If We Claim That..

“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.” (1 John 1:5-10 ESV)

God is light. He is truth, righteousness, godliness, integrity, faithfulness and purity, and in him there is no darkness, no sin at all. So, if we claim to be in fellowship with him, it is a claim to be in partnership, participation, contributory help, communion, and spiritual fellowship with him. It is a claim to be in union with him in a common bond in cooperation with him in his work of grace in our lives. And it is a claim to be “in Christ” by faith in him.

So, if we claim to be in a faith relationship with God, with Jesus Christ, but we then walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin, wickedness, evil), we lie and we do not practice the truth. For to be “in Christ” means that by God-given faith in him we have died with him to sin and now we are walking (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. We are, in practice, dying with him to sin and living to his righteousness in his power and strength, and we are not walking in sin.

But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another who are in genuine fellowship with God, which assumes we must also be first in genuine fellowship with God (see verse 3). And to walk in the light is to conduct our lives, in practice, in righteousness, holiness, godliness, integrity, honesty, moral purity, and faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). And it means we are not living in sin, making sin our practice.

And as a result of us no longer walking in sin, but now walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, and now being in true fellowship with God and with our true brothers and sisters in Christ, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. So, this is something that is occurring continually as a life course, that as long as we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, we are being cleansed of our sins by the blood of Christ.

Now if we claim to have no sin at all or that we have never sinned, we are deceiving ourselves because we are all born into this world with sin natures, in the image of Adam, and so we have all sinned, and we have all come up short of gaining God’s divine approval (Romans 3:23). But if we are not actively sinning against the Lord but we are walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, we can claim that truth. But if we are walking in sin, but we deny that we are, the truth is not in us.

Now this next part has to be interpreted in light of the previous verses and not as a stand-alone. For it says that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And many people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are still living in sin are believing either that all their sins are already forgiven, and so they don’t need to confess them, or that if they make a verbal confession of sin that God will automatically forgive them. 

Now, for one, this word “confess” means not to just verbally declare one has sinned, but it means to speak to the same conclusion as God about our sin, to agree with God about our sin, not just that we sinned, but that we are to forsake our sins and to now follow Jesus in obedience. And so it isn’t a true confession of sin if we just turn right around and keep on in deliberate and habitual and often premeditated sin against God and against our fellow humans. For if we do, we are not in fellowship with God.

And this is why we have to read this in light of the previous verses where we learn that we must walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord for us to be in true relationship and fellowship with God. For we don’t have that relationship with the Lord if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin in direct defiance to God. So if we want forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life with God, we must be walking in moral purity and in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

If We Claim That

Video Talk

July 9, 2023

https://youtu.be/e6g17vpen2Y 

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Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387