SIN

Study Scripture: 1 John 1: 5 – 2: 6

Background Scripture: 1 John 1

Lesson 1 Jan 3, 2026

Key Verse

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, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:8-9

INTRODUCTION

Our Study Text Topic has us face and confront squarely with the father of lies who as the murderer from the beginning who constantly attempts to seduce us with false promises about how we can find and develop an intimate fellowship with God.

We should point out as we begin this Study that it is an extremely important doctrine. But it is also one about which there is a great amount of dispute and disagreement. This is so because your view of sin affects many other areas of Christian beliefs.

For example, your particular view of the nature of God influences how you define sin and regard it, for if your god is very high, pure, righteous, holy and exacting, certain expectations and demands flow from His nature. Since such a God is lofty, high, and separate from His creation, with the demand of such a God, we would expect that if you deviate in the slightest degree from His wishes and His will it would have serious consequences.

If however you believe your God is even slightly imperfect, indulgent, and somewhat grandfatherly, and perhaps somewhat senile, helpless, and maybe unaware of what is happening around him then your condition and behaviour will likely not have serious consequences.

Your doctrine of God therefore determines and reflects your doctrine of sin.

Your understanding of sin will in addition bear on how this nature of God will affect how He will judge man, and compare an individual to other human beings as He applies the divine standard. If any man fails to meet the divine standard this might imply judgment will occur in varying degrees. Since a man’s failure will not be determined by the forces of nature or his free will then a man will be regarded as responsible for his actions and shortcomings for he then would be regarded as capable of choosing and acting on what he thinks .

If therefore you think man is basically good, is capable of making moral judgments, has a ability that is somewhat intact, this will determine his standing before God. If he is ignorant, lack understanding, or is uneducated his standing before God might bring relatively minor consequences. But if he is rebellious or corrupt, and unwilling to do what he knows is right he might need radical transformation or need supernatural intervention if he is to receive any salvation.

But this is not all we should consider. Given our understanding of sin it will have a marked effect on our conduct. If we profess to be Christians this will affect our ministry style and the content of our ministry.

For if you think people you meet are basically good and will have the inclination to easily learn and understand what God wants from them and intends to happen to them if they will easily listen to Him, the kind of ministry you have will be one of affirmation, encouraging, and positive, just asking people to simply do their best. All they have to do is to continue in their present direction but making the decision under their own power to make some slight or maybe major adjustments.

To make matters even more complicated and dangerous for you, depending on your view of sin, your approach to the problems of society and the orientation of its leadership and choices will be regarded as morally neutral or unwholesome for the society and the environment. If leadership faces people who have a radical and deep perversion of mind one will then have to consider what kind of policies will alter them or reduce or eliminate the infection they bring to the society.

Note therefore the topic of sin raises important but difficult issues which can be depressing and unpleasant. People do not like to think of themselves as bad or evil or helpless to do what is good.

If the society laud teachings on a positive mental attitude and insists you only present and emphasize positive ideas and ways of thinking you will undoubtedly face some issues of negative reaction. One writer highlights your dilemma for people like to think in a certain way to feel better about themselves:

“The possibilities of man, the bright moments in the history of the human race, the outstanding accomplishments of mankind deserve attention. To speak of man as a sinner is almost like screaming out a profanity or obscenity at a very formal, dignified, genteel meeting, or even in church.

It is forbidden.

This general attitude is almost a new type of legalism, the major prohibition of which is, “Thou shalt not speak anything negative”.

Another reason it is difficult to discuss sin is that to many people it is a foreign concept.

Not only, as we have seen, are the problems of society blamed on an unwholesome environment rather on sinful humans, but there has been a corresponding loss of a sense of guilt.

We have in mind here the fact that a sense of objective guilt has become relatively uncommon in certain circles. In part through the influence of Freudianism, guilt is understood as an irrational feeling that one is not to have.

Without a transcendent, theistic reference point, there is no one other than oneself and other human beings to whom one is responsible or accountable. Thus, if no one is harmed by our actions, there is no reason to feel guilt.

Further, many people are unable to grasp the concept of sin.

The idea of sin as an inner force, an inherent condition, a controlling power, is largely unknown.

