Studies in 1st John: Deep Cleansing

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just 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” (1 John 1:8-10).
The only way to continue in fellowship with God, is when we sin, we must then confess our sin; we cannot deny or ignore our sin. The amazing spiritual reality about our sin is that God wants us to confess our sin, He wants to forgive us, He wants to be in fellowship with us. When John the Baptist began his ministry he preached the need to repent. Many were baptized by John “in the Jordan, confessing their sins.” Acts 19:18 says about people in Ephesus: “And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds.” A recognition of our sin is the first step toward forgiveness.
We have the assurance of forgiveness because God is faithful. He promises to forgive; He will not go back on His promise. “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12). God is just; He is righteous. His justice or righteousness remains intact, not because He ignores our sin. Rather, He is able to forgive our sins because of the sacrifice of His Son. Sin is not ignored; the sacrifice for sin was paid on the cross. “To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26). In order to forgive, His Son died. That is the cleansing we need. Forgiveness opens the way to fellowship. We can again walk in the light.
We must not deny our guilt from past sins (and these can be forgiven). And we are not so far above sin that sin is no longer a problem for us. The reality of sin is that its ugliness and stain are always a spiritual threat. Let us find strength in the Lord and in His forgiveness; but let us remember that “all have sinned and fallen short of His glory” (Romans 6:23). Sin is real (read Romans 7). But by confession and forgiveness we can get rid of our sins—we can get rid of the barriers to fellowship with God.
John’s words, yea, the word of God, helps us to know the cleansing from sin that Jesus provides. 1 John 2:14 says: “I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.” Let the word of God mold and shape our lives and our hearts. To deny that you are a sinner or that you have sinned is to ignore reality—it is to deny what God’s word says about your condition. “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19). Get in word and stay in the word and be cleansed from sin. Randy Harshbarger

Studies in 1st John: Deep Walk

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).
Fellowship with God is the most important relationship we can seek. It is more important than any attachment to any earthly relationship. John has already spoken about fellowship—that is the purpose for which he writes (1:3). He now uses the illustration or metaphor of light and walking in light to emphasize the importance of being in fellowship with God; too, John shows us how to be in fellowship with God. John helps us know with certainty whether we are or are not in fellowship with the Lord. “If we say … “ (1:6, 8) “by this” (2:3) and “he who says” (2:9). Certainty about our faith is a theme John addresses often. 1 John 5:13 says: “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” John says: This is how you can know.
Fellowship with the Lord and walking in darkness are not possible. Why? Because God is light. God is pure and holy. This is a part of God’s nature. He is sinless. If we his followers claim to be in fellowship with the Father, yet are living in the darkness of sin, we cannot be right before our heavenly Father. Are we perfect people? No! If we were we would not need the blood of Jesus. Yet, His blood has cleansed us from sin; we are now able to be in fellowship with Him. Still, we cannot think that we can persist in sin. To claim this kind of relationship with God and continue in sin is a lie. We might be self-deceived, we might try to cover up our sin—but still, it is a lie.
Again, if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves. John is not saying we are perfect; we are not above sin; we need the sacrifice of Jesus. John is saying, though, that unconfessed sin is a barrier to fellowship with God. To so reason about our own sin is to lie. Thankfully, we can confess our sins and when we do so God will forgive our sins. We can be forgiven. We can be just. Not only does God forgive, but He cleanses us thoroughly. This is possible through the blood of Christ. We must then walk in the light of God’s word that this condition of fellowship might continue.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way! While we do His good will, He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Yes, there is no other way, except the way of Jesus. Randy Harshbarger

Studies in 1st John: Deep Joy

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life– the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:1-4 NKJV)
1st John is sometimes called a “catholic” epistle—this means that it was written for general distribution among churches and Christians in the 1st c., rather than being targeted for a specific group somewhere. The first four verses of this short, but powerful letter, echo John’s other words as found in John 1:1-8 and Revelation 1:1-3; read and compare these passages in your own study. John tells us that he is writing about the Word of life in order that his readers would have fellowship, not only with “us” (the apostles), but also with the Father and the Son—the Son being the object of John’s introduction. The result of that fellowship would be joy, deep joy springing from the relationship these Christians would have in Christ. Such joy would be complete, lacking in nothing. Yet, it was needful for John to write about this joy; his instructions would help preserve their joy in Christ. The implication is that John’s readers needed to heed what he was writing to them. Could these readers have confidence in what John wrote? Yes, because John says that he knew firsthand about Jesus. As verse one says: We have heard Him, seen Him, looked upon Him, and handled Him. But who is this one of whom John speaks?
Christ was from the beginning. He existed (and continues to exist) from all eternity. This is what John 1:1 says. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” There has never been a time when the Word was not! The Word was made manifest, or made know. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men. Jesus came into this world as a fleshly human being; He was God in the flesh. John and the other apostles could have real, fleshly contact with Jesus because Jesus had a body of flesh and blood; it was that body that was crucified and then raised from the grave after three days (Hebrews 10:5; Mark 16:6).
Jesus is the Word of life. Jesus is the logos. The word logos means more than our English word word. Logos is the intelligence behind the idea; logos is the idea itself. What gives logos weight is the person behind it—Jesus Christ, the Word, the eternal Word, God the Word. Jesus, the logos, is more than just some Greek philosophical concept (which John surely would have known). The world owes its origin to the logos.
Do you want to have joy in your life? Most people what this. John says that if you want true joy in your life you must have Jesus in your life. If you deny Jesus a place in your heart, in your life, in all that you are as you live upon this earth, you will never have true, lasting joy. This joy is more than a pie in the sky mentality—it is more than a Pollyannaish view of the world. It is a deep lasting relationship that governs your life. While John will write about possible interruptions to this joy, the first thing we all must do is embrace this one of whom John writes. Randy Harshbarger