One of the most difficult aspects of the doctrine and practice of forgiveness is the conditional nature of divine forgiveness. We must begin by asking a very important question: does God forgive everyone absolutely, unconditionally, and unilaterally? If your answer is yes, then if you are consistent, you will assert that every Christian has the obligation to forgive everyone, all the time, unconditionally. In a sense, this is the easiest position to have and it appears to be the "nicest" position. But is it the biblical one? If your understanding is that the Lord is merciful and gracious and that He forgives eagerly and completely, but also that this forgiveness is extended only to those who come humbly seeking it while confessing that they have sinned and those who refuse to do so are not forgiven, then that leads us to a very different conclusion. The fact that the Lord withholds forgiveness to a particular class of person is plainly taught in the Scriptures. One of many examples is Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." This one example shows that, at least in principle, the Lord does withhold forgiveness under certain conditions. Based upon Ephesians 4:32, we are to forgive "one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." That is, the act of divine forgiveness is to be our pattern and guide. (DISCLAIMER: To say that the Lord's forgiveness is in some senses conditional, does not mean that you should spend all of your energies trying to figure out a way to not forgive because some (likely petty) condition has not been met. Rather, the biblical example of divine forgiveness shows that the Lord is longsuffering and eager to forgive.)
If We Say That We Have Fellowship With Him… (vv. 5 – 7) At the beginning of this section, the apostle says, " This is the message…" And that message is that God is light. That is, it is not created, but inherent to who He is. God is light means that He is light, not bits and pieces here and there, but light which permeates every aspect of who He is in Himself and there is no darkness in any respect. Light reveals. Light illuminates. Light brings knowledge and exposes reality. Darkness hides. Darkness obscures. Darkness perpetuates ignorance and keeps us from perceiving the reality of things. Of course, when the Holy Spirit uses this kind of language, He is not speaking primarily of photons or the lack thereof. The Scriptures are using these terms by analogy. The created physical universe illustrates what is true metaphysically. That is, there can be no deception or sin which attaches to God. So, "If we say we have fellowship, it means that we claim to share in the light of God. If we are walking in darkness, then there is a problem. This is referring to a continual life and practice. The apostle is speaking of a perpetual activity. This should give you comfort. When you sin, it is not the place of the Christian to assume that he is no longer a Christian. (What we ARE to do will be addressed below.) Perpetual walking in darkness is what is being referred to. If you are walking in darkness, then you are lying. You are not "doing" the truth. Truth is not, in the biblical sense, merely abstract facts. It is something to practice and ultimately it is a person. The Lord Jesus Christ is the personification of truth and the one upon whom truth is based. Indeed, as the text says, contrarily, if you are walking in the truth, you are the one that has fellowship with God. Again, the verb is active and continual. The question is, how do you know if you are walking in the truth? The Scriptures are the infallible guide. It is in the word that the light of God is revealed. And when we are walking in the light, not only is our fellowship with God, we can have fellowship with one another. And as much as the walking and doing are continual and active. So is the cleansing by the blood of Christ. And that blood is sufficient to cleanse all sin. Here is a great and glorious truth. As you and I walk in our pilgrimage, we sin and stumble and fall. But this is not an indication that we are lost.The reality of the struggle against sin does not mean we are a hypocrite or lost. Rather, it is assumed and implied by the need of cleansing by the blood of Christ. It is only by that cleansing that we can have fellowship with a God who is light. It is the only way to have fellowship with one another.
Applications:
1. It is possible to deceive oneself and live a lie.
2. Cleansing from sin is indispensable to fellowship with God.
3. It is also related to our fellowship to one another. The removal of the offense is necessary for a relationship to be repaired and restored.
If We Say We Have No Sin… (vv. 8, 9) The assumption is that there is sin. This is a most reasonable assumption in regards to our relationship with a holy God. To deny that we have sin is to deny who we are and who God is. It is to live a lie. The deception is also self-administered. The light of the truth is proclaimed in the gospel: you and I are great sinners, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a great Savior. When you are confronted with sin against the most-high majesty of God by reading the Word or hearing it preached, what is your response? When you are confronted with sin against another human (believer or unbeliever) made in the image of God, what is your response? the text says, "If we confess…" To confess means to say the same thing. It is also active but not perpetual. (As indicated by the tense in the original) True confession implies that the mind has been changed. This means no equivocation and no excuse-making. It also implies that once it is (truly) confessed, it does not need to be continually confessed because it has been forgiven. And if we confess our sins to God, then God is faithful/just/righteous to forgive. The one who has confessed his sin ought to be confident that the sin is forgiven. God will not still hold that one accountable who has been cleansed by the blood of Christ. God would be supremely unfaithful if this were not the case. It would also be a great injustice on God's part to forgive those who deny their sin.
Applications:
Confession (saying the same thing) is a necessary prerequisite to forgiveness.
Once confession is made and the offence is acknowledged, forgiveness is the only just course on the part of the one offended. This is what the Lord does for you and me.
And notice, according to God's justice, there are "obligations of justice" placed on both the offender and the offended.
Lastly, the Holy Spirit says, "If We Say That We Have Not Sinned…" (v. 10) This is distinct from the other verbs for "sinning" in the section. The force, while not a good translation, is "I don't sin". It demonstrates a particular hardness. It is a refusal to come to grips with the plain truth of the matter. And this is true whether we consider our fellowship with God or our fellow man. When confronted with the charge of causing offence, it is natural to defend yourself. If you are a Christian, this natural instinct was overcome by the Holy Spirit and you confessed yourself to be a sinner before the just and holy God. But it is possible that someone accuses you of an offence and it is a false accusation. Your first inclination should be self-examination, not self-defense. If say we have no sin before God, we make God a liar. In regards to the gospel, God has revealed to us the truth. The Lord Jesus Christ has told us the truth. Faithful gospel preachers preaching the message we have heard from the beginning have told you the truth. To deny this truth is to accuse God, the Savior, and faithful preachers of being liars. This is a serious charge and many do not even realize that they are making the charge. Contrary to the spirit of the age, truth is non-negotiable. Truth is true because the God of Truth has ordained it to be so. And to deny that truth is to say that the giver of that truth is a liar. But furthermore, if one claims to be a believer and yet denies that he has sinned, he is showing that he is, in fact, not a believer and the truth is not in him.
Applications
1. It is necessary that you see yourself as a sinner. This has eternal consequences. To not confess this is to deny the salvation which is freely offered through Christ.
2. But also, it is necessary that you remember that you also sin against others. Confession of sin to one another is a prerequisite to restoration.
3. This is the only way we can live in love and harmony together.
All For Him,
Pastor Schlegel |
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