He is light, and in him is no darkness at all. It is a progressive work in the believer’s heart and, as Philippians 1:6 says, God “will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” All sin really will be cleansed away in the end if we walk in the light. . … For some readers the word truth may leave open the possibility that the truth of God is a dark truth — a foreboding truth, a truth that is not inviting. “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” It means that if you draw near to God, you do not find a dark and foreboding truth. You have a precious friend — perhaps even a spouse — you have in common the same desires for God. Wandering on in darkness, as he does, he will, very likely, swallow the grossest delusions. Walking in the light does not mean perfection, for then verse 7 would make no sense at all — “if we walk in the light, we are cleansed from sin!” If walking in the light meant perfection, there would be no need for cleansing. This is the very opposite of what it means to have fellowship with God. But to me it smacks of artificiality. Oh, how I wish I could get every person to read the sixth sign of grace in Jonathan Edwards’s Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections entitled “Gracious Affections Are Attended with Evangelical Humiliation.” These thirty pages of profound biblical and psychological probing of the heart of the true saint turn most contemporary talk about Christian self-esteem into the cotton candy chatter that it is. All that know his state condemn him. It frustrates your ability to attain your goal. And verse 7 shows what preserves fellowship with God — walking in the light. The whole course of Divine providence will run across his path, and his whole life will be a series of crosses and trials. . The priests of ancient cults were held in awe by the common people; Greek cities created their own gods; mystery religions promised communion with a deity through secret rites in a way strikingly similar to the Masons and Mormons. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”. He shall be filled with his own works. 55. Now we must look at the clarification in verses 8–10. Everyone who loves the world more than God is in the dark. If we are not walking in the light, we have no warrant for believing that our sins are covered. 13. How to Walk with the Lord. Then something happens. Now the third question that we must answer is: What is the connection between the two? John has just said in verse 7 that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin if we walk in the light. There is no assurance of salvation while you are living in disobedience. In this state he is sure to fall into many and grievous mistakes, and may get entangled in such a way as to mar his happiness, and, perhaps, destroy his usefulness for life. The backslider in heart will be full of his own disgraces. They will endeavor to justify themselves, will neither read nor hear that which will rebuke their backslidden state, and they will become deeply prejudiced against every one that shall cross their path, who shall reprove them, accounting him as an enemy. He said, "Father, this light reaches such a little way, I am afraid." But there is something more basic than that. I know what you mean. See especially 1 John 3:9. Of course God will frame his ways so as to disappoint him. These anxieties are the inevitable result of his madness and folly in forsaking God. Such a gospel accounts for how 40 million people can claim to be born again in America at the same time that our moral condition is an all-time low of corruption inside and outside the church. It seems to me that there is good reason for saying it refers to both. Paul addresses walking in the Spirit with a capital “S” which means that the word Spirit is a proper noun meaning this is God the Holy Spirit as we can tell in Colossians 1:9-10 “And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of … When you walk in the darkness, you may stumble over a log, or step on a rattlesnake, or fall off a cliff, or hit your head on a low-hanging branch. The vexations of his backslidden life will make him nervous and irritable; his temper will become explosive and uncontrollable. (Isaiah 1:12). phos []).The literal contrast between metaphysical good and evil, God and evil forces, believers and unbelievers. No one born of God commits sin; for God’s nature abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.”. If he prays in secret, in his family, or in public, he knows he is not sincere, and feels condemned. They say that takes away the possibility of assurance of salvation. He will be full of his own trials. This is the message that John heard from Jesus. He shall be filled with his own feelings. First John 2:8–11 give some real clear indications. Spiritism, Mormonism, Universalism, and every other ism that is wide from the truth, will be very likely to gain possession of him. we have fellowship with him and we walk in darkness, If we walk in the light as he is in the light, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Let these simple, straightforward, weighty truths sink into your mind and you will have a great ballast to keep your boat from capsizing in the winds of contemporary fads and fashions and trends. The life of those walking in the light will be open, aboveboard, and transparent; it has nothing to conceal and never pretends to be something it is not. It is often very trying to live with backsliders. . Finally, verse 10 repeats verse 8 with a stronger warning: “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” The claim to sinlessness is not only self-deception, but blasphemy. The reason the Son God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Douay-Rheims Bible But we renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor adulterating the word of God; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of God. "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). He is author of. John connects them with an “if . He is light and in him is no darkness at all. