1 João 1
Wayne Barber · Citado em PreceptAustin
1 João 1:1
Barber comments: Living the Christ life is daily surrendering to His will and Word which allows us to enter into His divine enablement. I must decrease and He must increase (Ed: Actually the opposite - as He increases, I will decrease - see discussion Jn 3:30). As I am willing to deny self, and surrender to Him, He (His Spirit) takes it from there and energizes my very being, empowering me to do what He has commanded me to do. "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Phil 1:21) (Ed: Compare Paul's command to walk by the Spirit in Gal 5:16) When the angel of the Lord opened the prison gates to release Peter, his message was… "Go your way, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life." (zoe) (Acts 5:20+) Paul explains this "life" in the "resurrection" chapter, First Corinthians 15… If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. (1Cor 15:19, 20+) Jesus Himself explained the relationship of the lie and the Spirit declaring to His disciples… It is the Spirit who gives life (zoopoieo) ; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (zoe). (Jn 6:63) (To which Peter responded) "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life." (Jn 6:63, 68+) QUESTION - Who wrote the book of 1 John? ANSWER - The book of 1 John is one of three letters traditionally attributed to the apostle John. Although it lacks an explicit salutation, our earliest witnesses point toward John being the author. One of the most influential witnesses to Johannine authorship of 1 John is Polycarp, a second-century bishop who knew John personally. As internal evidence, the author himself claimed to be an eyewitness to the life and ministry of Jesus, and John certainly was that. The recipients of 1 John remain unidentified, but the epistle was likely read in different churches. It shares similarities with the Gospel of John, suggesting that they were written by the same author. The style of 1 John diverges from that of other epistles, with the introduction lacking the customary greeting. The letter is composed in Koine Greek, characterized by a straightforward presentation of ideas. John employs antithetical parallelisms to present many of his points. Christ is contrasted with the Antichrist, light with darkness, the Father’s love with that of the world, etc. This black-and-white presentation of truth offers a profound glimpse into living for Christ. There is no middle ground. We’re either in or out. There also seems to be no middle ground regarding the authorship of 1 John. While some scholars uphold the traditional attribution, others argue for a distinction between John the evangelist and John the apostle. The more critical scholars argue in favor of anonymity, given the absence of explicit evidence. However, the testimony of figures like Polycarp lends weight to Johannine authorship. It is worth noting that the book of 1 John was considered authoritative by the early church, with no controversies surrounding authorship. The dual purpose of 1 John is explicit: 1) “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, that you . . . may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3); and 2) “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Within this framework, John emphasizes love, both from God and among believers. He also warns against antichrists and those who profess to follow Christ but live differently. Modern readers can learn that God expects consistency in our lives. Struggling with sin is expected as we become more like Christ, and forgiveness is always available (1 John 1:9). Living an unrepentant sinful lifestyle, however, is inconsistent with the Christian faith. QUESTION - What is the Word of life in 1 John 1:1? ANSWER - In 1 John 1:1, John begins his letter by proclaiming the Word of life: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” The “Word of life” refers to Jesus, and can also refer to the gospel, the message of salvation and reconciliation made possible by the Son of God (Philippians 2:16). The Greek term for “word” is logos, recognized by Greeks as the medium through which God created the world and communicated with His creation. The Jews understood “the word” in the Old Testament as the means through which God created the cosmos (Psalm 33:6). Given these understandings, John aptly introduces Jesus as the Logos in both his Gospel and his first letter, emphasizing Jesus as the One through whom the world was made and life blossomed (John 1:3–4). Eternal life also comes through Jesus, confirming His role as the Word of life. As John 3:16 indicates, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (NLT). Jesus, in John 14:6, identifies Himself as “the way, the truth and the life.” Thus, only the Word of Life imparts true life; seeking eternal life apart from Him proves futile. Jesus is not just the Giver of life; He is life. Believing in the person and redemptive work of the Word of life grants eternal life. Today, Christians are often considered intolerant for proclaiming Jesus as the only way to God. In light of many options, why should we hold on to the exclusivity of Christ? Even professed Christians struggle with this. However, it is not intolerant for God to possess the key to His presence. He controls access to His home in heaven, just as we possess access to ours on earth. The crucial question is whether Jesus is who Scripture presents Him to be. If yes, denying His exclusivity would be unloving, especially when we profess Him as Savior. The only loving response to those who are spiritually hungry is to point them to where the Bread is. Following Jesus’ miracle of the feeding of five thousand, the Lord gave a discourse on His being the Bread of life that came down from heaven (John 6:35). Many turned away from Jesus at that time (verse 66). “Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, ‘Are you also going to leave?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life’” (verses 67–68, NLT). The Bread of life is the Word of life, and the disciples recognized this truth. Jesus is the Word of life, the Logos that gave life at creation and gives life in the new creation. D C Hughes outlines the first verses… I. THE APOSTLES’ TESTIMONY CONCERNING CHRIST AS A PERFECT SAVIOUR (1Jn 1:1, 2). 1. No stronger evidence can be conceived. 2. The statement of such evidence proves the importance of giving facts as the foundation of Christianity. 3. The terms of this statement deserve careful study. (1) The pre-existence of our Lord. (2) The real, objective humanity of our Lord. (3) The life-giving power of our Lord. II. THE DESIGN OF THIS TESTIMONY — that others might participate in the peculiar privileges of the apostles of Christ (1Jn 1:3). 1. Fellowship. 2. Fulness of joy. III. THE EVIDENCES OF REAL UNION WITH CHRIST AS PERFECT SAVIOUR. 1. A life of practical holiness (1Jn 1:5-7). 2. A Scriptural sentiment (1Jn 1:8-10). 3. Compliance with the condition of forgiveness and cleansing (1Jn 1:9). Lessons: 1. The solid basis of Christianity — a historical Christ, attested by unimpeachable witnesses. 2. The distinguished privileges of a believer in Christ. (1) Divine fellowship. (2) Divine cleansing. (3) Divine forgiveness. 3. The blessed and royal life of the Christian. To “walk in the light.” (1 John 1 Biblical Illustrator) David Jeremiah - THE WORDS OF GOD 1 John 1:1 NIV The which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life. It was the ancient Greeks who first sent representatives to conduct official business on behalf of their government. Today, ambassadors speak with the full authority of their governments and embassies are considered inviolable territory. In short, how a nation treats another nation’s ambassador and embassy is a good indication of the esteem in which it holds the foreign nation as a whole. The idea of identifying and valuing two entities as equals is a biblical concept. For two people in covenant, to harm one was to harm the other (1 Samuel 18:1–4). And to disregard a person’s word was to disparage the person himself (Luke 6:46). Therefore, how we value the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ, is a good indicator of how we value the written Word of God, the Bible. What conclusions would someone draw about your love for the Savior after observing your relationship to the Scriptures for a few weeks? Since both the Bible and Jesus Christ are the Word of God, it’s impossible to value one and not the other. A proven way to grow closer to God is to grow closer to God’s Word. (See Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God) The Life Appeared! SCRIPTURE: 1 John 1:1–4 (NIV) INTRODUCTION: Here in the prologue of 1 John we have—not the history of Christmas—but the history of the Christ of Christmas. John gives it to us in four stages, and each stage is seen readily in the first phrase of each of these four verses. The Beginning of Christ (v. 1): That which was from the beginning.… Three books of the Bible begin in the same way: Genesis, John, and 1 John all begin with “the beginning.” Christ preexisted prior to His birth. The Appearance of Christ (v. 2): The life appeared.