"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:5-7, NIV)
A question: Can light and darkness occupy the same place at the same time? They can't, can they? Darkness ceases to exist where there is light.God is light. It follows then that darkness cannot be where God is. If God is in a believer's heart, darkness cannot be there too.A true believer cannot walk in darkness and enjoy it. Wrongdoing is not pleasurable any more. She hates sin and constantly seeks God's help in overcoming the immoral habits of her past.
So, what if you watch someone who claims to be a believer walk consistently and knowingly into sin? Maybe they're a gossip who is always spreading malicious lies about those they don't like. Maybe their words are constantly demeaning toward those in authority. Maybe they repeatedly drink to excess or sleep around or shoplift or lie to get their way.
What do you know about that person who claims to be in fellowship with God, but who walks in darkness? John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says that person is a liar. He does not live by the truth. He is not, in fact, in fellowship with God at all. He is not a believer.
How can John say such a thing? Isn't he being a bit harsh? Calling someone a liar is a bit extreme! Shouldn't he give everybody the benefit of the doubt? Maybe they're doing the best they can.
Maybe. If they're a new believer still trying to figure things out, I might buy that last bit. But I'm not buying it from the guy who has said he’s a Christian for years and still consistently and knowingly plunges into the same sin over and over and over again. A man or a woman with the Spirit of God in them cannot keep walking in darkness. A Holy Spirit filled person will each and every year look and act and speak and live more and more like Jesus. They will, with God's help, break free from their bondage to sin. Their habits, as they fellowship with God and walk in the light, will change from wrongdoing to right doing.
Some of you think I'm being unreasonable, a bit unrealistic. Don't we all struggle with sin? Yes! We all do. But I'm not talking about those who struggle with sin. I'm not talking about those who hate it when they fall into the same trap again. I'm talking about those who love sin and consistently and knowingly do what's wrong, those who don't really care that God prohibits. They're going to do what they want to do, God's rules be damned!
That is not the attitude of one whose heart has been transformed by grace. That's the heart of a liar who claims to walk in the light, but loves walking in darkness. Such a person has no fellowship with the one true God who is light and in whom there is no darkness at all.
If you are a faker, God wants to free you from your bondage to sin. Put your faith in Jesus. Let the Holy Spirit control you. Walk in the light. Resist temptation. Let the blood of Jesus purify you from all sin. The joy you'll find in the freedom that follows genuine faith is better by far than any pleasure you think you get from sin.
To receive my once or twice weekly message via email, send a blank email to webmessage-subscribe@associate.com. Past messages are available at freegroups.net/groups/webmessage.
No comments:
Post a Comment