At the same time, sanctification is described as a lifelong process by which we continue to put to death the misdeeds of the body and are progressively transformed into Christ’s likeness. We grow in grace and exercise a greater love for God and each other.
We have seen that Believers should avoid spiritual darkness. The second point of John’s instruction to Christians is: Don’t be self-deceived v 8 AMP 8 If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]
We need to remember that not everyone with a platform, television program, pod cast or radio slot will teach God’s truth. If a person does not study the Bible and know it’s truth, they can easily be led astray by a false teacher. Many false teachings appeal to our sin nature and sound like an easier path than what the Bible truly teaches.
There were false teachers who wormed their way into the church in John’s day as well as ours. Some of these people taught the body was evil or worthless. Either they insisted on denying bodily desires through rigid discipline, or they approved of gratifying every physical lust because the body was going to be destroyed anyway. Obviously, the second approach was more popular in John’s time as well as ours! In this letter John exposes the error in both of these approaches.
Not only may false teachers be found in churches, but many are welcomed into our homes on a nightly basis. When I was in college, I was taught that those who control the media control the culture and can mold it to their will. Television shows often promote the idea that lying is okay as long as it accomplishes one’s goal. Sex before marriage is okay as long as you are in love. And if the woman gets pregnant, an abortion can take care of that. If you are bored with your spouse, have an affair. It is whatever makes you happy that matters. Homosexuality is celebrated and religious people are foolish.
Today we see many false teachers promoting lifestyles that God clearly calls an abomination. We see them sanctioning sexual immorality, teaching that it is okay to claim the name of Jesus and still actively participate in these sins. One day we will all stand before God and give an account of how we followed Jesus in this life. Beware of teachers who call evil good.
Some false teachers taught that not only that they had no sin in them, and whatever they did, they would not sin. This is a lie. They forgot one basic truth: we are sinners by nature and by practice.
Romans 3:23 AMP For all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God.
These false teachers wanted to be considered Christians, but they saw no need to confess their sins and repent. The blood of Jesus did not mean much to them, because they didn’t think they needed it. Instead of repenting and being cleansed by Christ’s blood, they were introducing impurity into the circle of believers.
They taught not only that they had no sin in them but also that no matter what they did, they would not sin. This is a lie. They forgot the basic truth that we are sinners by nature and by practice. At conversion all our sins are forgiven – past, present and future. Yet even after we become Christians, we still sin and must confess. This kind of confession is not to gain God’s acceptance, but to remove the barrier to fellowship that our sin has put between us and Him. It takes humility and honesty to recognize our weaknesses, and most of us would rather pretend we are strong. But we need to not fear revealing our sins to God – He knows them already. He will not push us away, no matter what we’ve done. Instead, He will push away the sins and draw us to Himself.
We have seen that Christians should avoid spiritual darkness and should not be self-deceived. Now we will address John’s third point: Freely confess sins to God
v.9-10 AMP 9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. 10 If we say that we have not sinned [refusing to admit acts of sin], we make Him [out to be] a liar [by contradicting Him] and His word is not in us.
Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. It should ease our consciences and lighten our cares. But some Christians do not understand how it works. They feel so guilty that they confess the same sins over and over and then wonder if they might have forgotten something. Other Christians believe God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with un-confessed sins, they would be forever lost. These Christians do not understand that God wants to forgive us. He allowed His beloved Son to die just so He could pardon us. When we come to Christ, He forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. We don’t need to confess the same sins all over again and we don’t need to fear that He will cast us out if we don’t keep our slate perfectly clear at all moments. Of course we want to continue to confess our sins, but not because we think failure to do so will make us lose our salvation. Our hope in Christ is secure. Instead, we confess our sins so we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with Him.
True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We can’t just say, “Ooops, I did it again, sorry.” We are not genuinely confessing our sins before God if we plan to commit the sin again and just want temporary forgiveness. We must pray for strength to defeat the temptation the next time it appears.
Born again Christians are still capable of some kinds of sin. However, John does not teach that the Christian MUST sin; instead, he exhorts his readers to live without sin. For those who do fall into sin, the remedy is to confess and forsake our sin. The assurance of forgiveness lies in the blood of Jesus Christ and His heavenly ministry as “one who speaks to the Father in our defense.” Jesus intercedes before God on our behalf on the basis of His atoning death, our repentance and our faith in Him.
In this small passage of John’s letter, written to believers everywhere, we see three key instructions for the church. We are to avoid spiritual darkness; don’t be self-deceived; and freely confess our sins to God.
There is much spiritual darkness waging war against Christ’s church today and many false teachers doing their best to deceive God’s people. John reminds us that we are to freely confess our sins to God.
If you have not done a thorough assessment of your life lately, ask God to show you where you may have sinned and confess them to receive that wonderful reconciliation with God. Ask Him to help you avoid these snares of sinful behavior; He will through the power of the Holy Spirit.
May we walk before God with a clean slate and enjoy unbroken fellowship with our loving Heavenly Father.
cherylpickford 