… That’s described in Matthew 2 and Luke 2. The Preaching of Christ (v. 3): We proclaim to you.… This isn’t a reality to be kept quiet. We shout it from the mountaintop. The Joy of Christ (v. 4): We write this to make our joy complete. As we receive this message, we discover joy unspeakable and full of glory—joy to the world! CONCLUSION: During this Christmas season, I hope you’ll dedicate yourself fully to the Lord Jesus Christ, God in flesh, Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord. That which was from the beginning.… This life appeared.… We proclaim to you.… That your joy may be complete! A Special Name SCRIPTURE: 1 John 1:1 INTRODUCTION: Sometimes when we love someone we coin a new name for them, a personal one used only by us. John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” coined a new name for Jesus, a theological one, used only by Him in Scripture. Jesus is the logos—the Word, God’s ultimate communication to humans. John used this term as a title for Christ five times in three books, telling us five different things about Christ: The Deity of the Logos (John 1:1): The Word is God Himself. The Humanity of the Logos (John 1:14): The Word became flesh. The Accessibility of the Logos (1 John 1:1): The Word was the manifestation of God among us, and John touched Him, saw Him, handled Him, and testifies about Him. The Activity of the Logos (1 John 5:7): The Word is the Second Person of the Trinity who makes known to us and testifies to the truth. The Eternity of the Logos (Rev. 19:13): The Word is coming again to usher in eternity. CONCLUSION: The Logos was John’s special word for Christ, and Christ is God’s special Word for you and me. Words That Matter That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes . . . this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.1 John 1:1 Today's Scripture & Insight : 1 John 1:1–4 Not long after that, a reader wrote and described how she had prayed for her son for more than twenty years, yet he wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Then one day he stopped by to visit her, and he read the verse on the cover of the booklet that sat on her table. The Spirit used those words to convict him, and he gave his life to Jesus at that very moment. I don’t recall the verse or the woman’s name. But I’ll never forget the clarity of God’s message to me that day. He had chosen to answer a woman’s prayers through a verse selected nearly a year earlier. From a place beyond time, He brought the wonder of His presence to my work and His words. John the disciple called Jesus “the Word of life” (1 John 1:1). He wanted everyone to know what that meant. “We proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us,” he wrote of Jesus (v. 2). “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us” (v. 3). Thank You, Father, that Your Word is living and powerful! Words that point us to Christ are always words that matter. When the Water Blushed In the beginning was the Word . . . . Through him all things were made. John 1:1, 3 Today's Scripture & Insight : John 1:1-14 Why did Jesus come to Earth before the invention of photography and video? Couldn’t He have reached more people if everyone could see Him? After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. “No,” says Ravi Zacharias, who asserts that a word can be worth “a thousand pictures.” As evidence, he quotes poet Richard Crashaw’s magnificent line, “The conscious water saw its Master and blushed.” In one simple line, Crashaw captures the essence of Jesus’ first miracle (John 2:1-11). Creation itself recognizes Jesus as the Creator. No mere carpenter could turn water to wine. Another time, when Christ calmed a storm with the words, “Quiet! Be still,” His stunned disciples asked, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mark 4:39, 41). Later, Jesus told the Pharisees that if the crowd did not praise Him, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). Even the rocks know who He is. Jesus, we acknowledge You as the Creator who knows and loves His creation. Yet You wait for us to invite You into every aspect of our lives. Forgive us for those times we keep You at a safe distance. Today we choose to risk knowing You more completely. The written Word reveals the Living Word. We Touched Him! - Mythology is filled with legends of ancient gods who descended from heaven and took human form, but no one ever heard or saw them, and no one ever touched them. These were dreams born of human desire for God and the hope that someday He would draw near. The incarnation of Jesus—God who came in the flesh—is how those dreams came true. Author Dorothy Sayers put it this way: [God] can exact nothing from man that He has not exacted from Himself. He has Himself gone through the whole of human experience, from the trivial irritations of family life and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, defeat, despair, and death. When He was a man, He played the man. He was born in poverty and died in disgrace and thought it well worthwhile. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the irrefutable proof that God will do anything to draw near to us. Augustine said, "[God] gave Himself for a time to be handled by the hands of men." Absolutely tender! Absolutely true! Understanding all things; understanding you; Infinitely loving, good and kind and near— That is Christ our Savior. What have we to fear? —Anon. Love was when God became a man. —Walvoord The Human Camera - Steven Wiltshire, who has been called “the human camera,” has the amazing ability to recall tiny details about anything he has seen and then reproduce them in drawings. For example, after Steven was flown over the city of Rome, he was asked to draw the city center on blank paper. Astonishingly, he accurately reproduced from memory the winding streets, the buildings, the windows, and other details. Wiltshire’s memory is remarkable. Yet there’s another kind of memory that’s even more amazing—and much more vital. Before Jesus’ return to heaven, He promised His disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to give them supernatural memory of what they had experienced: “The Helper, the Holy Spirit … will … bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). The disciples heard Christ’s marvelous teachings. They heard Him command the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dead to be raised. Yet when the Gospel writers recorded these events, their words were not the product of a gifted human memory. Their recollections came from a divine Helper who made sure they compiled a trustworthy record of Christ’s life. The stories in the Word of God Are there for us to see How God has worked in people’s lives Throughout all history. —Sper The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to teach the people of God. REVEALING WORDS - Warren Wiersbe Christ reveals to us the mind and heart of God. He is the living means of communication between God and men. If you were God, how would you go about revealing yourself to men? How could you tell them about, and give them, the kind of life you wanted them to enjoy? God has revealed Himself in creation (Rom. 1:20), but creation alone could never tell us the story of God's love. God has also revealed Himself much more fully in His Word, the Bible. But God's final and most complete revelation is in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Because Jesus is God's revelation of Himself, He has a very special name: "The Word of Life" (1 John 1:1). This same title opens John's Gospel: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). Why does Jesus Christ have this name? Because Christ is to us what our words are to others. Our words reveal to others just what we think and how we feel. Christ reveals to us the mind and heart of God. He is the living means of communication between God and men. To know Jesus Christ is to know God! (Be Real - Page 12) Eyewitness - “You don’t want to interview me for your television program,” the man told me. “You need someone who is young and photogenic, and I’m neither.” I replied that we indeed wanted him because he had known C. S. Lewis, the noted author and the subject of our documentary. “Sir,” I said, “when it comes to telling the story of a person’s life, there is no substitute for an eyewitness.” As Christians, we often refer to sharing our faith in Christ as “witnessing” or “giving our testimony.” It’s an accurate concept taken directly from the Bible. John, a companion and disciple of Jesus, wrote: “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” (1 John 1:2-3). If you know Jesus as your Savior and have experienced His love, grace, and forgiveness, you can tell someone else about Him. Youth, beauty, and theological training are not required. Reality and enthusiasm are more valuable than a training course in how to share your faith. Let us go forth, as called of God, Redeemed by Jesus' precious blood, His love to show, His life to live, His message speak, His mercy give. —Whittle Jesus doesn't need lawyers. He needs witnesses!
