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. My little children, I am writing
these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the
truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God
is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in
him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 1:5-2:6 ESV)
Our
greatest problem is sin. The issue is not that everyone has an ounce of goodness but the seed of sin. People are constantly told
they are okay yet Scripture indicates the opposite. What is the only acceptable
response when confronted with your sin? Justify yourself, blame others or
confess? King David shows confession brings restoration.
John makes
a great announcement: “God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all.” In other words, God is perfect goodness without a trace of
evil. In the light of His presence no one and nothing is comparable. The Good
News is the good God. On account of sin everyone fails to fully comprehend His
greatness.
People
generally live a deceived life. Most are not willing to admit blemishes and
flaws, preferring self-esteem built up
instead of shortcomings pointed out,
wanting a pep talk instead of an honest assessment.
A
High School newsletter wrote: “In the field of mental health the focus is on
struggling and overcoming of adversity. The skills to solve problems, to deal
with disappointment and to accept the things that cannot change are essential. The
answer is self enhancement – meaning
to improve the quality of life. Here are some suggestions for self enhancement.
(Acrostic: POSITIVE SELF) Put your needs
as high as everyone else’s. Organize yourself
and your activities. Spend time each day doing something nice for yourself. Initiate conversation and
relationships. Take as much care of yourself
as you would your best friend. Interest – show interest in yourself. Value yourself,
your assets and your accomplishments. Evaluate yourself fairly. See yourself
fairly. Educate yourself as to your
needs. Love yourself. Feel good about
yourself.” This kind of approach is
only appropriate to self-focused people.
The
most honest way to build up yourself is to realize all have sinned and come
short of God’s glory and then follow Jesus, where forgiveness reigns. Your need
is not a better understanding of self-worth but a greater awareness of grace
from the good God.
John
gives attention to deception, correction and truth.
Deception
Three
ways exist to deceive yourself about your condition.
“If we claim to
have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness.” (1:6) If you state
you are associated with God but live a devilish life you deceive yourself about
knowing God.
“I
know God but I cheat. I know God but I gossip. I know God but I willfully wrong
others. I know God but I party like the heathen.” These
inconsistencies are indicators of a false relationship with the good God, the
One without evil.
There
is a difference between saying something and doing something. A person may say they know God and even mimic His
language, yet the measurement of being related to God is more closely akin to
actions. You are lying to yourself, you deceive yourself, when you talk the
talk but not walk the walk.
“If we claim to be
without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1:8) To not call sin a sin is a great deception. To personally change the rules, to rewrite
morality, to no longer claim something wrong out of personal preference will
not erase the guilt within the human soul.
A
pastor friend was conducting a Wednesday evening Bible study on the topic of
sin. A man stood up, disrupted the study, and
said, “I don’t have any sin.” The pastor
kindly tried to help the person, but he remained insistent of being without
sin. Finally the pastor had an idea and asked,
“Sir, is that your wife sitting next to you?” He said, “Yes it is.” The pastor
asked, “Can I ask her if you have no sin?” He sat down.
In all of us is the seed of sin, which occasionally germinates into acts
of sin.
“If we claim we
have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our
lives.” (1:10) How do you know about
sin? By what God has declared in Scripture.
I
am not the person suggesting you have sinned. God declares you are sinful (full
of sin). To deny your sin is to claim God is
lying, calling Him a liar. You are saying,
“God it sure is a shame you sent your Son to die on a cross when I’ve never
done anything sinful, ever.”
To
talk the talk but not walk the walk, to rewrite the rules so nothing is sinful,
and to believe nothing is sinful about your human nature is a great deception, not
to God or to others but to yourself.
Correction
Three
ways exist to restore truthfulness about your condition.
“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, purifies us from all sin.” (1:7) Your walk must line up with your talk. Accountability to one another through fellowship
can greatly enhance achieving a consistent manner of living.
Genuine
relationships are made possible through mutual trust and respect, built on the
foundation of honesty. You cannot walk
contrary to your talk and expect people to trust you.
God’s way to overcome a failed walking
of the talk is honesty with each other. To
live lives uncommitted to fellowship and independent of others following Christ
does not help overcome deception.
“If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from
all unrighteousness.” (1:9) Instead
of rewriting the rules so that nothing is sinful, rather than consider yourself
as being flawless, you are to confess and experience divine cleansing.
One
solution to deception is accountability. Another solution is confession.
Confession must be definite. The more you know of God, the more you know when
something is wrong. You are to seek forgiveness
for specific unacceptable manners of behavior. God
deals with you on specific issues needing cleansing. Rather than seek a general
washing of sin go to Him with the issue at hand.
Confession must be upright. The sin is to be laid aside. Confession means putting off sin. There
is no confession if not willing, or have no desire, to become free from
wrongful thoughts and actions. Confession only
has value when you plan to give the transgression up.
Confession involves trust. Address your sin and trust God to do what He stated.
Talk to God until there is an assurance that all is well.
Confession must fit the realm of the
transgression. Asking God for forgiveness
may not be enough. You may also need to ask
the forgiveness of the offended.
Yet
the realm of the transgression is the realm of the confession. If only
one person was wronged then only the person receives the confession. If a whole
church has been wronged then the whole church hears the confession.
Three
ministers were doing a Bible study on confession and decided to confess a sin
to each other. The first minister said, “I’m a secret sipping saint and I’m
afraid of becoming an alcoholic.” The second minister said, “When I see
something in a store I really want, I steal it.” The first two ministers waited patiently to hear
the third one’s confession. Hesitantly, the last minister said, “I
like to gossip.” Keep the realm of the
confession within the realm of the transgression.
“If anybody does
sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One.” (2:1) Rather than say you
have not sinned, let the Advocate represent you.
Jesus
will plead your case. He is your lawyer in the high court of heaven. As in any
legal system, one thing must be done for your Lawyer to give His best defense.
You must be perfectly honest with Him. Jesus has already offered to take your
case, He is ready and able to give the perfect defense, and He is able to
satisfy the demands of your crime but only if you admit your sin.
God’s
correction is accountability, confession and the Advocate.
Truth
How
can you know if you are living a deceived life?
“We know that we
have come to know him if we obey his commands.” (2:3) A very straight-forward and simple answer! You are not deceived
when God’s truth designs your
lifestyle.
“If anyone obeys his word, God’s love is
truly made complete in him.” (2:5) God’s love must be all-inclusive
in everything associated with you. You are not
deceived when God’s love is reflected
in your life.
“Whoever claims to
live in him must walk as Jesus did.” (2:6)
The greatest honor you can give God is to imitate Jesus. His passion and
ambition must be an all-consuming desire. You are not deceived when God’s Son
is modeled in your assessments and
actions.
Is
His truth designing your lifestyle, His love reflected in your heart and His
Son modeled in your behavior?
Fess up
The
Good News is that God is a good God. People easily fall into deception about
sin yet the good God can correct the problem. Fess up when your life is not designed
by God’s truth, not reflecting God’s love and not modeling God’s Son.
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