The Real Precondition For Sharing Fellowship In Christ (1 John 1:1-10)
(1 John 1:1-10)
“That
which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen
with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled,
concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen,
and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with
the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we
declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly
our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And
these things we write to you that your joy may be full. This is the
message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is
light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have
fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar,
and His word is not in us.”
Warm
greetings to you all. When we read the Word of God we must treat it
exactly as it is and believe in it just as it is. Sadly, there are still
people who turn the Word of God into an instrument of wickedness by
deliberately misinterpreting it, all to serve their own purposes. We
must, therefore, stand against all such misinterpretations and lies.
It’s of paramount importance for us to believe in the Word of God and
preach it exactly as it is.
Those Who Misinterpret Today’s Scripture Passage
It’s
written in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Romans 3:10 also says, “There is
none righteous, no, not one.” Quoting these passages incorrectly, many
Christians think that no one can become sinless. Based on their
misunderstanding they say it’s wrong for people to claim they are
sinless even if they believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
In fact, they go further in their ignorance and wrongfully denounce all
those who believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Quoting 1
John 1:9 which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” these
ignorant people also claim they can be cleansed from all their sins if
they just confess them in their repetitive prayers of repentance. But
their claims are all baseless, nothing but lies.
The
word “confess” used here in 1 John 1:9 means something entirely
different from what most Christians have come to understand. The
scriptural meaning of this word “confess” means to admit our true selves
exactly as we are before God. However, when Christians who believe in
Jesus only as a matter of religion read the Bible which says, “If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” they interpret it according to
their thoughts believing that if they just confess their sins to God in
their many prayers of repentance, the Lord will cleanse them from all
their transgressions. They are so very wrong.
The
Word of the water and the Spirit as recorded in the Bible must be
accepted exactly as it is, but tragically, the vast majority of
Christians mistakenly think that the gospel is constituted solely by the
shed blood of Christ on the Cross. So, when I give a sermon on 1 John, I
often point out this misunderstanding afflicting most Christians today.
Since you are all well aware of this issue by now, I would like to
focus on the text of the Word of God that is written in 1 John.
The Purpose for Which the Apostle John Wrote This Epistle
Here
in 1 John 1:1-4, the Bible speaks of the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
It says here that this righteousness of God is the Light: “That which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our
eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning
the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear
witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father
and was manifested to us” (John 1:1-2). Of whom is this passage speaking
about? It is speaking of Jesus Christ. John is testifying here that the
disciples of Jesus Christ, the Word of life, could see Him with their
own physical eyes and touch Him with their own hands. The Creator who
made this universe was born on this earth, so that the disciples could
see Him with their own eyes and touch Him with their own hands, and this
Creator was none other than Jesus, the only begotten Son of God. It’s
for this reason that the Apostle John said, “That which we have seen and
heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and
truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full” (1 John
1:3-4).
The
disciples of Jesus, including the Apostle John, had seen Jesus with
their own eyes, touched Him with their own hands, and heard the Word of
life from the lips of Jesus with their own ears. Having fulfilled the
gospel of the water and the Spirit by being baptized, shedding His blood
on the Cross, and rising from the dead again, Jesus then ascended back
to Heaven; and now, the Apostle John was preaching this very gospel to
those in need of hearing it through his three Epistles. In other words,
he is bearing witness of the righteousness of Jesus to Christians of
today who profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior.
What
is the core message of the testimony that the disciples sought to give?
They wrote their epistles in such a way that we may truly have
spiritual fellowship with Jesus. That’s why the Apostle John said,
“Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”
And for Christians to share the true fellowship of faith with one
another, they must share in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the
gospel through which God has saved mankind from all their sins. In other
words, we must have fellowship with one another through the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, learn from each other, come to understand this
gospel in a deeper way, and to believe in it 100%.