People think in term of sins, that is, individual wrong acts.

Sins are something external and concrete: they are logically separable from the person.

On this basis, if one has not done anything wrong (generally conceived of as a external act), he considers himself good, there is no thought of sin”.

In terms of sin there are several causes, and there are many terms to denote sin. Some stress causes, others stress the consequences, and some stress the factors which are inherent in people, factors which give rise to sin.

We will encourage you to think about this Topic deeply for without that you will miss what the Apostle John is speaking about in the 1 John Study. Among the terms for sin we will list a few:

Ignorance. In Greek the term stresses “a cause of sin by a combination of a Greek verb meaning “to know” ……. and its cognates (alpha derivatives which is related to the English word agnostic) which basically means “to err”. This word is often used in settings where it means innocent ignorance. Romans 1:13; 2 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 1:22). Some things done in ignorance were apparently innocent in the sight of God, or at least He overlooked them so that no serious consequences resulted (Acts 17:30)….. In two passages Acts 3:17 and 1 Peter 1:14, it is questionable whether the ignorance is culpable or innocent. In the former, however, Peter’s immediate appeal to his hearers to repent would suggest responsibility”.
Error. There arevery many references to sin as error, the human tendency to go astray. In the Old Testament it is used in the sense depicting sheep that stray from the flock. Or as in Isaiah 28:7 depicting drunken persons stumbling and reeling. It can be used as in Genesis 43:12 of accidental mistake and can suggest the person doing it is liable for his actions as in the case of Saul in 1 Samuel 26:21 when Saul sought to kill David and Saul say when David spared his life, “I have done wrong; return my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day; behold, I have played the fool, nd erred exceedingly.”

Scholars tell us the verb and its related noun occurs primarily in ritualistic passage but in other passages such as Genesis 6:3 it refers to God knowing man’s weakness and his tendency to error so God says, “My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh, but his days shall be a hundred and twenty years”.

“In…Psalm 119:67 and Ecclesiastes 10:5, the error appears to be culpable”,.. In the New Testament, (one) term that most frequently denotes sin as error…..emphasizes the cause of one’s going astray, namely, being deceived…an avoidable error. (Mark 13:5-6; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 6:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12; 1 John 3:7; 2 John 7).

Inattention. This means “to hear amiss or incorrectly”. In some passages inattention will lead to ‘disobedience’ . In Hebrews 2:2-3 it has strong implications, “For if the message declared by angels was valid and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation”.

Other terms emphasize the character of the Sin’

Missing the Mark. Scholars tell us this Hebrew word and its cognates (linguistic connection) are translated in the Septuagint appearing about 600 times. A literal usage is in Judges 20:16 describing crack marksmen. Proverbs 19:2 uses it to warn, “he who makes haste with his feet misses his way”. “The phrase suggests a mistake rather than a willful, consciously chosen sin. But in the Bible the word used suggests not merely failure, but a decision to fail. “Missing the mark is a voluntary and culpable mistake”, says one writer.

The idea seems to be that sin is a heavy burden and so the word is connected to the sin offering in Leviticus 4-5. The New Testament words have a similar meaning as the Old Testament words used in this regard.

Irreligion. This is used prominently in the New Testament. It is the negative of “worship” or “reverence”, found particularly in Romans, 2 Peter, and Jude. One scholar comments that “impiety” and its cognates may be the best English rendering.

Note all the words indicate the absence of righteousness.. One of the adjectives (the cognate) mean “wrong, useless, not of the right nature”

