NO SIN?

 

NO SIN?

I John 1:8-10 But if we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. NLT

If you have been in Christ for any length of time at all, it is so easy to convince yourself that you are right with God and have no sin. Let’s be honest about this. When was the last time you actually saw yourself as being guilty of sin? I believe that we are good at this because we fail to give much thought to what might be sin to us. We are not prone to examine carefully the things we say, do, read, see or hear in light of God’s holiness. We don’t often examine ourselves to see how much we think like the world thinks about things. When we see our lives in light of the Word and God’s holiness, we have to admit that indeed we are guilty of sin.

God declares us guilty of sin, and we are only fooling ourselves when we think otherwise. You and I are guilty of sin. In fact, to think otherwise is in itself sin. It is a prideful attitude to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. We are to be humble in heart before God knowing that we fall short of His holy standards and that we need His help. John goes so far as to call us liars when we claim to not have sin in our hearts and He is right on.

The good news is that when we confess our sins to the Lord, He is faithful and just and will forgive us for our sins and purify our hearts. I am not suggesting that we need to stop and confess sin every time we mess up, but I am suggesting that we should consistently be aware of our sin and seek Christ’s forgiveness as the Spirit prompts us to. We are not to live in condemnation, but neither are we to ignore our need for forgiveness. The Lord will never refuse to forgive those who come to Him with humble and broken hearts over sin.

Peer into God’s holiness. See yourself as God sees you. What sinful thoughts or deeds do you need to confess before Christ today?

LIVING IN GOD'S PRESENCE

 

LIVING IN GOD’S PRESENCE

N God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. NLT

If is the key word in today’s verse. Not all who claim to be in Christ live in the light of God’s presence. To live in the light of God’s presence means that we become saturated with the glory of Christ. It means that we become holy before God. It means that we take on the mindset of God regarding faithfulness to the truth as being the way to live. It means we take on the heart of God regarding sin.

We can only have true fellowship with others when we live in the light of God’s presence. We are not able to set aside our sinful attitudes and behaviors without it. We cannot change how we think about others without God’s help. We cannot stop thinking more highly of others than we ought without God’s help. We cannot stop thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought without God’s influence. We cannot stop being self-serving without God’s help.

We can only live as we ought with each other through the shed blood of Christ at Calvary. What we are unable to do for ourselves, Christ does for us. He purifies our hearts so that we are not driven or controlled by sin. He changes our attitude about ourselves and others. He unites instead of dividing people. What cannot happen without Christ is made possible in Him. We can live at peace with each other. We can be one in heart for the glory of Christ. We can work together to reach the lost when we are controlled by Christ. We can have a genuine love and concern for one another in Christ.

Where there is strife and divisions in the fellowship of the church, there is an absence of the lordship of Christ over the church.

IF we are living in the light of God’s presence, we will live out His Word in the church and the world. We will be a people after God’s own heart, a holy people.

LIVING IN THE LIGHT

 

LIVING IN THE LIGHT

I John 1:5-7 This is the message he has given us to announce to you. God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. NLT

Here is the message loud and clear: we cannot live as children of God and still live in sin. When we live in fellowship with God, we lose the desire to live in sin. It does not mean we will never sin, but it does mean that we will want to not sin more than we do sin. We will grow in our desire to please God and lose our desires to do what doesn't please Him. Anyone who claims to have Christ as their Savior and continues to live in sin without allowing Christ to change their desires, is a liar. They may claim all they want about their being a Christian, but in God's eyes, they aren't.

If you profess to be a child of God and are not living like one, be warned. You must begin to let Christ change you. You must seek Him out and walk away from sin. You must develop the discipline of considering first what God says about things before you attempt to do them. There is no wiggle room here.

As children of God, our fellowship should be with each other. We should be striving to get our inspiration and guidance from other believers, not the world. We can have friendships with non-Christians, in fact we should have, but we need to make sure we look to godly people to meet our spiritual need for fellowship rather than the world.

The blood of Christ unites all believers together in unity and love. We are one body. We are all on equal footing at the cross. It is when we stray from the cross that we become self-important and divided. We have no hope of being one apart from Him.

When we are living in the light, we are living in the righteousness of Christ. Our sins are forgiven and we strive to not let sin back into our hearts. We separate ourselves from sinful lifestyles. We not only profess to be child of God, we live like we are.

When we are living in Christ we are saturated by God’s truth. We are on a quest to learn more of what God desires for us and wants us to be. We are given understanding of these things by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

Living in the light keeps us out of the darkness of sin.

GOD IS PURE LIGHT

 

GOD IS PURE LIGHT

I John 1:5-6 This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. NLT

We must understand this powerful truth. God is pure light. There is no hint of darkness in Him whatsoever. There is no possibility that sin will ever be a part of who God is. God always separates himself from sin and is repulsed by it. He hates sin. Sin cannot come anywhere near to God.

When God enters into our hearts, He passes on to us His attitude about sin. He changes the way we look at sin. Sin becomes an issue with us because it is everything against the nature of God. We develop a repulsion for sin. The more we are controlled by God, the more strongly we will feel about sin. It should never be acceptable to us to sin against God.

How we feel about sin is an indicator of how holy we really are. No one will ever feel the same way God does about sin, but we should not be comfortable with it and tolerate it as much as we do either. God changes us and we no longer are habitual sinners. We develop a resistance to sin when we live in Christ. We stop doing the things we once did. We develop the ability to do what is right in God’s eyes instead of that which He hates.

