Scripture
Introduction
1We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[1] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[2]
Living in the Light
5This is the message we heard from Jesus[3] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
8If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
Translation notes (3)
- 1:1 Greek What was from the beginning.
- 1:4 Or so that our joy may be complete; some manuscripts read your joy.
- 1:5 Greek from him.
9But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
I recently bought my niece a set of bracelets at a toy store. Only a few minutes after I gave them to her and put them on her wrist, she decided she did not want to wear them anymore. As a result, she handed them back to me. I slipped them into my bag. Actually, they are still there in my bag. Here is the thing about this gift: she has the gift from me, but she did not accept it. She is living without the gift because she never truly accepted it. Now, she is not missing out on much, but her response helped me to understand the importance of how we receive the gifts that we are given.
John discussed the importance of receiving the gift of salvation through Jesus in 1 John chapter 1. He began this chapter by explaining that God is light, and if we live in His light, "then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin" (verse 7). He continued, saying, "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth" (verse 8). If we ignore our sin, which means we say we do not sin, we are, according to Paul, deceiving ourselves. We have all sinned. We have all messed up. None of us can come to Him on our own.
Our sin problem begs the question, "How do we get the hope of Jesus?" Paul tells us how in verse 9, saying, "If we confess our sins to him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." This, my friends, is how we receive Jesus' gift: we confess our sins to Him. This means praying directly to Him when we realize our sin, acknowledging that sin, saying, "I'm sorry," and asking Him to help us live differently.
The gift of Jesus Christ is freedom from sin and death. When we refuse to take our sins seriously, we live as if we do not need the hope that Jesus offers. Friends, we must take our sins seriously and honor the gift God has given us in salvation through Jesus. Remember, when we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive.
Moving toward action
It is time to take our sins seriously. Take a few minutes to pray. Ask God to reveal any sins that you may be giving in to. As He reveals, confess that sin to Him. Tell Him you are sorry, ask Him to help you live differently, and walk away from it. Thank Him that He faithfully forgives us when we confess our sins.
Going Deeper
1 John 1:1-10 (NLT)
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