Transgression. We are told the Hebrew word appears approximately 600 times in the Old Testament, and means literally, “”to cross over” or “to pass by”. It involves ignoring a command or going beyond a limit that has been set. See Esther 3:3 which refers to the action going beyond the king’s command. A example with respect to the Lord’s order is found in Numbers 14:41-42 where the people wanted to go where they were told not to. So Moses responded: “Why are you transgressing the command of the Lord, for that will not succeed? Do not go up lest you be struck down before your enemies, for the Lord is not among you”. See Deuteronomy 17:2 where the people were told not to transgress the covenant. See also the use of the verb in Matthew 15:2-3.
Iniquity or lack of Integrity. The idea is clear in Leviticus 19:15, “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbour’. See Ezekiel 18:24 warning on the lack of integrity to maintain the just laws of God.
Rebellion. This idea is found both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Isaiah 1:2 states:, “Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me” Also in Isa. 1:20, “If you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken”. See also Ezekiel 2:3, Deuteronomy 21:18; Psalm 78:8 which attaches the idea of stubbornness to rebellion. In the New Testament sin, rebellion, and disobedience is connected with the noun and the connecting verb 29 times in passages such as Romans 1:30; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 3:2; Hebrews 3:12, 3:18; 11:31; John 3:36; Acts 14:2; 19:9; I Peter 2:8, 3:1, 4:17.
Treachery. See Numbers 5:12,27 of a woman’s unfaithfulness to her husband, the sin of Achan of “breaking faith” in Joshua 7:1; 22:20; Ezekiel 14:13 and 15:8.
Perversion. The basic meaning is “to bend or twist”. See its meaning in Isaiah 21:3, Proverbs 12:8.
Abominations. This appears to have special reference to God’s attitude toward sin and its effects upon him. “Abominations describe an act particularly reprehensible to God such as idolatry in Deuteronomy 7:25-26, homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22; 22:13, wearing clothes of the opposite sex in Deuteronomy 22:5, sacrificing sons and daughters in Deuteronomy 12:31, or blemished animals in Deuteronomy 17:1, and witchcraft in Deuteronomy in Deuteronomy 18:9-12. These practices virtually nauseate God. It indicates that these sins are not simply something that God peevishly objects to, but something that produces revulsion in him”.

Terms emphasizing Results of Sin

Agitation or Restlessness. The word is usually translated “wickedness” suggesting ‘tossing and restlessness’. It may mean “disjointed” Job 3:17 states “There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary are at rest”. Isaiah 57:20-21 state: “But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is n peace, says my God, for the wicked”.
Evil or badness. The word used here is a generic word meaning badness, harmful and malignant but not necessarily morally evil. It may mean distress or adversity as in Jeremiah 42:6.
Guilt. It means “to do a wrong to commit an offense, or to inflict an injury”. See Numbers 5:8 which refers to a sin-offering done for “compensation or satisfaction for injury afflicted”. The word used in the Septuagint does not occur in the New Testament.

Note the wide range of words which say clearly that the standard of justice and righteousness is God’s standard.

The essential element is that the sinner has failed to fufill God’s law. One useful definition offered for the definition of sin is one you might like:

“’Sin is any lack of conformity active or passive, to the moral law of god. This may be a matter of act, of thought, or of inner disposition or state”.

With the ideas of what sin means before us we are better prepared to look at what the aged Apostle with his wide experience has presented to us.

In his Books John will present us with a false claim saying “If we claim” and then he refutes it and gives us a right and valuable alternative.

We should note carefully each of the false claims the Apostle John deals with misrepresents what Scripture teaches us about Christ and what it means to know Christ and what it means to walk with Him.

It is most important therefore that we examine what the Apostle is saying carefully and focus on the alternatives he presents us with.

This is the only way we will avoid being deceived by false teachings and so drift from the truth.

John knows we tend to fall back into old habits and are susceptible to drift from the truth. He therefore writes to tell us we can have freedom from sin, and that if we fail we can have forgiveness and cleansing.

Hence he presents us with the fact Jesus died in our place and hence Jesus is the atoning sacrifice that sacrificed the demands of the law that we die for our sins and pay our debts for sinning.

This leads us to consider what faith is and what conquering means.

The Dictionary tells us that this participle means “to overcome and take control of a place or people generally by military force”.

It also means “successfully overcoming a problem or weakness, and the Dictionary illustrates this meaning by pointing to a saying “a fear she never managed to conquer”.

The Dictionary also gives us ‘synonyms’ or ‘words with similar meanings’ to conquer such as crush, overthrow, quell, rout, subdue, or subjugate.

This is a most interesting and needed Study when we realize that the Apostle John was writing in a very hostile world. After 60 years of ministry John was thinking about the overthrow of Jerusalem, the amount of people that died in Nero’s persecution, the dismal and oppressive world of Domitian the Roman Emperor, and his now exile on the Isle of Patmos.

