Continuing my study through 1 John I am on verses 5-10. This section of 1 John is an important promise to Christian’s and one that a Christian must know.
Verses 5-10:
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
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.”
Verse 5 the apostle begins by explaining that “God is light”, this emphasizing God’s moral purity and omniscience “…and In Him is no darkness at all.” There is no darkness if God, He is that morally pure that sin cannot be in His presence, He will not accept sin and that is why we must have the righteousness of Jesus, who knew no sin, imputed to us (2 Cor. 5:21).
The statement in verse 6 is pretty prevalent in Christianity today. People seem to think (especially around where I live) anyone who says they are a Christian is one no matter what their life style is or continues to be. They will not accept rebuke, they will not repent of their sin when anyone confronts them, but, “how dare you even begin to think they are not a Christian. They went up to the altar and then got baptized.” But from verse 6 its pretty apparent that even if “we say we have fellowship with Him,” but “we walk in darkness” (continue in unrepentant sin) “we lie and do not practice the truth.”
Verse 7 states, “if we walk in the light...” then “the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” Hebrews 9:22 says, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Christ’s blood paid in full the penalty for sin before God.
To go along with what I said in verse 6, verse 8 says, “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…” if you call yourself Christian and yet have no sense of your own sinfulness, your own wretchedness, and your desperate need for forgiveness, it’s a good bet that the truth is not in you. I have also come across people who believe in a type of “perfectionism” or “perfect sanctification” as soon as you are saved, which this verse doesn’t seem to agree with.
Verse 9 is pretty much the most awesome theme of the Gospel, that if “confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Don’t make Christ a liar He knows we need His forgiveness, that we are sinful by nature and we must confess and trust in His forgiveness.
Chapter 2 next.
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2 comments:
Very good comments on the passage. JC Ryle also pointed out that those who do not progress in personal holiness are not being prepared for heaven. Heaven is a place where sin does not exist and God is our inheritance, how will a person who constantly pursues his own lusts and sin get along in a place such as that? Apparently he doesn't even want to go there, his life certainly doesn't show it.
I agree that there is a tendency among Christians in this area to say "don't ever question your/my salvation!" when Paul says in 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
he means just that! A person should examine his heart to see if he is walking in the light, to see if he is living by faith because it is so crucial! Perhaps it is ignorance (willful or otherwise) that keeps people from the knowledge of just how important something like this is. They mentally lower the standards and say "well, that's what everybody else is doing, it must be all right. I'm better than this guy over here, he was baptized and pastor said he's going to heaven, I must be too, as long as I try hard enough."
The standard is external, God judges the heart and it doesn't matter what the people around you are like, you are responsible for how you live, and God expects you to believe in His Son only for salvation, not in your baptism or your prayers or going up when the pastor calls. These things are false gods that cannot save anyone, and yet thousands are deceived by them.
I like the flow of John's thought. He reveals our depravity, our need, and how not all those who say they are Christians truly are. It gets worse: We are all polluted by sin. But there is good news and that is that Christ has come and he is faithful to forgive a wretch like myself, and not only that, but to CLEANSE! That is the hope of the Christian, not just salvation unto eternal life, but salvation FROM SIN!
o_o; wow, I didn't realize you had typed up so many 1 John posts. I haven't checked your (or my own) blog in a long time.
Alright, I'll get to reading ALL of them. I'll probably just pick and choose what parts I want to believe though.
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