1 João 1:3
Barber explains fellowship in this passage this way... Now think with me. Let’s see if we can make it simple. John said, "Hey, guys. We are apostles. Who are we? The apostles. We have told you and what we have said all fits together. None of us contradict the other. We want you to participate in what we know and have said. We want you to have fellowship with us. But guys, you can’t have fellowship with us if you are going to sever yourself from what we have said because our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ." The moment I sever myself from what the apostles have given me in the Word of God concerning the Word of Life is the very moment my joy is gone. My privileges are gone, and His presence is no longer here. You must adhere to what this Book says and only what this Book says, or you will never have what you are looking for. Do you understand what he is saying? He is writing to believers and saying, "Hey, guys, if your fellowship is with Him, then your fellowship will be with us and you will be saying the same thing we say. Not only that, you are going to recognize if somebody says something different from that which we have said." Look at Acts 2:42. I think it has a bearing on this. "And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." There is a hint of a warning here. "Guys, you had better shape up. If you want to have fellowship with us, you had better find your fellowship first with God, the Father and with His Son. Not some apparition, not some ghost, not some imaginary doctrine. You find your fellowship with Him, your koinonia with Him. Once you find it with Him and you have settled on that, you will find yourself fellowshipping with us." (That Our Joy May Be Made Complete!) John Montgomery
1 João 1:4
Barber comments on "our joy may be made complete" noting that "If something is disturbing these people and their joy is not being made complete, then obviously John’s joy is not going to be made complete. He is writing it to them so they can understand the truth. Once their joy is complete, his joy could be complete. The idea is the people to whom he is writing seem to have lost their joy. We write (1125) (grapho from root graph- = primarily means to scratch on or engrave as on an ornament, reports, letters, etc; English = graph, graphic, etc) means to engrave or inscribe with a pen or stylus characters or letters on a surface which can be wood, wax, metal, leather, stone, parchment, dirt (John ), paper, etc. So that (hina) expresses purpose or result of what has been previously stated (so always go back and read what has just been stated!) FELLOWSHIP BEGETS JOY So that our joy may be made complete - Fullness of joy is certainly possible for the Christian, but it is by no means guaranteed as this phrase indicates. If joy was easy or inevitable for every believer, John would not have written this statement. Vine - There is a joy which is only fulfilled when we enter into practical fellowship with the Father and with the Son. (1Jn 1:3-note) Guy King - There was so much in the conditions and circumstances of the Early Church - persecution, loneliness, atmosphere, martyrdom - which might be supposed to depress those first Christians; but there were overriding blessings that would minister to "your joy". Do you recall the circumstances of the occasion when our LORD JESUS spoke of "my joy", (John 15:11 - Ed comment: The night before His crucifixion! cp Heb 12:2)? This passage, then, has things to say to its readers, and to us, that will conduce to real joy of heart. (The Pleasure of the Fellowship) John
1 João 1:6
Barber - Do you want to know what a Christian is? I am going to call them forth and put them on the witness stand and it won’t be by what they say, it will definitely be by how they live. Look at 1Jn 1:6. In verses 1Jn 1:6-10 he has three false statements, then he has the truth that contrasts that and he shows you the evidence that will prove you to be guilty if you claim to be a child of God. False statement number one is found in 1Jn 1:6: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." Since there is no darkness in Him and we profess to have fellowship with Him, attached to Him, in Him and He in us as John says in his gospel, you can immediately begin to see where he is headed. You can’t tolerate sin in any way in a habitual way and claim to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Oh yes, you will still deal with sin. Before you became a Christian you chased it. After you become a Christian it chases you. You will still sin. That is what 1Jn 2:1-2 is all about. However, when you find a Christian living in darkness (present tense), hiding under darkness, seeking to think nobody knows what he is doing and if he lives habitually that way, John has something to say about him. False doctrine has that unethical connection with sin. Truth has nothing to do with sin, nothing. Light has nothing to do with sin. First of all he says, "If we say." The little word "if" is a suppositional conjunction. There are different words for "if." There is ea, and there is ean. Ean is used here. Ean means "suppose." It is almost like saying, "If Superman walked in the back door, let’s just suppose, okay." What John is saying is, "In the future let’s just suppose that some of you in the congregation I am writing to would say that you have fellowship with Him and yet there is something about your lifestyle that doesn’t back it up." Here we have the word "fellowship" again. What does this mean? There are two groups of thinking here. I will give you both of them and let you decide for yourself. On one side the word "fellowship" does not mean relationship. It’s like when I forgot and left the bait in my Daddy’s car on a hot day in August. We had fished all night for catfish. I forgot and left it in the car all day. He came home from work that afternoon, got off the bus and could smell it from the corner. I had a relationship with my Father, but the fellowship was deeply strained! As a matter of fact, when we sold that car it still smelled like that bait. Some people say the word "fellowship" is a different word than the word "relationship. They say John is simply trying to say you can’t walk in intimacy with God if you are consistently tolerating sin in your life. That is what some say. But others say, "Now wait a minute, fellowship here is like in verse 3. It says it you want fellowship with us, you are first of all going to have to find it with the Father. Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. What he is saying is, ‘We have intimacy with the Father through His Son and until you come to know Him through His Son, you can’t have intimacy with us.’" So it is a matter of relationship even though it is the word "fellowship." They say the word "fellowship" means relationship in the sense of, do you know Him at all? I personally am going to have to side with the second. I believe what he is doing is drawing a contrast. I don’t think he is talking right here to the fact that believers can go off and live consistently in sin and then claim to have a relationship, just no fellowship at the time. Now certainly my fellowship is strained when sin gets into my life. But we are talking about habitual, present tense, lifestyle of sin. That would agree with chapter 3 which says a man who claims to know Christ cannot sin. But he says it in the present tense, he cannot habitually sin. So you really have to make up your mind. I am not going to force my opinion on you, but you can go two different ways. I think truth has its beauty on both sides of it if you will look at it. As a Christian, if I do sin my fellowship is ruined. But I can’t consistently habitually live in sin. That is the thing I want you to see. I think he talks of fellowship here as a relationship with the Father because it would line up with the context. 2 Corinthians 5:17+ says,"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. The word new is the same word used for New Covenant, New Testament and (in Greek) is the word kainos which means absolutely, qualitatively brand new, never seen before. What did you use to do? You lived in darkness. You hid your sin under darkness. That is the judgment that has come into the world (John 3:19). What happened when light came into your life?