It has often been pointed out therefore that when John was writing it was a very dark place for John and for the Christian church. But despite that the Apostle John’s word to the church was the word victory. He was without doubt recollecting the words of Jesus,

“In the world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”.

John begins this letter by going back to the beginning arousing in our mind the creation of the earth and the fact of the beginning of the Word or Jesus, the active person in creation, in his epistle. He presents us with a person, a life that appeared in history, a person whom he touched, saw, handled, and heard. This was not a person he had invented, or some figment of his imagination, a made up desire put together from wishful thinking, his longings or desires. This person lived and walked with him and He had declared an exciting message of a wonderful life, telling him that he and others could have this person, and two of them could live together and experience wonderful things such as fellowship with God Himself, sharing His life and dwelling with you.

The life of Jesus was His message. He had come to tell us that He would impart this life to those who learn of Him and come to know Him. His message was that this God “is light and in him is no darkness at all”

Note that Jesus was not saying that “Light is God”, but that “God is light” making very clear you cannot stretch your hands to the Sun as pagans do and worship that as God.

God is light and His light and His nature is enabling you to see reality, what you could not see before. He opens your eyes and so He can enter into your heart and tells you what life is all about. As light He reveals, measures you, imparts life, energizes, activates, quickens and makes you a new person.

This Jesus is the “Word of life”.

Note that the Apostle is speaking to the brethren who profess to be followers of Jesus and so John raises a problem.

Why do some Christians, who are clearly among the brethren seem to be being transformed when they contact Jesus Christ, and their life is perceptibly changed and are different, while others do have not have a perceptibly changed and transformed life?

But since everyone of the brethren affirm they are true Christians and say they have been born again and have faith in Jesus, what is wrong?

One writer tells us the key as expounded by the apostle John to explaining the difference among believers. He explains:

“The key is fellowship. We must distinguish and understand very clearly the difference between relationship and fellowship. Relationship is becoming a member of the family of God, by faith in Jesus Christ. It is established by asking him to come into your life and heart. “He who has the Son has life (that is relationship) but he who has not the Son has not life” (he does not have a relationship). 1 John 5:12. The Christian life starts right there with this matter of relationship.

But fellowship is experiencing Christ. Relationship is accepting Christ, Fellowship is experiencing him. You can never have fellowship until you have established relationship, but you can certainly have relationship without fellowship.

This is what this letter emphasizes for us. Relationship puts us into the family of God, but fellowship permits the life of that family to shine out through us. That is what marks the difference between Christians. Relationship is to be “in the Lord” but fellowship is to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of his might”.

Fellowship is God possessing you for then you are actually drawing on Him and His resources are visible in your experience.

The important question is, as a Christian, are you enjoying fellowship with the Father and with His son, experiencing all things in common together?”

We will therefore see the Apostle posing the issues of the professing Christians possessing what they profess. So note the verses and its emphasis:

Verse 6 states, “If you say we have fellowship”

Verse 8 states, “If we say we have no sin”

Verse 10 states, “If we say we have not sinned”.

Our Study therefore looks at a common problem of a relation in the family of God, with some in the faith maybe lasting ten, twenty, or thirty years or more. Is there fellowship so that the Spirit flows with the life of God and the life of Jesus Christ.

Is that not only a life with potential but is a life “actual” with signs of it in the life.

So could a believer be walking in darkness? This phrase does not mean in “willful sin” or “backsliding”, or “turning aside” but could it mean “not walking the way we ought to”. “Walking in darkness” is not an equivalent term to sinning.

If we are not in the light with God, and in Him is no darkness at all, are we in darkness, because “darkness” is the absent of light.

Are we turning God off by our walk, for if we are, darkness will flood in right away. We can miss the presence of God in our heart and life by not behaving in such way that we are in “fellowship” with Him.

The Apostle John as well as the other Apostles were very clear headed and realistic because they knew the secrets of God. To guide us John is going to give us insight into the conditions in which Christians fellowship.

The Apostle stresses that Christians are in fellowship in the light of holiness, in righteousness, and in the ultimate element, love. John is not talking about human love, sentimental or romantic love but he it is speaking about divine love, a love shown clearly in the propitiatory sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostle John therefore is looking at the sphere of the conflict between Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father in Heaven, and Satan, the Father of lies.