Only
then can we have real fellowship with one another. That’s what the
Apostle John is teaching us here. The ultimate purpose for his letter is
explained in 1 John 1:4: “And these things we write to you that your
joy may be full.” Put differently, when it comes to sharing fellowship,
it is imperative for us to realize what it means to have true faith in
the gospel, what kind of gospel we believe in, and whether or not our
faith indeed rests in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. So John
said here that he was writing this letter in order that we may have the
joy of becoming God’s children.
John
then explains this issue in detail in verses 5-7. It’s important for us
to realize that, even among Christians, there still are many who have
not received the remission of sins, and whose hearts therefore remain
defiled and sinful, even though they all profess to believe in Jesus. So
the Apostle John is writing his letter to such people. Verse 5 says,
“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you,
that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
God
is light. In Him is no darkness at all. Just as the Bible says here,
God is light, the Truth, completely sinless, and holy. Just as God is
light and has no darkness at all, all those who truly know and believe
in the righteousness of God, the Apostles of the past and today’s
believers alike, have no sin. In other words, we who believe correctly
are also completely sinless, just as God is light. As mentioned, even
among those who believe in Jesus as their Savior, there are many whose
hearts remain sinful. However, the salvation fulfilled by God is not an
imperfect salvation, it’s flawless.
If
we truly have received Jesus as our Savior with the correct
understanding of His righteousness, then it’s impossible for there to be
any darkness in our hearts at all, just as God is light. It’s simply
not possible for us who believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit to have any sin in our hearts. That’s because God is light, and
in Him is no darkness at all. God our Father has blotted out all our
sins through Jesus Christ, and if we know and believe in this true
gospel of the water and Spirit, then there can’t be any sin at all in
our hearts. The Apostle John is speaking of true fellowship here.
Who Is a Liar before God?
It’s
written in 1 John 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and
walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” This means, if
we claim to have fellowship with God, but our hearts remain sinful even
as we believe in Jesus as our Savior and try to follow Him, then we
would be lying. Believing like this is not the proper faith before the
Lord. Such people are lying, even though they say that they believe in
Jesus. And, they do not practice the truth. When people say their hearts
are sinful even as they believe in Jesus, what they are essentially
saying is that they have fellowship with God even as their hearts remain
dark and sinful, and, this is a blatant lie. In other words, it’s a lie
to say that God is their Father and their Savior even as their hearts
remain sinful.
And
if anyone claims to be preaching and serving the gospel even though his
heart remains sinful, then this person is lying. Such people are not
serving the Lord, but rather themselves. And, they are not practicing
the truth, but following their own thoughts. Many Christians nowadays
are following their own human fleshly thoughts. This is what the Apostle
John is speaking about here. He is saying that those who have true
fellowship with God are those who are sinless, just as God is light and
sinless.
What Does It Mean to Walk in the Light?
It’s
written in 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” This means, the Lord has
blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
just as God is in the light and has no darkness at all—that is, just as
God in completely sinless. That we are walking in the light means, we
have received the remission of sins by believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, and we are following God by this faith. We with
sinless hearts are therefore serving and spreading the true gospel on
the earth by believing in Gods gospel of the water and the Spirit. This
is what it means to walk in the light.
By
doing this we are having fellowship with God, as well as sharing true
fellowship with the saints. And, we are able to call God our Father, and
God calls us His children. We can then realize fully that God has
indeed blotted out each and every sin we commit while carrying on with
our lives in this world, even in our weaknesses, with the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. God the Father is telling us that the blood shed
by His Son Jesus Christ has cleansed us from all our sins. The shed
blood here means, God the Father has saved us the believers in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit through the life of His Son Jesus
Christ. In other words, it teaches us that Jesus Christ has saved us
perfectly by laying down His own life. But this verse does not mean that
God has saved us only through the shed blood of Jesus? We must
understand this properly, for when the Scripture says that Jesus Christ
has saved us through His blood, it’s speaking of the final result of all
the work of salvation Jesus fulfilled by being baptized by John the
Baptist, shedding His blood on the Cross to death, and rising from the
dead.
Who Overcomes the World?