… The light exposed you and you saw yourself as a sinner. You came out of the darkness. Ephesians says you were once darkness, now you have been made light (Eph 5:8+). How can a person who has been made light go back and live habitually in darkness? John is saying you can’t do that. "Well," you might say, "if that is the case, there are a lot of people who have joined the church who aren’t saved." That is what I am saying. (Ed: In other words, there are people in churches around the world who are professing Christ but whose practice demonstrates no evidence of a Christ like walk. This is a frightening thought!) Yes, salvation is by grace, but you’ve got to understand grace. You’ve got to make up your own mind. You say, "Well, there are two sides to argument." There really are. You can find both sides of it. But I think when you stay in the book of 1 John all the way through you are going to see he is drawing a contrast between those who know Christ and those who don’t know Christ. That is the whole reason for writing, remember. 1Jn 5:13 says,"These things I have written… that you may know that you have eternal life." (from Evidence of Christianity) QUESTION - What does it mean to walk in darkness (1 John 1:6)? ANSWER - The idea of walking in darkness is mentioned in several parts of Scripture, including 1 John 1:6, “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.” This verse serves as a warning and challenge to everyone who claims to have a relationship with God. Christianity goes beyond words and is revealed through our actions. To walk in darkness denotes a sinful lifestyle, persistently engaging in actions that God hates. The term walk is often used as a metaphor for daily living. So, John is addressing those who profess to be followers of Christ but carry on with ungodly living. Elsewhere, Scripture lists behaviors commonly associated with living in darkness, such as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:20–21). Living in darkness revolves around self-centeredness, satisfying personal desires (Ephesians 2:3; Romans 1:24–25). This raises the question: Are we seeking to please God or only ourselves? It is expected that those who reject God would live for themselves and walk in darkness. But it is also possible to identify with Christ yet live in a self-serving manner. This was the temptation that led Eve and Adam astray. The serpent invited them to turn from God and pursue self-rule, saying, “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Throughout history, humanity has since desired to be like God, establishing their own notions of reality and morality. The problem is, in our fallen state, we view as good what God calls evil and then denigrate what He calls good. What about adherents of other theistic religions who also acknowledge a transcendent Being: are they living in darkness? Do they not know God? The issue with other religions is is two-fold: 1) their denial of the universal human condition—moral imperfection and an inability to meet God’s standard—and 2) their rejection of Christ. True religion stems from approaching God through Christ, acknowledging that only He is righteous and only He can bridge the gap between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). When we believe we can attain righteousness through our efforts, we either become self-righteous or despondent; either way, further sinful behavior results. The opposite of walking in darkness is living in the light, starting when we turn to the Light of the world. Through Christ’s redemptive work and the Holy Spirit’s regeneration, we move from the kingdom of darkness to that of light (Colossians 1:13–14; see also Acts 26:17–18; 1 Peter 2:9). Because we are in the light, we should “walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Our manner of life should reflect our claim to know God; otherwise, we rightly appear as dishonest. “We lie,” as 1 John 1:6 says. “You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). Critics often point to the contrast between belief and behavior in many Christians as an argument against the gospel. While this accusation can be biased, we cannot ignore that, when we associate with Jesus, even outsiders expect to see changes. Numerous people come to Christ due to the godly lifestyle of a Christian friend or family member. Are we genuinely living out the truth of the gospel in our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and churches? Or do we still walk in darkness? QUESTION - What does it mean that believers do not continue to sin? ANSWER - In his first epistle, the apostle John deals with the assurance of our salvation: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Since he wants his readers to “know” they have eternal life, John provides a test of faith that we can use to examine whether or not we are truly saved. In 1 John are various descriptions of the genuine believer. If a person knows Christ and is growing in grace, he or she will be generally marked by the following traits: 1. The believer enjoys fellowship with Christ and His redeemed people (1 John 1:3). 2. The believer walks in the light, not in the darkness (1 John 1:6–7). 3. The believer admits and confesses his sin (1 John 1:8-9). 4. The believer obeys God’s Word (1 John 2:3–5). 5. The believer loves God rather than the world (1 John 2:15). 6. The believer’s life is characterized by “doing what is right” (1 John 2:29). 7. The believer seeks to maintain a pure life (1 John 3:3). 8. The believer sees a decreasing pattern of sin in his life (1 John 3:5–6; 5:18). 9. The believer demonstrates love for other Christians (1 John 3:14). 10. The believer “walks the walk,” versus just “talking the talk” (1 John 3:18–19). 11. The believer maintains a clear conscience (1 John 3:21). 12. The believer experiences victory in his Christian walk (1 John 5:4). Number 8 in the list above is that the believer will evince a decreasing pattern of sin in his or her life. Here is what John says: “No one who lives in [Christ] keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6) and “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (1 John 5:18) Some misinterpret these verses to mean that Christians can attain sinless perfection. After all, John says that “no one who lives in Him sins” (1 John 3:6, NASB) and that “no one who is born of God sins” (5:18, NASB). Based on those verses, they reason, sin must be a thing of the past. If you commit a sin, that’s proof that you are not saved, because Christians are sinless. But that is not what John is teaching. We know that, when John writes that believers do not continue to sin, he is not referring to sinless perfection because of what he writes elsewhere in the same epistle. To believers John says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). So, we are all sinners, and we continue to struggle with sin even after we are saved. We will never know a total absence of sin until we are with the Lord in glory: “When Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2). If John is not referring to sinless perfection, what does he mean that believers do not continue to sin? Very simply, he means that believers will not continue practicing sin as a way of life. There will be a difference between the old life without Christ and the new life in Christ. The thief who was characterized by his theft is a thief no more; he has a different way of life. The adulterer who was characterized by his immorality is an adulterer no more; his behavior patterns have changed. The child of God who was a former thief may still struggle with covetousness, but he no longer lives according to the pattern of stealing. The child of God who was a former adulterer may still struggle with lust, but he has broken free from the old life of immorality. “All who have this hope in [Christ] purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). The Amplified Bible brings out John’s meaning clearly: “No one who abides in Him [who remains united in fellowship with Him—deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin. No one who habitually sins has seen Him or known Him” (1 John 3:6AMP) and “We know [with confidence] that anyone born of God does not habitually sin; but He (Jesus) who was born of God [carefully] keeps and protects him, and the evil one does not touch him” (1 John 5:18AMP) The word habitually is key. A believer will struggle with sin and sometimes give in, but giving in to sin is no longer normative. The word habitually is key. A believer will struggle