Each believer has a particular passage of Scripture upon which he/she hangs his/her spiritual hat. Mine is the Book of First John. I intend to read this most God-revealing book every day as part of my Bible study agenda. After studying this beautiful, hard-hitting book I can understand why John was “… the disciple whom Jesus loved.” If he lived the way he wrote, which I am sure he did, I would have wanted to stay very close to him. First John reveals to us in no uncertain terms what God demands of those who would be His children. In 1:1-4 he describes the disciples’ relationship with Jesus–the Word of life–so that we can emulate that life and fellowship with the Lord as they did.

In 1:5-7 he relays the basic message sent to mankind from the Lord–that He is light (righteousness), and in Him is no dark- ness (sin) at all, and that anyone who has darkness in his life cannot have fellowship with Him because he is disobeying the Truth (the Word of God-Jn:17:17). Note the expression “in Him.” Only those “in Him” will rise to meet Him in the air at His second coming (1 Thes. 4:16).

In 1:7 God tells us through John that in order to stay cleansed of sin we must “walk” in the “light” that the Truth reveals–we must believe and obey (walk) God’s Word (light). Once justified–cleansed of all past sins (Rom 3:25)–we must continue to walk in the light in order to remain justified. That walk involves obedience to the 10 Commandments (Rom. 2:13). Note that it is the DOERS of the LAW that are and “shall be” (remain) justified–cleansed of sin. Once cleansed of sin, to continue to sin makes one like the washed sow that returns to her mire and the healed dog that returns to its vomit (2 Pet. 2:21,22).

In 1:8-2:2 John reminds us that we have all sinned, and that to claim not to have sinned makes God a liar. But as 2:1 makes clear, sin must be put out of our lives totally. God had John to write this book so “… that you SIN NOT.” Note also the following words, “And IF a man sins, he has an advocate ….” Note it: God commands that we SIN NOT. The word “IF” denotes the possibility, not the certainty of sin. In 2:3-6 John, under the power of the Holy Spirit, makes the statement that separates sheep from goats, contenders from pretenders, the true church from the false church. We truly know Jesus Christ IF we “keep His Commandments” (3) (“His Word” -5), “abide in Him” and “walk even as He walked” (6). Remember, there is “NO DARKNESS IN HIM AT ALL” (1:5). In Revelation 3:21 Jesus declares who, and only who, will be with Him in the presence of the Father–he who “overcomes (sin) even as I overcame ….” Man does this by “keep(ing) His Word.” By this we know that we are “in Him” (1 Jn. 2:5).

In Chapter 3 the Lord gets more specific. “He who abides in Him sins not; whosoever sins has not seen Him, neither knows Him” (6). “(Only) he that DOES RIGHTEOUSNESS is righteous, even as He is righteousness” (7). “In this the children of God are manifested and the children of the devil: whosoever DOES NOT RIGHTEOUSNESS is of the devil ….” (10). “He that commits sin is of the devil” (8). “Whosoever is born of God (converted–not born again) does not sin … for he cannot sin ….” The word “cannot” is a Greek conjuction comprised of two words: “dunamai”-to be able to, have the power to, and “ou”-not at all, in no way. This shows that the Spirit-led son of God (Rom. 8:14) can sin but refuses to do so. Being a free moral agent he has two choices: obey God or obey Satan–walk in righteousness or walk in sin. There is no middle ground. But IF one should sin, Jesus is at the right hand of the Father to intercede for the repentant one.

John, who knew from experience, warns in 3:13 that all who obey God will have trouble. Should you decide to abandon religion as you have always known it and follow Jesus you will experience persecution, rejection and hatred from “the world.” He is not referring to those in the unchurched world; they will pay no attention to you because they do not care what you believe, do, say, etc. Your detractors will be the most religious around you–family, friends, former churchmates, etc.

It is time for a heart-check. “He who DOES RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS” (3:7). And as Peter said: “… only the RIGHTEOUS can be saved” (1 Pet. 4:17).