The Apostle John is making it absolutely plain that the work of God begun in Heaven, not on Earth and He continued His work following the Fall in the Garden of Eden when men became unable to turn to God. So divine work and divine salvation came to man and so the statement was required,

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him”.

Obviously this gives rise to the need to test what is happening in the church. Then as now there was a manifestation of supernatural power and the claims of supernatural experience. Scriptures tell us that when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt there was a conflict between him and the Egyptian magicians and the magicians managed to duplicate some of the miracles of Moses. We also read about King Saul’s experience with the witch of Endor. Then we read in the New Testament of Simon Magus who managed to persuade many, using sorcery to bewitch the people of Samaria. In addition to this, we are also warned that in the time of the end there will be the ministry of the Beast who would perform miracles.

The Apostle John is often referred to as the ‘Apostle of love’ and a reading of his First Epistle gives the reason; the word ‘love’ is mentioned about forty times in its 5 short chapters.

One of the key tests of Christianity is love and John uses it to challenge the legitimacy of those who claim to be Christians, because true Christians do love one another!

Note, Jesus set this command as the identifying trait for His disciples;

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,” (John 13:35). (See Rom. 5:5; 1Thes. 4:9).

Love is the dominant theme.

This will give us a conquering faith.

But remember that the Bible gives us a completely different picture of God. We can never talk about the love of God if we do not at the same time speak of the propitiation that Christ has accomplished. That is the meaning of “God is love” and John identifies that love for us later in the Chapter.

John tells us:

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God; (1 John 5:13)

So we must now examine this issue of “fellowship with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ so that we see clearly what fellowship the apostle speaks about is.

The Study Text highlights the critical role of the Holy Spirit in the assurance of true believers; their confession to the true nature of Jesus Christ and their empowerment to obedience to God’s commandments as well as then their walking in the light with God and outside of darkness..

Importantly, the possession of the Spirit is the first ground of assurance for the believer.

THE TEXT

Chapter 1:5. The message is that God is light and is in the light. There is good, the truth, joy, life, salvation and beauty. Psalm104:2 declares “He covers himself with light as with a garment”

“The Lord is my light and my salvation”.

Sin is something that might occur in every Christians’ life given the wide variety of meaning shown, but walking in the life is quite a specific thing required of them.

John wants the benefit of God’s presence. So how do we so to speak and avoid turning off the light? Light cannot coexist with darkness of any sort or extent.

We need to show fellowship for there is an awful judgment for those who prove to be outside of the relationship with the divine God and the fellowship where there is no darkness. Jesus said:

‘This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world,

And men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does’nt come to the light,

Lest his works would be exposed.

But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed,

That they have been done in God”. John 5:19-21.

John indicates that that is just one aspect of the challenges we face in dealing with sin.

Birds of a feather normally flock together and so one would expect those in the church to flock together, worshipping and fellowshipping with each other, walking in the light of fellowship.

Verse 6. If there is no sign of fellowship among the professors, as of that with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ something is missing. If there is little or no sign of this defined life, this means the professors are lying. There is a claim of fellowship but a person can live in a way that does not match up closely with the claim. There is no living according to the truth.

There might be a relation with Jesus Christ but what is the real case or real situation. One writer opines, “He does not live according to the truth.. his life is harsh, perhaps, or loveless, critical and demanding of others. Or perhaps it is intemperate, frivolous and flippant, lived solely on the surface, shallow and superficial. Or perhaps it is gossipy and sharp-tongued, or resentful and filled with bitterness”

A person might know about Jesus and he has a relationship of sorts with Him. But John analyses the problem and says, he is walking in darkness.

Some are not actual atheists but are practical atheists. They know God exists but they live as if there is no God, seeing all, desiring fellowship and no darkness. So they do not really expose themselves to this kind of God.

So let us be practical now.

