If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:1-10 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— ² and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— ³ what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.

⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 that 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 that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

Just as Peter did, John also declares that the foundation of the authority which he speaks from is that he was an eyewitness and an earwitness of Christ; His teachings, His miracles and His resurrection. In the text, he says:  What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.   In the gospel of John, John refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Unlike many who speak of new revelation about what Jesus says, what John wrote, what he testified about Christ, was rooted in an intimate personal knowledge of who Jesus is and what He said.

The text says:  This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 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. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.   In John 8:12 Jesus says:  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”   In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   There are many today who say they follow Jesus, yet they do not walk in the light. Some of them, saying they don’t want to offend others, hide the light of Christ so that it cannot be seen. Others actually walk in darkness rather than light. They say that what they do is not sin. They say that if Jesus were here today, He would tolerate and even embrace the immorality, perversion and lawlessness of our society. John, who intimately knew Jesus, says:  If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.   Immediately after saying we should be light to the world, in Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  The commandments of God, what He calls sin, has not changed or expired. The whims of people do not determine what is right and what is wrong, but rather good and evil is determined by the will of God. In Isaiah 5:20 God says:  Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!   It is not for us or our culture to relax God’s standards.

In John 3:16-21 Jesus says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  Those who love darkness rather than light; those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, will know the woe of God’s judgment. It’s not that they are judged by the cross. Quite the opposite, the cross is meant to save them. Rather, they are judged by their own choice, by loving darkness rather than light; by deceiving themselves and saying that they have no sin, rather than confessing their sins, to the one who is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the witness of those who intimately knew You. Thank You for the light that shines in the darkness. Forgive me when I sin and by Your Spirit empower me to walk in the light of Your love and grace.  Amen.