We know that God hates sin. So, how can we maintain fellowship with Him if we continue to sin after we are saved?
Read: I John 1:1-2:2
By the time the Apostle John began his writing ministry, he was the last remaining eye witness of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. As he wrote to the first century believers, he wanted to convey that they were not at a disadvantage even though they had never seen Jesus with their own eyes, touched Him with their hands, or listened to Him with their ears. Everyone who has faith in Jesus has a personal relationship with Him.
However, we have a pervasive problem. Sin affects all of our relationships. If we sin against our neighbor, we hurt them, break trust, cause division, and even feel guilt and shame that causes us to be uncomfortable around them. When we sin against God, we can feel the same way. We know that God hates sin. So, how can we maintain fellowship with Him if we continue to sin after we are saved?
This is what the Apostle John is addressing in this letter to the Church.
EXPOSED BY THE LIGHT
John explains how we can have fellowship with God by emphasizing two of His key attributes: God is light and God is love. This divides his letter into two sections that are prefaced with these phrases, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you…” (I John 1:5), and “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning…” (I John 3:11).
The first section deals with the light of God. Throughout the Gospel of John, this motif of darkness and light is masterfully employed to demonstrate how Jesus exposes the truth of who we are and who He is. Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and debated with Him about the need to be born again. Jesus directly confronted Nicodemus by explaining, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (John 3:19-21).
Nobody likes to have their sins exposed. Often, when this happens we get defensive. We are quick to point out that everyone makes mistakes. We downplay our actions and compare ourselves to others that we think are far worse. John says that when we do this we are deceiving ourselves. We are convinced that we are better than we actually are because we are comparing ourselves to each other rather than Jesus. The truth is that only Christ Himself was perfect and without sin. Compared to Him, we cannot hide the fact that we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
CONFESSING OUR SINS
Whenever Jesus confronted people with the light of the gospel, they either got angry and rejected Him, or they confessed that they were sinners and that Jesus really was the Christ.
This is beautifully illustrated in the next story in the Gospel of John. On a journey through Samaria, Jesus encountered a woman with a troubled past. She was headed out to an isolated well in the heat of the day in order to avoid the stares and gossip of the other women in the village. When she met Jesus, she was caught off guard. Then Jesus exposes the deepest darkest secret of this woman: “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband” (John 4:17-18).
Jesus did not ignore the sin of this woman, He brought it to the light just as He had done with Nicodemus. The woman, however, responded differently. She confessed her sin and proclaimed who Jesus was when she witnessed to the people in the village, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ” (John 4:29)?
This is the only correct response when the light of truth exposes our sin. “If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).
LIVING IN DENIAL
John has already stated that those who diminish sin are already self-deceived, but then he takes it a step further. Those who suggest that they are in no need of a savior make God out to be the villain in the story. They call Him a liar, accusing Him of sin.
The world today looks at the cross and sees it as a gross overreaction. Those who embrace sin look at God sacrificing His own son as an act of judgemental hate. Surely, a loving God would have answered the prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night He was arrested, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
But there was no other way for God to remain just, and justify the unrighteous. Jesus' act of obedience in willingly going to the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins demonstrates the immense love of God that He would give us His only Son so that we might have eternal life.
To even suggest that God’s plan was unnecessary is to put ourselves over God as if we can judge Him. It is to diminish the work of Jesus on the cross as purposeless. To call God a liar is the greatest offense, because it blames God rather than accepting responsibility for our sins. It is one thing to compare ourselves to other sinners and deceive ourselves, it is a far greater offense to compare ourselves to God and judge Him as though we are greater than our creator.
STOP SINNING
Our guilt and sorrow over sin is an evidence that we are in the light, but the work is not finished. Jesus intends to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This means that we should strive to walk in a manner that is worthy of the gospel. John is encouraging us to not sin. He wants us to live holy lives modeled after Jesus.
That is easier said than done, and we have already established that we can easily deceive ourselves that we are better than we actually are. If we are going to have victory over sin, we need to cling more closely to Jesus, to compare ourselves to Him and confess where we fall short.
We might be tempted to posture piety by constantly bearing the weight of our own guilt and shame. John tells us that this is unnecessary. Jesus is our advocate, our propitiation or atoning sacrifice. His sacrifice was sufficient not only for our sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. By refusing to accept His forgiveness we are suggesting that His sacrifice was not enough. Like those who deny that they have sinned, this diminishes the effective work of Jesus on the cross.
If we want to take sin seriously and honor Jesus’ sacrifice, it is essential that we understand fully what Christ has done for us. First, Jesus removed our guilty verdict by dying in our place as our substitute. Then He broke the chains and freed us from our slavery to sin. Jesus washed us in His blood and clothed us in His own righteousness. He then placed His Holy Spirit inside of us and began the process of sanctification. This lifelong process is not an act of God’s displeasure with us when we sin, but an expression of His mercy and grace as He chastens those whom He loves.
This is one of the greatest opportunities that we have to be a witness in our culture today. When we sin, we should not make justifications for our actions, nor should we beat ourselves up as though we are going to pay the penalty for our own sins. We should confess our sins, receive God’s forgiveness, and testify to those around us that we have been redeemed.
Adam Miller is the President and host of Songtime Radio and serves as the pastor of South Chatham Community Church.
You can hear his teaching on our daily broadcast on the radio or online, watch his preaching live on Facebook, and read his articles on our website.