They stop coming to church for in that way they want to and they escape the light if it is being taught there. They do not want to be uncomfortable and have their conscience pricked. So they ignore the command in Hebrews 10:25 not to forsake the assembling of themselves with others.
Next, they stop reading the Scriptures. They seldom open the Bible for themselves, but might if they plan to go to Sabbath school or Church the next day. They make excuses for not reading snd meditating on the verses in the Bible, for they want to escape the light. Mark Twain said of himself and of them, “It isn’t the parts of Scripture that I don’t understand that bothers me, it’s the parts I do”.
Then one pastor points out there are more subtle way to walk in darkness. They never examine themselves as the apostle Paul advises in 2 Corinthians 13:5. The teachings from the pulpit are never applied to themselves and they never ask if the questions being posed apply to them, except they feel someone told the Pastor something negative about them and he is preaching on them. They never ask if they are in the Christian life or whether they are really in the faith. They are afraid of that question and take it for granted they are OK. One writer says they never ask

-What kind of Christian am I?

-Am I better than I was six months ago?

-Am I easier to live with?

-Am I pulling the same stunts and manipulating others to get what I want like I always have?

-Am I a more gracious, compassionate outgoing kind of person than I was a year ago?

That is walking in the light and to avoid it is to walk in darkness, says one insightful

Pastor.

There is something called fake Christianity or “moral cosmetics”. There you appear to be mature when you are not and show you cannot need anything. You therefore cannot listen, cannot admit to any need. So there is no meaning to what Jesus said in Mark 5^: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled”

Verses 7-8. Walking in the light as God the Father and Jesus is in the light you will have fellowship with God and with one another. You will be tight with the brethren and always seek to know more and more of the truth. And you will follow the truth.

Consider this event in the early church which concerns judgment. After the Day of Pentecost Ananias and Sapphira pretended they had a holiness that brought accolades, pretending to be what they did not have. The Spirit then dramatically showed openly the deadliness of pretence.

Remember that this kind of pretence makes it dangerous and impossible to help the younger brethren. For if you pretend to be perfect and the young find out your well disguised flaws it will turn them off you and maybe off Christianity.

So do not pretend you do not have needs, and have no problems. Do not walk in darkness. Pick which one of the sins defined and listed above fits your personal case.

Remember darkness is the absent of the kind of light God the Father and His Son is in.

So learn not to behave as if perfectly, examine yourself, be willing to look at yourself, listen seriously to what others say about you and see how much truth there is there, if any.. No fences are allowed. James in 1:16 says, “Confess your faults, and pray one for another”.

Remember the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing us from all sin. It works continually. Your cleansing pleases the Father for He sees that you know that the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ His Son was well worth it..

If you cover up and say you have no sin you are deceiving yourself. There is little or no truth. Here we go back to one or other definition of sin. Proverbs 28:13 advises if you confess your “sin” and forsakes them it shall be forgiven. Remember David confessed his sin and he was cleansed.

Do not be afraid. James 5:16 tells you “Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of righteous person is powerfully effective”.

Sounds difficult and frightening, doesn’t it? But you will get over it and find your fears are unfounded. You will have healing, and that is better than your present state.

Verses 9-10. Remember sin is a common condition of all men and women. Some claim that they have not sinned, some say they are so mature they cannot sin, and John answered them here saying they are promoting falsehood. Read Psalm 53:3 and Isaiah 53:6as well as Jeremiah 17:9.

God forgives sins. He has made every possible way to enable your forgiveness and the angels are puzzled at the enormity of what Godhas done and is doing to forgive and save you.

You will discover the power, love, joy, glory, and excitement of walking in the light with the brethren and with the Father and the Son.

God has not asked you to do all of that in your own power and strength. You are simple and do not have that ability.

But He has given you the indwelling Holy Spirit to provide all the power, skill, and desire, and comfort that you need to be successful to walk in the light.

If you confess to God and to the brethren when you are weak you will be cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Please do not ever feel you have not sinned.

If you do you are doing something very serious. You are making God a liar. He will never like that accusation.

Chapter 2

The Apostle with deep affection for the brethren now calls them tenderly little children.

He urges them and you not to rationalize sin. There really is never any need to sin. But he knows the flesh is weak.

But remember the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse excuses. He is there to forgive sins, not excuses. So stop blaming circumstances and things which upset you. God sees and He accepts and cleanses.

What is the role Jesus now performs for you?

