1 John 1

1 John 1:1-4 – “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”

– The Gospel message… It is the power of this message that has transformed us into what we are today. Because of that transformation we are the witness to and we proclaim eternal life to all those around us. Being a Christian isn’t a part time or self-paced religion. It’s a full time mission. And how can it not be?

We are all sinners, Christian and non-Christian alike, but through God’s manifestation of Life we have been made clean, not just forgiven of sins, though we are very thankful for that too, but we have been given a relationship with God.

With that knowledge, what do you do? Do you hide it and act like every other person in the world? Or do you let that difference shine from you and proclaim it to all people that you are a son of God!

Being in fellowship with one another and with God should bring us joy! Doesn’t it? Isn’t it much more joyful to hang out with a Christian brother or sister than someone of the world?

It’s okay to spend time with people from the world, but how can you do it for long? If you spend a lot of time with someone with a worldly mindset, then it will not take long for that mindset to rub off on you. Be careful who you spend time with! Remember, you are a chosen vessel of God, don’t get yourself dirty.

1 John 1:5 – “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

This is how holy God is, there is NO darkness in Him at all! He is absolutely perfect with no stain or spot whatsoever. Know what is even better about this? We have been made one body with whom?? With God.

Wait a minute now… If we are the body of Christ, and Christ is God and God is Holy with no darkness whatsoever… what does this say about our own lives? We are dirty humans, even at our best. So are we making God ‘dirty’?

Christ’s blood has washed us clean so that we can be one body with Christ without bringing darkness to God. But are you living your life trying everything you can to bring a stain to God? Just because God has made you clean doesn’t give you permission to go get dirty as you can again. Just because mom washed that shirt with bleach doesn’t mean you can go roll around in the mud again.

Remember that you are the body of Christ, and even though you can’t make God dirty, are you making the image that people see of God dirty? We are ambassador’s to God. Sometimes, the only time people will pay any attention to God is when they watch the actions of His chosen people.

Are you proclaiming the good news that we have witnessed and experienced, or are you trying to muddy it up so you don’t stand out?

1 John 1:6 – “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

Try this: go into a room and turn on all the lights, then walk down the center of the room in complete darkness. You can’t because it’s impossible! Where there is light, the darkness is flushed out so you can’t continue to walk in the darkness.

This does not mean that a Christian is perfect or needs to be perfect. As long as we are in these bodies we will stumble, but if you are following God then you cannot purposely be living in darkness. You cannot be purposely doing things that you know are wrong and trying to hide them. If you follow God, then let Him rule your life, let His light shine through you without you needing to hide anything.

If you are struggling with a sin that continues to haunt you, then expose it. Don’t try to battle it in the dark, bring it to the light for all to see and God is faithful to remove those stains.

1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

1 John 1:8-10 – “If we say that we have no sin we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”

Admit that you have sinned; if you can’t think of anything then ask God to reveal it to you. We are never perfect. What divides those who walk in the light from those who don’t is that those who walk in the light admit that they are stained, and without the Light that the father shines on us we would always appear to be stained.