with sin and sometimes give in, but giving in to sin is no longer normative. As we grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord (see 2 Peter 3:18), we are being sanctified. As we are led by the Spirit, we will walk more and more in obedience to the Word of God. If a person claims to be a Christian but lives in defiance of God’s Word, then that person is showing the world he or she is unsaved. No one who continues to live in willful sin knows God. Because continual sin is incompatible with new life in Christ, living in unrepentant homosexuality, idolatry, or falsehood is proof that no regenerative work of the Spirit has yet taken place in the heart, regardless of anyone’s claims to the contrary. John gives us the reason why believers do not continue to sin: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God” (1 John 3:9). A genuine Christian will not “deliberately, knowingly, and habitually” sin. It’s just not in their “spiritual DNA.” Related Resources: What does it mean that he who hates his brother walks in darkness (1 John 2:11)? What does it mean to walk with God? WE LIE AND DO NOT PRACTICE THE TRUTH: pseudometha (1PPM/PI) kai ou poioumen (1PPAI) ten aletheian: we lie: 1Jn 1:10 4:20 Jn 8:44,45 1Ti 4:2 do not: Jn 3:21 1 John 1 Resources LIAR, LIAR PANTS ON FIRE! We lie (pseudomai - present tense - continually) and (ou - absolutely) do not practice (poieo - present tense - continually) the truth - Have you ever heard the child's taunt of "Liar, Liar, pants on fire?" That's a great (sad) description of the lives of these individuals who are claiming to be believers, but living like unbelievers! And unless they come to their senses, more than their pants will be on fire when they pass from this short temporal life to their eternal destination! Compare these other passages in First John that deal with lying… The one who says (WHAT THEY SAY), "I have come to know Him," and (WHAT THEY DO) does not keep (present tense) His commandments, (WHO THEY REALLY ARE) is (present tense) a liar, and the truth is (present tense) not (ouk = absolutely not) in him (1Jn 2:4) Comment: How is John determining whether what they say (or claim - "I am a believer") is authentic? Does this sound like John is describing a genuine believer? How does "does not keep (present tense) His commandments" parallel "walk (present tense) in darkness?" Does this help you understand what John means when he says "we lie" (present tense) here in 1Jn 1:6? Who is the one who continually lives as a liar - is he a genuine believer or an unsaved professor? I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. (1Jn 2:21) And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. (1Jn 2:27) Although the word "lie" is not used, the principle practiced is the same in this passage… Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1Jn 4:1) Now, as you compare Scripture with Scripture, do these passages that speak of lying help you interpret John's statement "we lie and do not practice the truth"? Notice the repeated contrast between truth and lie. We lie (5574)(pseudomai from pseudo = to cheat, defraud, falsify) means to communicate what is false, with the evident purpose of misleading. In the context of this verse, the one we are misleading is ourselves! Self deception! The Greek term and the English equivalent ‘to lie’ involve more than simply telling what is not true, for this could occur without an intent to deceive or mislead. It means means to tell a falsehood, attempt to deceive by lying, to speak falsely or deceitfully. In the present context John is saying in essence that we lie by our actions. And thus we might say one thing with our lips but another with our life! Pseúdomai therefore involves not only the communication of a falsehood but also the intent to deceive (cp our intrinsic ability to even deceive ourselves - Jer 17:9 cp Heb 3:12, 13-note) Plummer on "we lie, and do not the truth" - Antithetic parallelism, as in v. 5. The negative statement here carries us further than the positive one: it includes conduct as well as speech. See on John 3:21, where ‘doing the truth’ is opposed to ‘practising evil’. It is also the opposite of ‘doing a lie’ (Rev. 21:27, 22:15). (1 John 1 Commentary) Colin Kruse comments that those who habitually walk in the darkness "are guilty of lying about their relationship with God. According to the message heard from Christ, God is light, there is no fellowship between light and darkness, and therefore their claim to have fellowship with God (while walking in darkness) is false. (See Pillar Commentary - The Letters of John) Comment: And as we have seen in 1Cor 1:9 fellowship with God is initiated by His calling us into salvation and that fellowship is maintained by the Holy Spirit (2Cor 13:14, Php 2:1). We lie and do not practice the truth - The Pulpit Commentary has "we are false both in word and deed." As noted elsewhere both verbs (lie and practice) are in the present tense which can be paraphrased…"We habitually lie and continually do not practice the truth." It seems inconceivable to me that some commentators consider this individual to be a genuine Christian and explain that he or she is simply not in fellowship with God (see Guzik below). Sure, all genuine believers lie occasionally, BUT genuine Christians do not lie as their general lifestyle. All Christians fail to practice the truth, BUT genuine Christians do not fail to practice the truth as their habitual practice! THE TRUTH ABOUT LYING It also seems that John considers the habitual practice of lying a very serious matter which should cause the practitioner to do some deep soul searching including meditating on John's passages that describe the eternal destiny of habitual liars. In the near context in chapter 2 John makes another strong statement writing that… The one who says, "I have come to know (ginosko in the perfect tense = They claim to have come to know Jesus at some point in time in the past and they still know Him) Him," and does not keep (present tense - as their general practice - not perfection but general direction) His commandments, is (present tense) a liar (peustes), and the truth is (present tense) not (the Greek indicates absolute negation) in him (1Jn 2:4) Question: Beloved, does this sound like the description of a believer who is simply not experiencing fellowship with Jesus? Or is this the description of someone who claims to know Jesus but does not really know Him? Sure they may know about Jesus (that would apply to most people in America), but they don't really know Him intimately. They know about Jesus like someone knows about Abraham Lincoln but does not really know him by personal acquaintance. And beloved, one's soul will not be saved by just knowing about Christ. The only saving knowledge is to know Him by trusting in Him as Lord and Savior (Ro 10:9, 10+, compare the dreadful fate of those who think they know Him in Mt 7:21+, Mt 7:22, 23+. Note that Jesus also uses the same verb [ginosko] in 1Jn 2:4 for "know" - know by experience! Can you imagine the horror of those who claimed to "know" Jesus in their life, only to hear His solemn words "I never [ever] knew [ginosko] you depart from me, you who practice [present tense = habitually practice] lawlessness.") Notice once again that John associates what this person says with what he actually does. John seems intent on getting across the point that you can say you are a Christian "until you're blue in the face" (to use an old expression which emphasizes one's persistence in making this claim), but unless there is evidence in your life by what you do or how you behave (in this case keep the the Lord's commandments - not perfection, but direction!), then John says you are a liar! That is strong language. If John walked up to someone and told them they were a liar, that would (or at least should) be cause for serious concern, especially in light of what John teaches about all liars who practice lying in the Revelation of Jesus Christ (see below). Later in chapter 2 John asks… Who is the liar but the one who denies (present tense) that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah)? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22) Comment: Anyone who denies that Jesus is the promised Messiah is an antichrist, one who opposes Christ! In chapter 4 John again addresses the issue of lying stating plainly that… If someone says, "I love (present tense - continually love) God," and hates (present tense - continually hates) his brother, he is (present tense) a liar; for the one who does not love (present tense) his brother whom he has seen, cannot (absolutely cannot) love God Whom he has not seen. (1John 4:20) Comment: Once again note John's pattern of comparing what one says with what one does as their general practice, their general lifestyle. Read that verse again -- does that sound like a believer? The Apostle John links lying and practicing twice in the Revelation in his description of the moral characteristics of those who will not be allowed into heaven! Perhaps this John wanted to make sure the readers of his epistle were not deceived by their lifestyle of lying and not practicing the truth (1Jn 1:6b)! (John speaking of heaven) and nothing unclean and no one who practices (poieo in the present tense) abomination and lying (pseudos = noun), shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.. (Rev 21:27+) (John repeats practicing lying!) Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves (present tense) and practices (poieo in the present tense) lying (pseudos = noun). (Rev 22:15+) Comment: In Revelation John clearly states that all who continually, habitually, as their general bent of life, as their lifestyle, as the general direction of their life PRACTICE LYING will die an eternal death! First John describes those who walk in the darkness as those in whom lying is their lifestyle! Remember that Scripture is the best commentary on Scripture! Not to mention that these Scriptures are all penned by the same author! What is your conclusion? Is John describing believers in 1 John 1:6? John also mentions lying again in Revelation 21 linking it with the liar's eternal destiny… But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars (pseudes = adjective)( their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev 21:8-note) Tony
1 João 1:6-7
Barber writes that… The Apostle John begins in verse 6 and goes all the way through the book contrasting what people say and what they live as being two different things. He is saying, "These are Christians. These aren’t." Do you want to know what a Christian is? I am going to call them forth and put them on the witness stand and it won’t be by what they say, it will definitely be by how they live. Look at 1Jn 1:6. In verses 1Jn 1:6-10 he has three false statements, then he has the truth that contrasts that and he shows you the evidence that will prove you to be guilty if you claim to be a child of God. False statement number one is found in verse 6: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." Since there is no darkness in Him and we profess to have fellowship with Him, attached to Him, in Him and He in us as John says in his gospel, you can immediately begin to see where he is headed. You can’t tolerate sin in any way in a habitual way and claim to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Oh yes, you will still deal with sin. Before you became a Christian you chased it. After you become a Christian it chases you. You will still sin. That is what chapter 2 is all about. However, when you find a Christian living in darkness (present tense), hiding under darkness, seeking to think nobody knows what he is doing and if he lives habitually that way, John has something to say about him. False doctrine has that unethical connection with sin. Truth has nothing to do with sin, nothing. Light has nothing to do with sin. First of all he says, "If we say." The little word "if" is a suppositional conjunction. There are different words for "if." There is ea, and there is ean. Ean is used here. Ean means "suppose." It is almost like saying, "If Superman walked in the back door, let’s just suppose, okay." What John is saying is, "In the future let’s just suppose that some of you in the congregation I am writing to would say that you have fellowship with Him and yet there is something about your lifestyle that doesn’t back it up." Here we have the word "fellowship" again. What does this mean? There are two groups of thinking here. I will give you both of them and let you decide for yourself. On one side the word "fellowship" does not mean relationship. It’s like when I forgot and left the bait in my Daddy’s car on a hot day in August. We had fished all night for catfish. I forgot and left it in the car all day. He came home from work that afternoon, got off the bus and could smell it from the corner. I had a relationship with my Father, but the fellowship was deeply strained! As a matter of fact, when we sold that car it still smelled like that bait. Some people say the word "fellowship" is a different word than the word "relationship. They say John is simply trying to say you can’t walk in intimacy with God if you are consistently tolerating sin in your life. That is what some say. But others say, "Now wait a minute, fellowship here is like in verse 3. It says it you want fellowship with us, you are first of all going to have to find it with the Father. Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. What he is saying is, ‘We have intimacy with the Father through His Son and until you come to know Him through His Son, you can’t have intimacy with us.’" So it is a matter of relationship even though it is the word "fellowship." They say the word "fellowship" means relationship in the sense of, do you know Him at all? I personally am going to have to side with the second. I believe what he is doing is drawing a contrast. I don’t think he is talking right here to the fact that believers can go off and live consistently in sin and then claim to have a relationship, just no fellowship at the time. Now certainly my fellowship is strained when sin gets into my life. But we are talking about habitual, present tense, lifestyle of sin. That would agree with chapter 3 which says a man who claims to know Christ cannot sin. But he says it in the present tense, he cannot habitually sin. So you really have to make up your mind. I am not going to force my opinion on you, but you can go two different ways. I think truth has its beauty on both sides of it if you will look at it. As a Christian, if I do sin my fellowship is ruined. But I can’t consistently habitually live in sin. That is the thing I want you to see. I think he talks of fellowship here as a relationship with the Father because it would line up with the context. 2Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature." Do you know what that word "new" is? It is the same word used for new covenant, New Testament. It is the word kainos. Kainos means absolutely, qualitatively brand new, never seen before. What did you use to do? You lived in darkness. You hid your sin under darkness. That is the judgment that has come into the world. What happened when light came into your life? You exposed yourself to the light, you were exposed to the light, the light exposed you and you saw yourself as a sinner. You came out of the darkness. Ephesians says you were once darkness, now you have been made light. How can a person who has been made light go back and consistently live habitually in darkness? John is saying you can’t do that. "Well," you might say, "if that is the case, there are a lot of people who have joined the church who aren’t saved." That is what I am saying. Yes, salvation is by grace, but you’ve got to understand grace. You’ve got to make up your own mind. You say, "Well, there are two sides to argument." There really are. You can find both sides of it. But I think when you stay in the book of 1 John all the way through you are going to see he is drawing a contrast between those who know Christ and those who don’t know Christ. That is the whole reason for writing, remember. 1Jn 5:13 says, These things I have written… that you may know that you have eternal life. As noted some writers like David Guzik feel that John's subject is "fellowship, not salvation." Then Guzik states that "The Christian who temporarily walks in darkness is still saved, but not in fellowship with God." While I respect Guzik's commentary, his statement "temporarily walks" cannot be substantiated from the verb tense John uses for "walk". To the contrary, John's use of the present tense pictures this hypothetical walk as continual and not just a "temporary slip" which characterizes even believers. In fact Guzik himself goes on to make another comment (with which I completely agree) on verse 6 observing that "a walk in darkness (indicates) a pattern of living. This does not speak of an occasional lapse, but of a lifestyle of darkness." (Bolding mine) Webster says that the word "pattern" is a "a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person"! Beloved, how can a person whose "pattern of living" is to continually walk in darkness be considered a child of the light? How can one who continually behaves this way expect to have any assurance of salvation, which John desires for his readers (1John 5:13)? It is important to note that John repeatedly and purposefully associates what one says with how one lives. John wants us his readers to know who they really are in the spiritual realm, by how they conduct themselves in the physical realm. John