He is your Parakletos which means He can be your lawyer or Advocate or a witness which testifies and give evidence on your behalf. He counsels, intercedes, strengthens, and comforts when you are in danger, and every other time in your life.

The word describing the work of Jesus is a rich word with a wide meaning. It simply means you have a perfect defence which the Almighty Father and the all-powerful Son at the right hand of the Father will welcome. Jesus rushes to your defence when you are thinking you can defend yourself, and you will fail at that, and when you are stumbling and tongue-tied.

Be warned that if you are defiant and evasive, justifying or excusing your behaviour you are only digging a deeper hole for yourself.. One writer says,

“The judge can only condemn you and permit the inevitable, built-in judgment that follows to upset you, overthrow you, harass you, baffle you, and leave you in weakness and folly. But if you stop justifying yourself he will justify you. The blood of Jesus Christ cannot cleanse excuses. It only cleanses sins”.

So Paul says in Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God.

And the peace of God which passes all understand, will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”.

That is practical advice.

Verse 2. He is the One who came down from the glory of heaven and lived in the stress of humanity, being tempted, and then dying. He is the atoning sacrifice which translators translate as “propitiation” or “expiation”.

One writer and commentator in his Bible commentary explains the meaning of the words used:

“Atonement has to do with making amends for your sins or repairing the spiritual damage caused by sins. It also has to do with restoring relationships that were broken by sin—in particular the relationships that we enjoyed with God prior to the introduction of sin in the world”

The death of Christ is pictured in the Old Testament especially Isaiah 53 and in the teaching of Christ and the Apostles, and the Book of Hebrews.. It is likened to the Day of Atonement.

One scholar points out the definite meaning of this word:

“Christ is depicted as the high priest who entered into the Holy Place to offer sacrifices, but the sacrifice Jesus offered was not the blood of goats and calves, but his own blood. Thus he “secured an eternal redemption”. See Hebrews 10:5-18. “What is unique about Christ’s sacrifice and very important to keep in mind, is that Christ is both the victim and the priest who offers it. What are two parties in the Levitical system are combined in Christ. The mediation which Christ began with his death continues even now in the form of his priestly intercession for us”.

Some people interpret ‘propitiation” to mean appeasing the wrath of God by offering a sacrifice. They believe it inappropriate to use the word propitiation in relationship with God, because they understand that God is gracious and loving—not wrathful—not requiring sacrifices to appease his anger”.

But note this comment:

“There is controversy over whether Christ’s death was propitiatory. Here we must note that the concept of propitiation is not limited to Paul’s writings.

In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the offering was made before the Lord and there it took effect as well.

“The priest shall burn it on the altar; upon the offerings by fire to the LORD; and the priest shall make atonement for (the sinner) for the sin which he has committed, and he shall be forgiven. Leviticus 4:35.

“Can there be any doubt, especially in view of God’s anger against sin, that this verse points to an appeasement of God? How else can we interpret the statement that the offering should be made to the Lord and forgiveness would follow”.

Christ died for our sins and so there is substitution. See Isaiah 53.

Verses 3-6. When you know God you will keep His commandments for you will be in Him, abiding in Him, in His love, walking in the light with Him, being close to Him, walking as He walks.

You will never deny anything about Him for you will know better.

The laws of God are principles which designate the standard for a person’s life. Psalm 119 describe the commandments as the word, the precepts, the way, the delights, the testimony, the statutes, the judgments.

This psalm describe the benefits of the commandments or laws and what they bring to us as:

Peace
Power to resist sin
Joy
Understanding
Strength
Freedom
Hope
Comfort in suffering
No shame
Reverence for god
A thankful hear
A worshipful heart
A clean life
Personal revival.

You will know why the world is not reconciled to Him, for they like to live estranged and hostile to God. They do not believe Him and so will not accept His forgiveness.

Your task is to expose them to Him and His gospel. The Holy Spirit will do what is necessary to save.

CONCLUSION

Walk in the light and do not be afraid of that. Be willing to look at yourself. No matter what you condition is remember God is faithful and is always with you.