To
help us understand this more clearly 1 John 5:4 says, “This is the
victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” What faith is this faith
of ours then? It’s the faith that rests in the truth of being saved by
the Lord by Him coming to this earth, being baptized by John the
Baptist, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again. It’s all
about believing in the love of Jesus Christ and the righteous work He
accomplished for us by blotting out all our sins once and for all with
His baptism and His blood. ‘This faith’ is what enables us to overcome
all our sins and all our weaknesses. Like this, it’s by faith that we
are perfectly saved, and it is also by faith that we are victorious.
Let’s
turn to 1 John 5:5-8, “Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who
believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is He who came by water and
blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is
the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there
are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” What is the evidence of our faith
in God’s eyes? It is our faith that rests in the water, the blood, and
the Spirit. The water, the blood, and the Spirit are One. Believing in
the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came by the water
and the blood, is the very faith that enables us to receive the
remission of sins.
It’s
for this reason that the Apostle John said in 1 John 1:7, “If we walk
in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another.” Such is the relationship we have with God. Such is the
relationship between Jesus and the believers in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. In contrast, those who do not know this Truth of
salvation constituted by the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and
have therefore not received the remission of sins, cannot share
fellowship with Jesus even if they claim to believe in His
righteousness. They are still estranged from Him. True fellowship with
God can be shared only by those who believe that Jesus is the only
begotten Son of God, that He came to this earth to blot out all our
sins, that He bore all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist,
that He was condemned for these sins on the Cross, that He rose from the
dead again, and that He has, through all these righteous acts, cleansed
away all our sins and become our true Savior. And the Apostle John and
other apostles who had received the remission of sins shared this true
fellowship.
In
summing up this point, the Apostle John said that the blood of Jesus
the Son of God cleanses us from all our sins. He said this because Jesus
has saved us by laying down His own life. Although the Scripture
summarizes the gist of salvation like this, but when we take a closer
look, we can see that the Apostle John believed in the water, the blood,
and the Spirit. The Spirit here refers to God, and this God was
conceived in the body of Mary. Having come to this earth incarnated in
the flesh of man as our Savior, Jesus bore all our sins once and for all
by being baptized by John the Baptist. He was then crucified to death
to bear the condemnation of our sins in our place. He then rose from the
dead, thereby, becoming our Savior. It is through the water and the
blood that the Lord has saved us from our sins. The Lord Himself took
upon all our sins by being baptized, and while shouldering the sins of
the world, He was crucified to bear their condemnation. He has thereby
become our Savior.
Everyone
must of necessity believe that God is light as the precondition to
sharing true fellowship with Him. God is light. Light means there can be
no darkness at all—that is, the believers in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit have absolutely no sin in their hearts. You, too, must
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that you may share
fellowship with those who have received the remission of sins. You must
also become sinless by believing in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. Only then can you be freed from all transgressions. Can you
truthfully testify with absolute certainly with a clear conscience, that
no sin can be found your heart at all? If you are indeed completely
sinless, then you have become a true child of God.
Those Who Still Have Not Received the Remission of Sins Despite Believing in Jesus
Such
sinful people are described in verse 8-10. Verse 8 says clearly, “If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in
us.” God is light. And to blot out all our sins, He sent His Son and He
has indeed eradicated our sins with the water and the blood. He has
thereby made us sinless. He has also made us righteous. This is the will
of God. Just as God is light, we the believers are also light. That’s
why God told us that we are the light of the world. It’s because we have
no sin that we can now with boldness preach the gospel to others.
However,
for those who still have not received the remission of sins, those who
still walk in darkness, and those whose hearts remain sinful even as
they profess to believe in Jesus, if they claim to be sinless, then they
are only deceiving themselves. Those whose hearts remain sinful even as
they believe in Jesus must admit their sinful state and confess, “I am
sinful even though I believe in Jesus as my Savior. I am still a
sinner.” It’s only then can they start believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit when they hear it preached. You must be able to
ruminate on the gospel of the water and the Spirit to remind yourself of
how the Lord has blotted out your sins. This is absolutely necessary
for you to realize God’s love when you read His Words in the Bible. It’s
when you realize that Jesus Christ has blotted out all your sins with
the gospel of the water and the Spirit that you can receive the true
remission of sins.
