This week we are looking at a section of a letter that
has been preserved and recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible,
called the book of John. Tuesday, John made the first of three if/then statements
surrounding the connection between our response to our selfishness and
rebellion and our connection with God.
We looked on as John revealed the timeless reality that humanity throughout
history has been prone to self-deception when it comes to our selfishness and
rebellion. In addition, John explained that when we say we have no sin in our
life, we reveal that reality that that the truth of God is not in our life. We
reveal the reality that the truth of God is not in our life because Jesus and
the message and teaching of Jesus contained in the letters that make up the
Bible make it abundantly clear that we have committed sin in our life.
Jesus
and the letters that make up the Bible make it abundantly clear that every
human being is guilty of selfishly and rebelliously doing things that we should
not do, or not doing things that we should do that hurt God and others. To say
otherwise is to reject the core message of Christianity. John’s point is that
to deny that we have selfishly rebelled against God is to deny the truth of the
message and teaching of Jesus. Today we see
John make the second of his three if/then statements in verse 9:
9 If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Here we see John make a stark contrast between a
person who denies that they are guilty of selfishness and rebellion against God
and a person who admits that they are guilty of selfishness and rebellion
against God. When John uses the word confess here, it is important to remember
that this word literally means to concede that something is factual or true. To
truly confess is to admit and proclaim the truth that one has selfishly and
rebelliously done something that they should not have done, or have not done
something that they should have done, that hurt God and others.
John
then explained that for the person who admits and proclaims the truth about
their selfishness and rebellion against God and others to God and others, “He
is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” When John refers to God as being faithful here, he is
reminding the readers of his letter throughout history that we can have full
confidence in God because God is worthy of trust.
When John refers to God as righteous, this word is a
big fancy church mumbo jumbo talk word that simply means that God is right and
just. And because God is right and just and worthy of trust, John explained
that when we admit and proclaim that truth about our selfishness and rebellion
against God and others to God and others, He will forgive us our sins and
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Now when John uses the word forgive here, a great
definition of forgiveness is that to forgive is to give up one’s right to be
right. Forgiveness is not stating that one has not been wronged. Instead,
forgiveness is recognizing that one has been wronged and then choosing to give
up one’s right to be right. In addition, forgiving is not the same as
forgetting. God does not forget our selfishness and rebellion when we ask for
forgiveness. God is not a senile old man up in Heaven going “What did Dave do,
I can’t remember?” It is way better than that. Forgiveness is God actively choosing
not to remember our selfishness and rebellion.
John’s point is that when we admit and proclaim that
truth about our selfishness and rebellion against God and others to God and
others, God actively chooses not to remember our selfishness and rebellion and
removes the spiritual and moral consequences of our selfishness and rebellion.
Notice that I did not say that God removes all the consequences from our
selfishness and rebellion. There is a difference between forgiveness and
consequences. John’s point is that while we may experience material, physical
and relational consequences on a horizontal level from our selfishness and
rebellion, God removes the spiritual and moral consequences of our selfishness
and rebellion as we admit and proclaim our selfishness and rebellion to God and
others.
Now right about now you are wondering “why does Dave
keep talking about confessing your sin to God and others? Can’t I just confess
my sin to God? And if I am supposed to confess my sin to God and others, who
are the others? And how many others?” If I have just described what is running
through your mind, I just want to let you know that you are asking a great
question.
And here would be my response: When it comes to who and
how many people we confess our selfishness and rebellion to, we are to confess
our selfishness and rebellion to God and to all who are directly impacted by
our selfishness and rebellion. For example, if I act in selfishness and
rebellion toward my wife Julie, I am to admit and proclaim my selfishness and
rebellion to God and to Julie. If I act in selfishness and rebellion in a way
that impacts my entire family, I am to admit and proclaim my selfishness and
rebellion to God and appropriately to my family. In my role as a pastor, if I
were to commit selfishness and rebellion that impacted the church in my role as
pastor, I am to admit and proclaim my selfishness and rebellion to God and appropriately
to the church family.
In
addition, John explained that when we admit and proclaim that truth about our
selfishness and rebellion against God and others to God and others, God will
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. John’s point is that when we admit and
proclaim that truth about our selfishness and rebellion against God and others
to God and others, God will cleanse and purify in a moral and spiritual sense
from our selfishness and rebellion that causes us to not be right with God.
When
we admit and proclaim that truth about our selfishness and rebellion against
God and others to God and others God removes the residue of our rebellion that
causes us to not be right with God and that breaks our connection with God so
that we can experience a growing and deepening connection with God. While we cannot
lose our rescue from our rebellion that we have received from Jesus, the
residue of our selfishness and rebellion against God and others damages the
connection and community we can experience with Jesus and others.
And
because of that reality, John urged the readers of his letter throughout
history to we admit and proclaim that truth about our selfishness and rebellion
against God and others to God and others. We see John make the second of his
three if/then statements in verse 10:
If we say that
we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
Here we see John circle back to the person who claims that
they are not guilty of selfishly and rebelliously doing things that we should
not do, or not doing things that we should do that hurt God and others. And in
circling back, John reveals two additional stark realities about such a person.
First, John explained that the person who claims that they
are not guilty of selfishly and rebelliously doing things that they should not
do, or not doing things that they should do that hurt God and others makes God
a liar. That person makes God a liar because God has clearly maintained
throughout human history and in the letters that are recorded for us in the
Bible that humanity is guilty of selfishly and rebelliously doing things that
we should not do, or not doing things that we should do that hurt God and
others.
Second, John explained that the person who claims that
they are not guilty of selfishly and rebelliously doing things that they should
not do, or not doing things that they should do that hurt God and others does
not have His word in them. In other words, when we say we have no sin in our
life, we reveal that reality that the message and teaching of Jesus is not in
our life in a way that is impacting our life.
We reveal the reality that the message and teaching of
Jesus is not in our life in a way that is impacting our life because the
message and teaching of Jesus was abundantly clear that we have committed sin
in our life. John’s point is that we cannot claim to be walking in close
connection with Jesus and deny that we are guilty of selfishness and rebellion
in our life. After making these three
if/then statements surrounding the connection between our response to our
selfishness and rebellion and our connection with God, John then reveals the
reason behind these statements, and his letter.
Tomorrow
we will discover those reasons together…
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