You are advised by wise Pastors and teachers as well as the apostles that walking in the light means you hide nothing and you do not fear. You cannot hide anything in the light for it exposes everything. You do not have to defend yourself from the light. That is where God the Father and the Son wants you to be in. If you try to hide from the light you will try to look like you are doing what you are not doing and really cannot do.

One writer advised that you do not live covered with a dark cloud of soot. Come out of that cloud completely and your eyes will be opened and you body and mind will be continually cleansed by the blood of Jesus which cleanses you from all kinds of sins.

You will find a energizing, vitalizing, imparting of strength, says one writer.

So just walk in the light.

We in our current state will not be able to achieve a condition of being sinlessly perfect.

God does not make the believer to sin; it is the believer who fails to trust in God and the strength He provides that has the believer fall to sin.

We are born in sin and shaped in iniquity.

This is a realization that the Christian must accept. However, He who created and sustains us is more than capable of teaching us and guiding us so that we can navigate our way around sin, just as how Jesus demonstrated that to us when He was on earth.

The advice and support given is that we do not have to yield to sin at all. It does not have to hamper our daily lives with worry as to when or if sin will happen.

But we must recognize situations where it may occur and petition our God for the strength to overcome it. The closer our fellowship is with God, I would say the greater our ability will be to continue to serve God in the pleasing manner in which He desires.

There is a great distinction between sinners in the world and sinners who are Children of God. Some people end up sinning, but this really means that unrepentant, worldly, non- children of God, sinners will remain in a state separate from God.

But those who commit a sin, AND are children of God, who have confessed and are repentant, are in a state where that sin is blotted out by the blood of Jesus, and God the Father does not see that sin, meaning He does not hold it against us.

So, sin is applied differently to the two groups. Our Advocate is sitting by the right hand side of God interceding for us daily, on our good and bad days, for us against our accusers and as well when we are the cause of the sin.

Our Advocate also works with seamlessly the Holy Spirit who works within us and with the Father to create that Fruit that the Lord requires.

The evidence to the world and to others that we are children of God is in how we will conduct ourselves, when we are in the company of saints, and when we are not!

So it is stressed:

“Those men who think that God’s grace, when fully, fairly, and plainly preached, will lead men into sin, know not what they say, nor whereof they affirm… Shall I hate God because he is kind to me? Shall I curse him because he blesses me? I venture to affirm that very few men reason thus.” [Spurgeon]

True children of God should appreciate the difference between the child of God and what the world considers to be perfected and mature. Sin will come in the lives of Christians, but the maturing Christian will one day achieve that perfected state where the temptations of sin no longer inhibit their fellowship with God. They continually under the guidance of the Holy Spirit seek to do the will of their Father over their own will. So one writer notes:

When one becomes a Christian, there is a change in his relationship with sin. Sin is not eliminated in the believer until he comes to glory, but his relationship to sin is changed when he truly become a Christian.

A Christian no longer loves sin as he once did.

A Christian no longer brags about his sin as he once did.

A Christian no longer plans to sin as he once did.

A Christian no longer fondly remembers his sin as he once did.

A Christian never fully enjoys his sin as he once did.

A Christian no longer is comfortable in habitual sin as he once was.

[Guzik, David]

So one writer notes:

We are chosen, to be holy and blameless before him in love; we are redeemed, to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works; we are pardoned and justified, that we may be partakers of larger measures of the divine Spirit for sanctification; we are sanctified, that we may walk in ways of holiness and obedience: no act of divine love that here terminates upon us obtains its proper tendency, issue, and effect, without our holy attendance to God’s word. But the phrase rather denotes here our love to God. [Matthew Henry]

We all do not have to demonstrate that God is with us through spectacular events like what Jesus did, but the spiritual power evident in the life of Jesus which flowed from a faithful, regular, disciplined life of fellowship and obedience will be still evident in us, as we walk as Jesus walked.

“The point here is that the one who knows God will increasingly lead a righteous life, for God is righteous. It does not mean that he will be sinless; John has already shown that anyone who claims this is lying. It simply means that he will be moving in a direction marked out by the righteousness of God. If he does not do this, if he is not increasingly dissatisfied with and distressed by sin, he is not God’s child.” [Boice]

As we obey Jesus, we can assist others to do so as well. The Holy Spirit will show us the power we already have since we are in Christ.