A costly fellowship (1 John 1:8-2:2) 1:5 Now this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. 6 If we say, "We have fellowship with Him," and walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say, "We have no sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say, "We have not sinned," we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 2:1 My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the righteous One. 2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 1:8-2:2 HCSB) In verses 5-8, John lays down the rules of engagement for fellowship in the body of Christ, the church. He is saying that since there is no darkness (sinfulness, evil, or confusion) in God, none is allowed in the Christian life. ‘Walking in the light’ here means living a life of obedience which is directed by the Word and Spirit of God. We do, however, commit acts of sin and we should acknowledge this fact. Furthermore, Christian fellowship demands openness and honesty about our sins to each other and to God. When we acknowledge, confess, and repent, the blood of Christ is sufficient to cleanse us of the sin and guilt that hinders our fellowship with God and other people. Accountability, through confession and repentance within the body of Christ, causes our fellowship with Jesus and each other to grow and mature. When people see you having a good time, they want to be a part of what you are doing. This is a hard fact for many churches to realize, when the fellowship is good it will produce results. It is definitely OK to have fun and be a Christian. That does not mean that you have a “wild” party, whatever that definition might be, each time you come together. However, it does mean that there is an intrinsic joy that is to be present when God’s people come together. The writer in 1-John is sending a message to counteract false teachings that were present as the early church was establishing itself. There were those who denied the true humanity of Christ, and 1-John opens with a strong statement of Christ’s divinity and His humanity as John experienced ministry alongside our Savior who was in existence from the dawn of time. It is a solid theological foundation that allows believers to have the understanding to go into the world and stand against the false teachings of our present time. Those who live in right fellowship with other believers or in the light as John calls it in verses 5-7 means that we will try to avoid sinful lifestyles. This connection to others within the church helps to create a sense of accountability and connection so that our walk does not suffer from sin that could be a barrier to us and a stumbling block to others. The ultimate realization is that sin will creep into our lives and our fellowship. The right thing to do is to confess that sin. To stand before God and to brazenly say that we are without sin is to fool ourselves and to think God a liar. None are perfect, and sin will creep into our lives no matter how hard we try to avoid it. The great and wonderful gift we have been given is that in confessing our sin, we can be forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What greater gift could we require? Fellowship within the body is of much greater importance than we realize. When the world has the opportunity to see the church working together in a spirit of cooperation and unity, it sends a positive message to the surrounding society. Instead of seeing our squabbles over power struggles and personal agendas, it is much more powerful to show a passion for the one that, “. . . is the Word of life” (v. 1). When true fellowship and connection is there, people will want to enter the doors of the church and allow Jesus to enter their hearts. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”. The truth is, we are all sinners, and even after we become Christians, we still will sin. Sin moves us away from God and the blessings He wants to give us. So how do we move in the right direction to restore our relationship with God? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. Application: Do you remember the old Happy Days television show that was popular in the 1970s? In one episode, Fonzie tries to admit to Richie that he made a mistake. As he is talking to Richie he has a really hard time forming his lips to get the word “wrong” out. Admitting wrong is difficult for all of us. Not confessing our sins and failing to seek forgiveness is a dangerous path for anyone to follow. The false teachers during John’s time were saying that people were without sin and incapable of sinning. The word of God says this is not true. Confessing our sins to God is agreeing with Him that we have done wrong according to His standards. True confession also includes a commitment to not continue in the sin. If we do not confess our sins, a conflict will occur in both our relationship with God and our relationship to ourselves. By not confessing our sins, we are living a lie that only hurts us. Jesus, who paid the price for our sins, is our go-between before the Father. He is the only one who can help us to restore our relationship with God (2:1-2). Really. WORD, cuz.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 16:43:42 +0000
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