Bold, Hard, Amazing Truth
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me remember that every thought I think and every word I speak, is open to Your scrutiny.
Read 1 JOHN 2:1–14
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.
9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
14 I write to you, dear children,
because you know the Father.
I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God lives in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Let your heart be filled with thanksgiving and joy as you spend time with Jesus, who gave his life for you on the cross.
Today’s passage brings us to the very heart of our faith. John is a realist. Throughout this letter he holds together the tension of our being in the light (9) and yet continuing to sin—a paradox we may struggle to grasp, yet one that every Christian understands in his or her own experience.
One of the lies our culture feeds us is that when we do wrong, it’s not our fault. It’s the fault of our upbringing, social forces, our workplace, family pressures and so on. What we did, we persuade ourselves, was not really
sin. Not that there’s anything new about our blaming someone else. You only have to go to the first story in the Bible to find Adam blaming Eve and Eve blaming the snake.
John disabuses us of this idea when we read 1 John 1:8–10 and the beginning of chapter 2. Every one of us is responsible for the sin we commit—and sin is serious. It alienates us from God. This would be intolerable—which is why we go to such lengths to excuse ourselves. However, there is a way to forgiveness and cleansing. Jesus Christ bore the full weight of our guilt on the cross. God is light, utterly pure, and can have nothing to do with sin—but he loves us, sinners though we are. How can he find reconciliation with us? There are mysteries here. There is no need to presume that an angry God is venting his anger on his son—this human analogy breaks down because Jesus is God. He took our sins on himself. How well we grasp this is measured by our behavior (6) as we
embrace his values, priorities and attitudes.
Apply
Reflect on what the gospels say about how Jesus lived. Write down his values, priorities and attitudes. What adjustments should you make if you are to live as Jesus lived?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I take ownership of my sins. I am eternally grateful that in You and through You, my sins are forgiven, forgotten, forever.
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