“If we say we have fellowship with him while we 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 his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:6-7
This can be a tough verse to digest. Is John saying that if we sin then we don’t have fellowship with Jesus? Is he saying that we have to be perfect to believe in Jesus? No, not quite.
This passage is extremely important to our faith, but is often confusing to many people especially as you read further through chapter one and into chapter two of the book of 1 John. It says a lot of different things about knowing Jesus, perfection, not knowing Jesus, sin, and lies. The temptation would be to read it and think that John is saying we must be perfect if we will follow Jesus. Of course, that’s not true. In fact, he specifically says “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” So, if we walk in darkness, then we don’t have fellowship with him, but if we say we have no sin, we are liars and his word isn’t in us. It almost seems like a lose-lose situation. Thankfully, that’s not the case.
The point that John is making is this: whoever believes fully in Jesus will not sin. If you think about it hypothetically, that’s what all sin boils down to – choosing what you want over what God wants for you. If you genuinely believed that God was all powerful and all knowing, and that he sent his perfect son, Jesus, to suffer and die in your place so that you could have eternal life, why would you ever do anything contrary to his will? It is lapses in our belief that lead to sin. Thus, John is correct in saying that if you believe in Jesus you will keep his commandments.
So what does that mean when we do sin? After all, we’re not perfect. That’s where our key verse comes into play. John says that if we claim to have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we are liars. But, if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with each other and the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin. This is key because to walk in the light doesn’t necessarily mean to be perfect. It means that our sin isn’t hidden. It means that we walk in the light of day for all to see, not hidden. We don’t hide our sin away and deny it. We bring it to the light. Why? How does that old saying go…the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one. Walking in light means trying with everything in us to walk like Jesus walked, and confessing when we fail. We allow other believers to help us when we fall. We confess our sins freely to Jesus, whose blood cleanses and renews us over and over again. We don’t hide in shame, but we trust that Christ will continually refine us as we walk in his light.
Prayer
Father,
I know that I’m not perfect. I know that my sin comes from a lack of faith at times. I pray that you would give me faith, help me in my doubts. Give me the courage to walk in the light, not hiding my sin, but allowing your light to redeem me instead.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
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