The
God-spoken gospel Word of the water and the Spirit dwells in our hearts
and enables us to realize that we have received the remission of sins.
The evidence showing that we have received the remission of sins into
our hearts is obtained only if we have God’s gospel Word of the water
and the Spirit in our hearts. It’s because this Word of salvation is in
our hearts that we are qualified to share fellowship with our Lord in
this Word. It’s because this Word of salvation is in our hearts that we
have become sinless. And it’s because this Word of salvation is in our
hearts that the Holy Spirit has come into our hearts to dwell with us.
If this Word of salvation is not found in your heart, then you are still
sinful just as you were before you believed in Jesus. That’s because it
is the Word of God that blots out your sins. Indeed, your sins do not
disappear just because you believe in Jesus emotionally.
It’s
very difficult to discover the righteousness of Jesus and to receive
the remission of sins by refusing to believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. It is in fact extremely difficult if not impossible.
Does your heart have faith in the gospel Word of the water and the
Spirit? If you believe in this Word wholeheartedly, then you have
received the remission of sins into your heart, for you have the Word of
salvation testifying in your heart. On the other hand, if you do not
have this Word of salvation in your heart, then you have not received
the remission of sins. Why is this so? It’s because you do not have the
Word of testimony in your heart which bears witness that the Lord has
indeed blotted out all your sins.
Those
who have not received the remission of sins do not have the testimony
of the Word of salvation, and therefore, Satan can easily occupy their
minds. It’s absolutely indispensable for us to hang on to the Word of
God by faith. If you want to be truly saved, then you must hold on to
the Word of salvation rather than your own emotional thoughts and
feelings. You ought to realize and believe in the Word of the Lord,
which confirms, “This is what the Lord said. The Lord has blotted out my
sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When He was baptized
by John the Baptist, He said, ‘Permit it to be so now, for thus it is
fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Just as all sins were
passed on to a live sacrificial animal when the High Priest laid his
hands on its head, and in the same way when John the Baptist baptized
Jesus, all the sins of mankind were passed on to Jesus. My sins were
also passed on at that time.”
Unless
you have God’s Word of salvation in your heart, you have not received
the remission of sins. You have not been remitted from your personal
sins either. Deliverance from all your personal sins also requires that
you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, only
if you and I hang on to God’s Word of salvation does this Word protect
our hearts and souls. Even though you and I have many shortcomings, the
Word of salvation reigns over our souls, with Jesus telling us,
“Although you are imperfect, I have nevertheless blotted out all your
sins. I accepted all your sins and washed them away when I was baptized
by John the Baptist. It was to bear all the sins of the whole world that
I was baptized by John the Baptist. Because I shouldered the sins of
the world like this, I bore the condemnation of your sins by being
crucified to death. And rising from the dead again, I have given you new
life.” Like this, the Word of salvation bears witness on our behalf.
It’s because you and I have this Word of salvation that we have been
freed from all our sins. The gospel Word of the water and the Spirit is
what makes us into light just as God is light, and by coming to this
Word, we can receive the remission of sins. You and I must therefore
hang on to the Word always.
What We Must Know
It’s
written in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This passage, too, should be accepted just as it is. If we have any sin,
then we should confess it. The Lord is faithful and just to have
already cleansed us. The Lord promised in the Old Testament that He
would blot out all our sins, and in the days of the New Testament, the
Lord indeed came to this earth, and sent John the Baptist as well. And
John the Baptist passed all the sins of mankind to Jesus by baptizing
Him. Having thus borne the sins of the world, Jesus was crucified to
death. And rising from the dead again, He has saved us.