1 João 1:9
Barber says that "One of the things I have discovered is, when you are clean, everybody gets prettier and the grass gets greener and the sky gets bluer. It is just amazing how it changes your whole perception towards life. But if you let sin get into your life, watch the countenance fall. What did God say to Cain in Genesis 4:6, 7+? "Cain, why has your countenance fallen?" What is going on here? (Ed: The uncleanness of unconfessed sin on the inside will always show forth the taint of that sin on the outside!) Forgive (863)(aphiemi from apo = prefix implies separation + hiemi = put in motion, send; See study of noun aphesis) conveys the basic idea of an action which causes separation and means to send from one's self, to forsake, to lay aside or to put away. Aphiemi basically means to send away and was used to indicate the legal repayment or cancellation of a debt or the granting of a pardon. It is used in Scripture to refer to God’s forgiveness of sin. Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return. That is the extent of the forgiveness of our trespasses. The Old Testament description of the once per year Day of Atonement beautifully illustrates the meaning of aphiemi, Moses recording that "the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement (Hebrew = kapar = to cover over) upon it, to send it (Lxx = aphiemi) into the wilderness as the scapegoat. (Lev 16:10+) The scapegoat being sent away into the wilderness foreshadows Jesus' bearing our sins away on the Cross (cf 1Pe 2:24+), making possible God's total, forever forgiveness of sins. Westcott explains that "the image of ‘remission,’ ‘forgiveness,’ presents sin as a ‘debt,’ something external to the man himself in its consequences, just as the image of ‘cleansing’ marks the personal stain." In the only other use of aphiemi in John's epistles, we read… I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven (past tense) you for His name's sake. (1Jn 2:12+) John has 14 uses of aphiemi in his Gospel, only one with the meaning of forgive, all others with the more literal meaning of aphiemi -- Jn 4:3, 4:28, 4:52, 8:29, 10:12, 11:44, 48, 12:7, 14:18, 27, 16:28, 32, 18:8, 20:23 (twice - the only use in with the sense of "to forgive"). Note especially the literal meaning of aphiemi in John 4:28 where "the woman left (aphiemi) her waterpot and went into the city." Note also John 11:44 where Jesus says to those around the recently "resurrected" Lazarus, "Unbind him and let him go (aphiemi)." Do these literal uses give you a sense of what God does when He forgives our sins? Why do we "play those tapes" over in our mind? He doesn't. He has dropped them. He has let them go and you need to move on. Not that we need to forgive ourselves, for although this concept is commonly taught, it is not Biblical! What we need to do is receive God's gracious (free) gift of forgiveness for our confessed sins!. Cleanse (2511) (katharizo from katharos = pure, clean, without stain or spot; English words - catharsis = emotional or physical purging, cathartic = substance used to induce a purging, Cathar = member of a medieval sect which sought the purging of evil from its members) means to make clean by taking away an undesirable part. Webster says that to purify means to clear from material defilement or imperfection, to free from guilt or moral or ceremonial blemish or to free from undesirable elements. KATHARIZO - 31X/30V - clean(3), cleanse(5), cleansed(16), cleanses(1), cleansing(1), declared...clean(1), make...clean(3), purify(1). Matt. 8:2; Matt. 8:3; Matt. 10:8; Matt. 11:5; Matt. 23:25; Matt. 23:26; Mk. 1:40; Mk. 1:41; Mk. 1:42; Mk. 7:19; Lk. 4:27; Lk. 5:12; Lk. 5:13; Lk. 7:22; Lk. 11:39; Lk. 17:14; Lk. 17:17; Acts 10:15; Acts 11:9; Acts 15:9; 2 Co. 7:1; Eph. 5:26; Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:14; Heb. 9:22; Heb. 9:23; Heb. 10:2; Jas. 4:8; 1 Jn. 1:7; 1 Jn. 1:9 Unrighteousness (93)(adikia from a = not + dikê = right) is a condition of not being right, whether with God, according to the standard of His holiness and righteousness or with man, according to the standard of what man knows to be right by his conscience.
1 João 1:10
Barber - There are a lot of people who think that now that they are believers they don’t have to deal with sin any more. As a matter of fact, many want to blame other people or other things. I heard Vance Havner tell the story of a lady who walked into a psychiatrist’s office with a strip of bacon on one ear and a strip of bacon on the other ear and a fried egg on her head. She looked at the doctor and said, "Doctor, I am here to talk to you about my husband. He has a real problem." That is exactly the way most people are. If there is a problem, it is somebody else’s fault. We never seem to look within and understand that we never, ever outgrow the fact that we are going to have to deal with sin in our life. (1 John 1) George Findlay writes The other form of impenitence stigmatized by the Apostle, is the most extreme and shameless: "If we say that we have not sinned"; and its consequence the most shocking "We make Him a liar!" One may deny sin in general and fence a good deal upon questions of principle and ethical theory, who yet when the word of God comes to him as a personal message and his memory and conscience are challenged by it, will admit practically that he has sinned and is in the sight of God a condemned man. David had, doubtless, argued with himself and deceived his own heart not a little (Ed: for some 9-12 months) in regard to his great transgression; but the prophet's home-thrust, "Thou art the man," (2Sa 12:7-note) broke down his guard;" and David said unto Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." (2Sa 12:13-note) To contradict a general truth is one thing; to confront the personal fact is another. But when a sinner, with his transgressions staring him in the face and revealed in the accusing light of God's word, declares that he "has not sinned," what can be done for him, or said to him? The Apostle has only one resource with such a man: "God says that you have sinned, that you have broken the law of your being and incurred the penalty of exile from His presence, and brought on yourself moral ruin and misery. You say that you have done nothing of the kind. If you are right, God is wrong; if you are true, then God is false. You make Him a liar!" That is John's final protest. Every one who refuses to bow down at the sight of the majesty of God in Christ and to make confession before that white, soul-searching splendor of holiness and love, before the final disclosure of human guilt and the Divine righteousness made in the spilt blood of Jesus, is doing this. He gives the lie to his Maker and Judge. Impenitence in men who have really known the Gospel, is the most callous insensibility, the most daring insolence, we can conceive. (1 John Commentary) John
1 João 1:10
