"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
I like this verse a lot. If you're just joining us, or passing by, or perhaps you have been here a while and forgot, I named this blog Aletheia because Aletheia is the greek word for truth.
Truth.
Allow that word to sink in for a moment. What is truth? Sometimes truth is hidden beneath a surface of confusion, deceit, lies, or misconception. Other times, truth is the elephant in the room that no one wants to admit is there. When truth is revealed and acknowledged, only then can it shine its light on our lives and purify that misty surface or stuffy room.
Today I want to discuss the truth found in 1 John 1:9 (and to credit my source, I got the idea of this verse from Bethannie who posted this as her status on FB). Sometimes it seems as though we walk around with the notion that God already forgave us, so we can go on living our lives however we wish and just know that you're forgiven, whether you're actually sorry or not.
But what about this verse? It says, if we confess our sins...THEN God can forgive them and CLEANSE us from them.
So what does that mean? Well, if you read the verse before and after that, it explains: "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the TRUTH. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." (1 John 1:8, 10)
Wow. So if we don't confess that we have sinned and ask for God's forgiveness, we are actually calling God a liar? No matter how much we convince ourselves or others that we have done nothing wrong, we are calling God a liar and his word has no place in our hearts. Ouch. That's pretty serious. So what do we gain from that?
Nothing.
What do we gain from humbling ourselves, confessing we were wrong, and asking for forgiveness?
Eternity.
You know, this makes me think of an email I received this morning. I won't go into much detail, but a few years ago when I was in college I was renting out a house with another girl. You know when you're starting off in life and perhaps haven't lived with other people before, it takes some adjusting. Well, there wasn't very much "adjusting" going on, and I ended up moving out. We tried to leave on a good note, but we just weren't seeing eye-to-eye.
This morning I went on my Facebook and had a message in my inbox from this girl apologizing for our failed attempt as roommates. Even though it was about 3 or 4 years late, I really appreciated that email. That email alone was a victory for God's truth. She not only took a stand to bring peace to the situation, but she just took a stand for God, and has finally been able to be purified of the situation. I had to do the same. But we couldn't forgive each other fully until we asked God and asked each other for forgiveness.
1 John 1 is all around a good chapter, but let me share one more verse from this chapter that shows us that when we allow victory for God's truth and God's forgiveness of ourselves, we are also allowing fellowship with each other. So, we're actually feeding our relationships with other people when we admit that we're wrong to ourselves, to God, and to each other. It is then when we finally choose to die to ourselves, and live in Christ.
"But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Regardless of who you are, Christ cannot wash us clean of sin if we don't admit that we have sin! That is exactly what this chapter is saying! What do we gain from that? Self satisfaction, thinking we're right? No! We gain NOTHING. If anything, you'll lose your relationships with other people, you'll lose the chance at a pure relationship with God, you will lose your opportunity for a full, pure life. Is that really worth it? Is it really worth losing all of that just so you could say you were right? I desperately hope your answer is no.
This is truth. This is Aletheia. I'm taking this straight out of the bible. Let me reiterate one more time:
"But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
1 John 1:7-10
I hope this speaks to you today. I know it has spoken to me. Take some time today and read through 1 John. It's an amazing book that tackles sin and loving God over the things and ways of the world. There are only 5 chapters in the book of 1 John, and I invite you to read through them and discover truth. Feel free to post your thoughts and experiences. I would love to read them. :)
Blessings and aletheia.
I like this verse a lot. If you're just joining us, or passing by, or perhaps you have been here a while and forgot, I named this blog Aletheia because Aletheia is the greek word for truth.
Truth.
Allow that word to sink in for a moment. What is truth? Sometimes truth is hidden beneath a surface of confusion, deceit, lies, or misconception. Other times, truth is the elephant in the room that no one wants to admit is there. When truth is revealed and acknowledged, only then can it shine its light on our lives and purify that misty surface or stuffy room.
Today I want to discuss the truth found in 1 John 1:9 (and to credit my source, I got the idea of this verse from Bethannie who posted this as her status on FB). Sometimes it seems as though we walk around with the notion that God already forgave us, so we can go on living our lives however we wish and just know that you're forgiven, whether you're actually sorry or not.
But what about this verse? It says, if we confess our sins...THEN God can forgive them and CLEANSE us from them.
So what does that mean? Well, if you read the verse before and after that, it explains: "If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the TRUTH. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." (1 John 1:8, 10)
Wow. So if we don't confess that we have sinned and ask for God's forgiveness, we are actually calling God a liar? No matter how much we convince ourselves or others that we have done nothing wrong, we are calling God a liar and his word has no place in our hearts. Ouch. That's pretty serious. So what do we gain from that?
Nothing.
What do we gain from humbling ourselves, confessing we were wrong, and asking for forgiveness?
Eternity.
You know, this makes me think of an email I received this morning. I won't go into much detail, but a few years ago when I was in college I was renting out a house with another girl. You know when you're starting off in life and perhaps haven't lived with other people before, it takes some adjusting. Well, there wasn't very much "adjusting" going on, and I ended up moving out. We tried to leave on a good note, but we just weren't seeing eye-to-eye.
This morning I went on my Facebook and had a message in my inbox from this girl apologizing for our failed attempt as roommates. Even though it was about 3 or 4 years late, I really appreciated that email. That email alone was a victory for God's truth. She not only took a stand to bring peace to the situation, but she just took a stand for God, and has finally been able to be purified of the situation. I had to do the same. But we couldn't forgive each other fully until we asked God and asked each other for forgiveness.
1 John 1 is all around a good chapter, but let me share one more verse from this chapter that shows us that when we allow victory for God's truth and God's forgiveness of ourselves, we are also allowing fellowship with each other. So, we're actually feeding our relationships with other people when we admit that we're wrong to ourselves, to God, and to each other. It is then when we finally choose to die to ourselves, and live in Christ.
"But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Regardless of who you are, Christ cannot wash us clean of sin if we don't admit that we have sin! That is exactly what this chapter is saying! What do we gain from that? Self satisfaction, thinking we're right? No! We gain NOTHING. If anything, you'll lose your relationships with other people, you'll lose the chance at a pure relationship with God, you will lose your opportunity for a full, pure life. Is that really worth it? Is it really worth losing all of that just so you could say you were right? I desperately hope your answer is no.
This is truth. This is Aletheia. I'm taking this straight out of the bible. Let me reiterate one more time:
"But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts."
1 John 1:7-10
I hope this speaks to you today. I know it has spoken to me. Take some time today and read through 1 John. It's an amazing book that tackles sin and loving God over the things and ways of the world. There are only 5 chapters in the book of 1 John, and I invite you to read through them and discover truth. Feel free to post your thoughts and experiences. I would love to read them. :)
Blessings and aletheia.
So TRUE Lis! Thanks for sharing! It's such a humble reminder of how easy it is for us to sin daily, proving we need Jesus daily!
ReplyDelete