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” In other words, the claim of sinlessness is simply self-deception. John uses strong words so we will be strong people. “The ambitious man much be studying, and the worldling must be working or contriving, and the sensual, vain person providing himself for vanity, when they should be engaged in the worship of God.” Sin steals the time, attention and affection that we need to maintain our communion with God. They have forsaken God, and in their feelings there is more of hell than of heaven. But in the end it simply is not up to us to decide whether the gospel is the kind of good news we would like it to be. Instead of denying our sinfulness, we should confess that it is real and ugly. Walking by faith means living life in light of eternal consequences. He has turned back to selfishness. He is the pathway to perfect and eternal joy with no disappointments. 10. (Yale edition, 339). Heb. God is our witness that we speak only the truth, so others will be sure we can be trusted. They hedge themselves in, and shut their eyes against the light; stand on the defensive, and criticize everything that would search them out. Walking in the light means seeing things the way God sees them and responding the way he does. What is walking in the light? So John chooses the word light because it promises that the truth of God is a truth full of joy and hope. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own bondage. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. 5:11). We’re on a mission to change that. By his words he will involve himself in many difficulties and perplexities, from which he can never extricate himself until he comes back to God. So I would conclude that probably the “one another” in verse 7 refers both to God and to fellow believers. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He must do something to sustain religious institutions, but to do so is a bondage. He has everything to care for. John says that his desire is to proclaim Christ so that his readers might have fellowship with him. He is all light. I think we need to get toughened up a bit. He loses his peace. We find here Paul making the statement that they, both Paul and Timothy have not stopped praying for the faithful saints at Colosse. then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.” What does this mean? Only it’s a willful darkness, because, as John said in John 3:19, “The light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.”, When you walk in darkness, you are controlled by the desires for the soft, warm underbellies of prestige and power and two-second pleasures (see James 4:14). The backslider in heart is full of his own self condemnation. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own words. Determined to have his own way, he will be greatly disappointed if his plans are frustrated; yet the certain course of events under the government of God must of necessity bring him a series of disappointments. All religious duty will be irksome, and, therefore, a cross to him. Mistakes in business, mistakes in forming new relations in life, mistakes in using his time, his tongue, his money, his influence; indeed, all will go wrong with him as long as he remains in a backslidden state. So confessing sin is a crucial part of walking in the light. What destroyed these nations is sin – disobedience to God’s word. In other words, does it refer to progressive sanctification or to the on-going experience of justification? If he neglects religious duty, he of course condemns himself. The evidence of indwelling truth is the exposure of error. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. He will chafe in almost every relation of life, will allow himself to be vexed, and to get into such relations with some persons, and perhaps with many, that he cannot pray for them honestly, and can hardly treat them with common civility. It honors the purpose of God in Christ to destroy the works of the devil. He has taken all these things out of the hands of God, and claims them and treats them as his own. It means seeing reality for what it is and being controlled by desires that accord with God’s light. my boy, but if you walk on, the light will shine to the end of your journey." It’s so important to choose faith, not fear, even in the midst of a crisis as big as the one we’re currently facing. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own anxieties. the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” If we walk in darkness, we cut ourselves off from the cleansing effects of Christ’s blood. There are absolutely no regrets for those who come to God with all their hearts. Having rejected the Divine guidance, he will evidently fall into the depths of his own foolishness. Having lost all heart in religion, the performance of all religious duty is a cross to his feelings. Instead of that sweet peace and rest, and joy in the Holy Ghost, that he once experienced, he will find himself in a state of unrest, dissatisfied with himself and everybody else, his feelings often painful, humiliating, and as unpleasant and unlovely as can be well conceived. Verses 6 and 7 draw out the practical application from this truth about God. Light. A broken relationship with God affects all our other relationships. He has no inward rest. They are often peevish, censorious, and irritating, in all their ways. Therefore we are warranted in taking the cleansing of verse 7 to refer to forgiveness and not just to sanctification. It leads people to real faith instead of encouraging them to be content with a lip service that cannot change and cannot save. 6. We no longer stay committed to an unforgiving nor unloving attitude because the light won’t tolerate it. Hence, the providence of God will constantly cross his path, and baffle all his schemes. He may beat and dash himself against the everlasting rocks of God's will and God's way, but break through and carry all before him he cannot. But when the light goes on, he sees that the warm, soft fur is the underbelly of a horrid, man-eating monster; and the hard, cold edge is the sword of the majestic Christ ready to save. 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