If we are not uncomfortable with sin in our hearts, we are not right with God. If we continue to do that which God calls sin, we are not right with God. If we leave the sin in our hearts alone, we are not right with God. If we are not bothered by the sin we are surrounded with, we are not right with God. Sin and God’s holiness are like water and oil; they simply do not mix.

We are far too tolerant of sin we are exposed to. Let’s be honest about it. We do not turn away from it when we are being entertained like we should. Some sin we will not allow ourselves to be entertained by it, yet there are many sins that we are not repulsed by when we are being entertained. We watch TV programs and movies with sinful behavior, lies, and unholy language in them because we like the shows. We listen to music that is not good for our souls because we like the beat or singer. We go places that we shouldn’t be at because we want to be with the crowd or because it’s a popular place to be. Isn’t it true? Aren’t we far more tolerant of sin than we should be?

Jesus died to take away our sin, not to tolerate it in us.

WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE

 

WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE

I John 1:3 We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his son, Jesus Christ. NLT

This is the heart of all witnessing, just telling others what we have personally experienced with Christ. What we say can be argued against, but there is no denying the changes that take place when Jesus changes the heart. Telling our story is telling His story. We need to be telling others about who we are today compared to who we were before Christ. We don’t gloat over our past as if it was some badge of honor we wear, but we recall our past to acknowledge what Jesus has done and to praise Him for it.

The goal of all witnessing should be so that others may have fellowship with us in Christ. It should be our heart’s desire to be able to enlarge our circle of people we can have fellowship with in Christ. Every lost soul is a potential soul mate in Christ. Without Christ, there is always something missing in our relationships. No one can understand and appreciate the influence of Christ in us without experiencing it themselves.

It should concern us when we deny ourselves fellowship with other believers because of differences in understandings and lifestyles. We are all different and we need to get over it. Christ unites the body, never divides it. We label ourselves and often let our labels keep us away from those who are labeled differently. Shame on us! It grieves God’s heart when His children can’t, or won’t, get along. We are not in competition for lost souls!

We should have friends who are not believers, but we cannot have fellowship with them in Christ. If we care about their friendship and souls, we will not be shy about sharing with them what Jesus has done for us. There is no greater witness than the witness of what Christ has done for you and in you.

TELL YOUR STORY

 

TELL YOUR STORY

I John 1:1 The one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. NLT

The thing I get from this verse is that John is sharing from his own encounter with Jesus his faith in Him. John was one of the disciples who was with Jesus during His stay on earth. John daily walked with Jesus, talked to Him, and witnessed the things He did and taught. Jesus had a profound impact on John's life. He changed everything about John and what he understood about himself and life. John was so impacted by Jesus that he simply shared with the world what Jesus had done for him.

John, like countless others who have followed him, knew from personal experience that Jesus is God. He was very close to Jesus while He was on earth and knew deep within in his soul that Jesus is God. Once a person knows Christ from deep within his soul, he discovers that there is nothing else worth living for.

We are no different than John. We have a story to tell. We may not be led by the Spirit to put it down on paper for the world to read about it, but we can share our story. Everyone in Christ has a story to share how Christ has affected their life. There is no magic formula for being a witness for Christ. We don't have to be a Biblical whiz. We don't have to know all the steps of the Gospel message. All we need to know is what the Lord has done for us. We need to know what difference Jesus has made in our lives and share it. If we truly have been touched by the Master's hand, we cannot contain it. Our lives, words, and expressions will show it. We cannot be with Jesus without it being seen. Our witness is a natural expression of what Jesus has and is doing in our lives.

Whenever you can, just tell your story. Tell all who will listen the difference Jesus has made in you. No one can deny your personal experience if it is backed up by your life. People can argue over words and deny their truthfulness, but they cannot deny the difference Christ makes in the lives of the redeemed.

People need to know what a difference Christ makes in life. Will you show them? Will you tell them?

WARNING!

 

WARNING!

II Peter 3:17-18 I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends, so that you can watch out and not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people. I don't want you to lose your own secure footing. But grow in the special favor and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. NLT

Warning! There are wicked people all around us, even in the Church. Their agenda is not to help us, but to tear us down. They want our confidence. Many simply want our money. They are not concerned about us personally. They want us to believe what they are telling us without questioning whether or not it is true. They are good at what they do and can be very persuasive. If we are not careful, many of us will be led astray.

The only safe and secure footing we have is in Christ. Anyone who would undermine our relationship with Christ is to be avoided. Anyone who would distort in any way God's Word is to be avoided. Anyone who would suggest we follow them instead of Christ is to be avoided. There is no alternative way to God. Jesus is the way, truth and life. He alone has our best interests at heart and is worthy to be followed. He alone wants to help you. He alone can be trusted with your soul.

Growing in our faith in Christ is not an option, it's a necessity. If you are not growing in Christ, you are on a slippery slope and could lose your grip on Him. It is absolutely essential for you to keep your eyes fixed on Christ, and Him alone. He alone is able to save your soul and present you before God as faultless, fit for heaven. He will complete in you your salvation if you stay focused on Him. Strive to keep growing in grace and your knowledge of Him, and God's special favor will be upon you.