Therefore,
if anyone whose heart is sinful confesses to God and honestly admits,
“I indeed am a sinner,” this person can be remitted from all the sins of
his entire lifetime, thanks to the God-given gospel of the water and
the Spirit. But, what would happen if one were not to confess his sins
to God even as they remain intact in his heart? This person would not
receive the remission of sins. Even if someone gave you delicious food,
if you were to rather look at it instead of eating it, it will never
become yours. As a descendant of Adam, everyone was born with sins, just
as the Bible says that everyone has sinned against God and fallen short
of His glory. Human beings therefore reject the will of God in their
lives, and rather seek after the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life.
Like
this, by our very nature we cannot help but sin in every possible way,
whether it is with our hearts, thoughts, or acts. Yet despite this, our
Lord has blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. There is only one thing we can do then, and that is, we ought to
accept this salvation with thanksgiving, saying to the Lord, “Lord, You
are right. You have indeed blotted out all my sins with the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. I had been a sinner before your face until I
came to know this gospel of the water and the Spirit. I had sins in my
heart. And for that reason I had to be cast into hell. Standing before
You like this, I should be thrown into hell. But You have blotted out
all the sins of the world. You bore all my sins by being baptized by
John the Baptist, saying to him, ‘It is thus fitting for us to fulfill
all righteousness.’ Thank You, Lord. I believe in Your righteousness.
You are indeed the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. And
You indeed finished all the work of salvation. I believe You, Lord. I
believe in the Word when it says, ‘Now where there is remission of
these, there is no longer an offering for sin.’ I believe in every Word
of salvation. Thank You, Lord.”
Like
this, when we realize, believe, and accept that our Lord has blotted
out all our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then we
are made sinless even though our hearts were sinful. Because the Lord
loved us first with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, He has
already blotted out all our sins on His own in the passed tense.
Therefore, if you just believe in this Truth of salvation constituted by
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you will surely be saved from
all your sins.
We
reach our true salvation only through the Word of God. Whoever wants to
share true fellowship with God and His righteous must first of all
confess his sins. One must first confess himself as a sinner. The Bible
says that it is appointed for man to be born once, and to face the
judgment afterwards. Once born, everyone is appointed to die once, but
after this the judgment. All human beings are born with sin, they all
live in sin, and are trapped in sin, therefore, all are destined to be
cast into hell. That is precisely why we need the Savior. This Savior is
none other than Jesus, and therefore His work of salvation is
indispensable. In particular, it’s absolutely indispensable for us to
have faith in the baptism Jesus Christ received from John the Baptist
and the blood He shed on the Cross. The baptism the Lord received and
the blood He shed on the Cross are the works of salvation that is
indispensable for us. Do you accept the Lord’s gospel work of the water
and the Spirit as your salvation? If you truly do, then you will be
saved from all your sins. If sinners confess their sins in this way,
they will be saved by believing in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit that constitutes the Lord’s work of salvation.
The Right Faith to Have
It
is wrong not to confess even as your heart is sinful. If anyone says,
“I have sins in my heart even though I believe in Jesus. But still,
because I believe in Jesus, I will go to Heaven,” then such people will
go to hell without fail. Instead, one ought to admit and confess, “Even
though I believe in Jesus, there are still sins in my heart. I must have
misunderstood something and misbelieved along the way. I was a sinner
both before and after believing in Jesus, and I am still a sinner now.
This can only mean that I have not yet been saved from my sins. Lord, I
still have not received the remission of sins. I remain a sinner. You
said that You have saved me through the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, so I looked these things up in the Bible and pondered upon them,
and now I realize that Your Word is true. You are right, Lord. I now
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You have already
blotted out all my sins. I’ve finally realized it now, and I accept this
truth into my heart with all sincerity. I believe in You, Lord.” It’s
only then that one receives the true remission of sins.
