5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 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.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Once again John emphasized that the message wasn’t a new one but that has been taught by Jesus Himself. John wasn’t there to found religion with man-made ideas but to be a messenger of Christ. The most powerful message/witness is not invented by us but received from God.
What is the message?
1. God is LIGHT! We fellowship with God by walking in the light. Just as James emphasizes the importance of integrity, John said we ought not to lie to ourselves. There is no fellowship with God if we walk in the darkness. Is our faith backed by our actions? If not, we are lying to ourselves.
2. Sin is a hindrance to fellowship with God. It’s not that we can have fellowship with God by doing good. It’s only by the blood of Jesus Christ we can enter into the light. Though we may never be truly sinless, we have the continual cleansing of the blood of Christ. He himself (His body) became a new and living way for us to enter into the fellowship of God.
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
Hebrews 10:19-20
3. God is light; in Him, there is no darkness at all. Therefore, if there is a problem with our fellowship with God, it is our fault. It is not the fault of God because there is no sin or darkness in Him at all. When you feel God is at a distance, who moved? You! God never changes! Confess our sin and let the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse us. The living way to God is always open for us.
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