Teacup

At times, it can be easy to become legalistic because we obviously don't want to disappoint Him. Unfortunately sometimes, if I do a few things right in a row, I feel independent and think I'm pleasing God. But then it happens again. Sin. I feel terrible, but then something good happens: I realize I need Jesus just as much as I did since before I became a Christian. I am reminded that Jesus' forgiveness is salvation, and that I need to depend on Him for everything. Being righteous doesn't come from me, it comes from Christ. I am humbled once again, and my relationship with him grows even more. LEGALISM- focusing only on rules minimizes the purpose of Christ's blood on the cross, and our dependency on Him. LOVE - being good comes along with faith, as a gift of LOVE to our Lord. However, where there isn't a Christ-like lifestyle, there is no faith at all.

If we do sin, Jesus will be our advocate. He takes away our sins and removes our blemishes so we are seen as righteous. I find this comforting because it proves he is love. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." 1 John 4:10 It makes me want to avoid sin because even though Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, when I sin even once, I think, if Jesus had nothing or no one else to die for, he still would have died for my one "insignifigant" lie. That is how serious each one of my sins are. Each one was pinned on him at the cross. Every individual ONE.

Confession is acknowledging and admitting to God what we have done wrong and fully deciding to discontinue this activity, speech, or thought. Confessing our sins is important to remind us to change, and remember God always sees it, even before we do. If we stop, we ignore God's calling, begin to live a lifestyle of sin. All in all, we are blocked from God. (Also, we are telling non-believers Christians are hypocrites, and turning them off to God). The promise of what God will do when we confess our sins, is to forgive us and to purify us. We will be seen as clean and as righteous before God. But we have to be real with God, and honestly turn away.

The question should be: What is the result when a person, (not a Christian), walks in darkness..." - (or continually lives in the lifestyle of sin)... because those who continually live a lifestyle of sin do not know the true God - until they recognize their sinful life, confess, and honestly ask for forgiveness, and begin to follow Jesus (walk in the light), they are not true Christians at all. These are the exact people John is speaking against in this letter. 1 John 2:3 states, "We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Those who say, 'I know him,' but do not do what he commands are liars, and the truth is not in them." These hypocrites are lying to themselves and others, and consequently hurting other people immensely as on-lookers conclude Christians are hypocrites or worse - there is no God, or God is evil. John is not condemning those who slip up every once in a while, as we all unfortunately do, but those with the lifestyle of sin. But what draws the line? We need to continually ask for forgiveness and turn from our sins and not sneak back. Every time. Lay it down at his feet at the cross. Every time.

One reason our fellowship may be shallow is because we are too confused about God's Word to discuss it. Some may be involved in a group mostly to have fun. We need to focus more on the message rather on the activity. Some may go to church to socialize. As loving Christians, we need to pray to spot out a confused person, befriend them, and be a bold example of Christ - without being judgemental in any way. We need to see in what areas churches and individuals need to grow, and prayfully develop activities or conversations to help us to understand Jesus Christ and our true walk with Him. Together. It is very possible to study the Bible and learn about the Lord together without pouring our hearts out to another person. We definitely shouldn't be two-faced or hypocrites. But we can expose what we want to others and save our confessions and deep feelings to Jesus.

Hi, I just started the lesson of John 1,2, and 3 today. Hi Pastor Ralph, I'm really glad I found this Bible study. I've been looking for a structured Bible study so I have motivation to keep with it. I know I'm going to enjoy this. We're studying the letters of John in my Sunday school class and I am looking for a deeper study. Am I writing in the right spot? Is anybody out there?