1 John 1 -- It's Not Like We Can HIDE It Anyway

God wants our joy to be full, not just halfway there.  So He led John to address things that can stifle our joy.  We have to make sure that we understand something about God:  “He is absolutely holy, absolutely righteous, and absolutely pure.  God cannot look with favor on any form of sin,” my commentary said.  “Nothing is hidden from Him.  All things are naked and open to His eyes.”  With that as a starting point, John can address sin in our lives and its effect on our fellowship with our Creator.

“In order for a person to be in fellowship with God, there can be NO hiding of sin.  Light and darkness cannot exist in a person’s life at the same time.”  My first-blush thought was, “But I do sin!  Where does that put me?”  That “at the same time” I think is important to answering that.

In verse 8, we find that fellowship with God requires that we acknowledge the truth concerning ourselves.  We have to admit that we do sin.  John uses the word sin in verse 8 (meaning our corrupt, evil nature) and sins in verse 9 (meaning the evils that we have done).  My commentary said, “What we are is a lot worse than anything we have even done.”  That potential for sin is infinitely greater than our history of sin.  But thankfully Jesus died for it all.

When we believe in Christ, that sin nature does not go away.  Instead, God gives us the power in Him and in His Holy Spirit to be victorious over that sinful self.

Since God does know everything about us, He expects us to acknowledge the sins we commit in order that deception does not create a distance between us that causes us to lose our joy.  My commentary says He expects us to confess:

            1)       Sins of commission – things we do
            2)      Sins of omission – things we fail to do
            3)      Sins of thought
            4)      Sins of action
            5)      Secret sins
            6)      And public sins.

 “We must drag them out into the open before God, call them by their names, take sides with God against them, and forsake them (stop committing them).”

God guarantees to forgive and also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  So why would we not tell Him ourselves what we’ve done?  Often it is simply our pride.  We don’t want to have to admit that we fail.  If God does forgive us (yes, He does), then we have to be willing to forgive ourselves.

Father, help me to make sure that every part of this remains with me all the time.  I can’t hide it, and You already know it, so don’t let me even try to deny it when I sin.  Knock the props of pride out from under me and keep me honest before You.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford