6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
God is light
5. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
There is no darkness in God. James tells us there is not even a shadow. Jas 1:17 � the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
There is no darkness in heaven. Re 22:5 And there shall be no night there; � for the Lord God giveth them light�
God is about light. Darkness represents evil - unrighteousness - that which is not good. John tells us - � men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
In the light, you can see everything clearly - there is pure understanding. God is a God of revelation. He wants to be known. He wants us to know Him more intimately. He does not try to make it difficult to know Him. The very nature of salvation by faith - salvation through what Christ has done - proves that. God is not hiding from us. We just can�t see Him because we dwell in the darkness.
Mt 5:8 Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
This revelation of God stands in stark contrast to the religious leaders of Jesus� day. Hear what Jesus said of them:
Mt 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
Mt 23:26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
Mt 23:27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
Mt 23:28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. (NIV)
John is making it clear - God is not like that.
True fellowship with God
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
You cannot be a true Christian and live in sin. Definition - a true is Christian is one who endeavors to live like Christ. Our goal is to be Christ-like. If that is your aim, then you must forsake every sin you are aware of. Otherwise, you are living a lie.
2Co 6:14 � for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
What am I saying? That you can�t be a Christian unless you are perfect? No! Verse 8 clearly tells us that if we claim to have no sin we are lying. It is our human weakness that Christ died for - we sin. But when we do sin, we must confess that sin and then forsake it.
Repent doesn�t mean just to be sorry. Repent means to turn around - to change direction. It means once you have confessed a sin, you endeavor to avoid that sin - to get it out of your life - to cease participation in that sin. At least, you must be trying.
Too many believers take the attitude, "Oh well, I�m just a sinner and I can�t help myself. I�ll just confess that and let Jesus take care of it." Wrong answer! He can�t forgive what you have no intention of giving up. Your heart is not right. You are not sorry for the sin, You�re just sorry that it is sin. You�re just sorry that God doesn�t approve, but you are not sorry you are doing it. That is not true repentance.
You cannot have fellowship with God and fellowship with sin at the same time.
1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
You can�t live in both worlds at the same time. You have to choose.
Re 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. Re 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
God simply cannot tolerate sin. It cannot dwell in his presence. Ps 5:4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
And so, you have to make a choice - God or sin. Which do you want to live with?
James presents a reasonable argument for the believer not living in sin.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet [water] and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so [can] no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
And hear what Jesus said concerning this matter:
Mt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mt 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mt 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in the act of adultery?
Joh 8:11 � Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Go and sin no more! The point is this, and I�ve said this over and over again - God loves you just the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way. He wants to change you - to make you holy - but you have to work with Him. You have to forsake sin.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean [thing]; and I will receive you,
Walk in the light
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Walk in the light! What does that mean? It means to walk in truth - honesty - righteousness and uprightness.
The problem is that we are too easily drawn to darkness. It is the inclination of the fallen nature.
Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
Joh 3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
What was the first thing Adam did after He sinned. He hid himself from God. He didn�t want God to see what he had done. And mankind has been hiding in the darkness ever since.
To live in the light means you have nothing to hide - nothing to be ashamed of. It doesn�t mean that we are perfect, but that we are not trying to keep things from God. We are perfectly honest before Him.
Adam tried to hide his sin. He should have dried out, "Father, I blew it. I messed up. I did what you told me not to do." But instead, he tried to hide it from God.
I used to tell my kids, "If you do something wrong, you�re in trouble. But if you lie to me about it, you�re in a whole lot more trouble." Mistakes I can tolerate; dishonesty I cannot.
There are some things we must realize about salvation. Salvation is not perfection - it is honesty. You walk honestly before God. You be truthful with Him. If you mess up, you tell Him the truth. You don�t make excuses and try to justify yourself. He is the one who justifies.
Salvation does not mean that you can get away with anything. On the contrary, coming clean with God and fessing up gives Him an opportunity to work with you to get it right.
Listen to what David prayed when he faced his own sinfulness: Ps 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
And listen to the promise God made through the prophet Ezekiel:
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
You see? Christianity doesn�t mean you get away with anything. It means you can be rescued from sin. Saved from its punishment, and rescued from its clutches. You can be free from sin.
Hear what Paul says to the Corinthians in his second letter to them - a church with rampant sin.
2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Jesus didn�t save us so we could get away with sin, but so we could live in holiness.
To walk in the light means you don�t try to hide it anymore. Get honest with God. Tell him the truth, and once you face the truth about yourself, He can help you change into His likeness.
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