Barber notes that in 1Jn 1:10 we have the worst scenario you can possibly have. (Now these individuals say), "I have never sinned at any point in time in my life, ever. I am not a sinner. All men are created good!" Have you heard this these days? The tense there means that he has never at any time whatsoever sinned. The word "not" is used there… "I have not in any way, shape or form ever sinned before in my life." Well, if they have not sinned, then they have no need for Christ. Is that not correct? As a matter of fact, he goes on to say that we make Him a liar. What did Jesus say? "I came to die for your sin." You make Him a liar. If you haven’t sinned, then you don’t need Him. This is the attitude of the lost in our world today. Now listen to what I am about to say. People of the world today believe that our problems are not caused because of sin. They are caused by wrong environment. If you put a child in a wrong environment that is what his problem is. It’s bad government. Some people are saying Evangelical Christianity is the root of the problem because they preach against sin and they make everybody feel guilty. That is what is wrong with our society. They say the original Adam was a type for all men. Every man is born good. I was on a flight recently with this guy. When he found out what I did for a living, he wouldn’t let me talk anymore. I asked him what he did and he said, "Well, I am a counselor of juvenile delinquents in the court system… or I have been. I have just changed jobs and I am doing something else." I said, "Oh, is that right? What approach do you take with these kids who are in so much trouble with drugs and everything else?" He said, "Oh, first of all you’ve got to realize there are no bad kids. All kids are good." Right! Do you know what he is doing? Do you know what he is quoting? That is Freudian psychology. Freud said there is no objective basis for wrong. You cannot track it back to sin. You can put it someplace else but there is never one solitary reason. That is what he said. So many have come out against that. "So we believe it is the problem of environment," he said. "Get a kid out of that bad environment and you’ve got a kid who will change." I said, "How long were you doing that?" He said, "Seven years." I said, "How many people did you see change?" "Well," he said, "that is relative." I said, "Wait a minute, I asked you a question. How many kids did you see change?" "Well, many of them got jobs." I said, "Did you see their character change? Did you see their life in any way morally change?" "Well, no, but I mean, come on man, what are you asking us to do?" You see, that is society, folks. Let’s move to another neighborhood where it is a little bit nicer and we can be better people. Are you kidding? Flesh is flesh I don’t care where you are. When I was over in Romania all those years, I thought they were the most precious people. I said, "I’ll never be the Christian these people are." My friends would try to tell me, "Wayne, you don’t understand. Their flesh is just as wicked as your flesh." We got over there in one situation and found out the liberals were arguing against the conservatives. The people at church were having all kinds of problems. They would come for an hour to pray, yes. But it was because they came out of the Greek Orthodox Church which said if you don’t come to pray, God will kill you. They don’t come because of a love motive. A lot of them came because of the work ethic. They didn’t understand the security of the believer. They don’t understand grace. That is what our ministry was for so many years over there. What did He teach us? Flesh is flesh wherever you are. My friends were telling me they have seen people who came out of Romania being critical of Americans going to malls and getting all this materialism. Six months later they were the same way. Why? Because every one of us are descended from one man, Adam and because of Adam, we have our flesh to deal with and sin to reckon with. Thank God for the first Adam, which was not the one in Genesis. It was Jesus. Out of Him we have been born again and we are now spiritual beings with a brand new heart. But we still have that ole body which is plagued with the lust of our flesh. They will eat our lunch if we give them half a change. We will deal with sin. For a person to say I have never sinned is the height of ignorance. John said, "If you say this, you make Him a liar and His Word is not in us." The "word" there in John’s vocabulary refers to the preexistent word, Jesus Christ, and also to all the truth that He gave to you and me. None of that is in him at all, cannot be. Proverbs 28:13 says, "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion." We do deal with sin. It is more intense now probably than it was when we first started because the more you know of light, the more it exposes the darkness and the more repentant your heart becomes. That is why Paul says, "I am the chief of all sinners." You see, sin is a very real problem in our life. Do you know what I am like in my flesh? I am a manipulator. Are you that way? If it is in my flesh, I can manipulate it to make it work for my benefit every time. I am good at it. I have been practicing many years of my life. When I got saved I had been in the ministry for eight years. It helps to have a saved minister! I was in the den on my knees and said, "God, will you show me the filth that is in my life?" I cried for two hours until my nose bled when I saw the filth of me, just me. I have no clue why God would ever let me pastor. It amazes me. Sin is real and don’t you ever forget it. Do you have a problem in your life? You might want to track it back there first. Not that you have confessed it, because I think the confession we’ve heard is a watered down version of what God says. Have you broken from it? And repented of it? That is confession because you have taken upon yourself the same estimate of it God has. (1 John 1:8-10 - The Believer and Sin - Part 1) AND HIS WORD IS NOT IN US: kai o logos autou ouk estin (3PAI) en hemin.: His word: 1Jn 1:8 2:4 4:4 Col 3:16 2Jn 1:2 1 John 1 Resources DENIAL OF SIN: SECOND SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE: GOD'S WORD NOT WITHIN! Scripture is always the best commentary on Scripture (See topic: Compare Scripture with Scripture). In John 8, we observe Jesus addressing a group of Jews who have just professed to believe in Him (compare Jn 8:30, 31 with Jesus' subsequent description of them = Jn 8:43, 44, 45, 47) but whose subsequent actions (Jn 8:59!) prove that they were not genuine believers. Note what Jesus says to this group and how it parallels John's description… I know that you are Abraham’s descendants (Ed: The Jews were indeed the physical seed of Abraham, but not all were the spiritual offspring as Jesus explains); yet you seek to kill Me, because My word (logos) has no place in you. (Jn 8:37). Comment: Clearly these professors of faith are not possessors of genuine faith. They are not believers. Jesus explains that the evidence that they are not believers is that they are seeking to kill Him! And then He describes why they are not believers - His Word is not in them! Compare "His Word is not in us" in 1Jn 1:10! The Amplified Version "interprets" the phrase "His Word is not in us" this way… His Word is not in us [the divine message of the Gospel is not in our hearts]. His word - As discussed more below, John's statement suggests the dual aspect of the term “logos” both as the message (Gospel) and the person (Jesus, cp 1Jn 1:1, 8; Jn 14:6). Clearly "His Word" parallels "the truth" in 1Jn 1:8, even as John equates these two words in Jn 17:17. Notice also that in this same chapter (1Jn 1:1) John used "Word" (logos) as a reference to the "living Word" Jesus Christ (cp Jn 1:1). This is discussed more below, but suffice it to say that while some commentaries say "Word" cannot represent a personification of Jesus, they would be hard pressed to support that presumption based on John's use of logos in 1Jn 1:1 (not to mention Jn 1:1, Jn 1:14, Jn 14:6). Is not - Notice that John uses the present tense and the absolute negative (ou) which one could paraphrase as "His Word is continually, absolutely not in us!" This is a strong statement and hardly seems to be a description of a believer as suggested by some commentaries. Compare John 8:37 alluded to above, where "has no place" is present tense and "no" is absolute negation. The ESV Study Bible apparently sees "Word" here as equivalent to the Gospel and concludes that "A person may have heard and assented to the Gospel message, but until it brings him to acknowledge his sin, it has not taken root." John Stott writes their denial of sin reveals "clearly that His word has no place in our lives. This is because his word frequently declares that sin is universal (e.g. 1Ki 8:46; Ps. 14:3; Eccl. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; 64:6), and the word of the Gospel, which is a Gospel of salvation, clearly assumes the sinfulness of man. (BORROW The Epistles of John : an introduction and commentary) Albert