1 John - Saved?

1 John 1:5-10 

January 19-26, 2014

This week’s lesson is one of the most important lessons to learn in the pursuit of godliness.  There is so much confusion about the need to become holy and righteous. If we have been redeemed, we gain these things, but our transformation is about God's power working in us, not about our own ability not to sin.  Graham touched upon this in his message on Sunday when he said, "The intention not to sin is not the same as the power not to sin."  The verses contained in 1 John 1:5-10, explain how we access the power of God for change in our life.

For those of us who have been redeemed, the sin we once loved now causes us pain and sorrow when we think about it or walk into it once again.  We can certainly understand what Paul is saying in Romans 7:19 when he says, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.  Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."  There is a spiritual war going on inside of us.  Our flesh (the old nature) is at war with the new creation that God created and the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us.  How then shall we overcome this struggle?  The answer is found in the verses this week.

1 John 1:9

 "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

As we walk in the light, it reveals the darkness and sin that still remains in us.  We are to repent our exposed sin (turn from our sin) and confess it to the Lord, asking that He both forgive us and continue the process of cleansing us from all of our unrighteousness.

This process is like peeling an onion.  Once the outer layer is removed, it exposes the next layer that needs to be removed, over and over again. He is faithful, just and patient as He moves us to remove the next layer of our old nature.

So what we see in this process is not a complete and instant purity, but an ever-increasing purity as the Lord does the work of removing our old nature and replacing it with the nature of Jesus Christ His Son.

May the Lord bless you as He purifies you into the image of His dear Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Geoff