The
Bible says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and
His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Is there anyone who has not
sinned before God? Even among those who know and believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, is there anyone who can say confidently
that he or she has not committed any sin at all since receiving the
remission of sins? What about those who do not believe in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit? Can any of them say, “I have never missed a
single morning prayer meeting? I have done all kinds of good works. At
most, I might have committed a few sins, and these sins were remitted by
the blood of the Cross. While I was praying, the Lord appeared before
me and told me that He had forgiven my sins. So I have received the
remission of sins.” Is this you, your confession?
My
fellow believers, there is no one who has never sinned at all, whether
we are speaking of sinners or the righteous who have received the
remission of sins. Everyone commits sin. If we say that we have not
sinned before God, then we are making Him a liar. It’s only because the
Lord took away all our sins that we have no sin; it’s not because we
have not sinned. The Scripture says that Jesus is the Lamb of God who
took away the sins of the world, and it is precisely for this reason
that we are sinless. So how could we say to God that we have not sinned?
Although we have not fully lived our lives in this world yet, the Lord
nevertheless took away all the sins of this world once and for all
through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Can we then say to God
that we have not sinned? Didn’t God say that He took away all the sins
of this world, even though our lives in this world are not over? If we
say that we have not sinned ever since we received the remission of
sins, how can we square this up with the Word which says, that the Lord
has blotted out all the sins of this world? It’s a lie to say that we
have not sinned. After all, don’t we still commit sin even after
receiving the remission of sins? Of course we do.
Whoever
claims to have not sinned before God does not have the gospel Word of
the water and the Spirit in his heart, the Word of God. If God tells us
that we are sinful, then we ought to admit this and turn ourselves in
just as God says. I can’t emphasize enough just how important it is for
us to admit ourselves, recognizing that we are sinners, that our
consciences are full of sins, that we are incapable of doing good
despite trying hard, and that we are destined for hell. It’s then that
we can truly share fellowship with God. And it’s then that we can have
genuine fellowship with the righteous and the saints of God also.
From Where Does True Fellowship Come?
Knowing
that God is light, we must be washed from our sins by believing in the
God-spoken Word, the gospel of the water and the Spirit. When we
recognize and admit to God that we are sinners, and when we believe in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Word of the true light, it
is then that we are able to have genuine fellowship with God. God is
saying to us, “You are sinners. You were born into this world with sins,
and you will sin throughout the rest of your lives.” Like this, God is
telling us that we are depraved sinners. Do you admit this? The Bible
says that if the Law of God were to be strictly applied to us, we would
all be cast into hell. We must accept this Word of God into our hearts,
and believe that God has blotted out all the sins of such depraved
people like us with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. To do so is
to reach salvation. It is, therefore, by faith that we receive the
remission of sins. It is by believing in the God-spoken gospel Word of
the water and the Spirit that we become the light of the world. We are
made God’s children by believing in His righteousness.
Has
our Lord blotted out all your sins and mine with the water and the
Spirit? He has indeed blotted them all out once and for all. Has God
made us the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit into the
light? He has indeed turned us into the light of the world. We are also
the children of the light in God’s Kingdom. Our Lord said that those
who turn many people to the right path will shine like the stars for
ever and ever in His Kingdom. We are the light of the world. The Lord
Himself called us the light of the world and the salt of the earth. This
means we are absolutely indispensable to the world. That’s who we are.
If
you and I were instead darkness, then we would cast darkness upon the
world and be completely useless. Out of seven billion people living in
this world, even if six billion of them believed in Jesus, if they do
not know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and as a result their
hearts remain sinful, they are not the light of the world but just
darkness. That is why so many Christians nowadays are unable to be the
light of the world. Even though there are countless Christians trying
hard to live piously, they cannot be the light. They are devoid of
light. So they lie to each other and defraud one another, yet think they
have not sinned?
However,
the Lord has blotted out all our sins and raised us to be the light of
the world. God has made us the believers in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit preach this gospel throughout the world. As a result, those
who have fellowship with us—that is, those who hear this Word of God
preached by us—are finding unspeakable joy. This is so marvelous and
wonderful that it never ceases to amaze me.
My
fellow believers, we must consider and ask ourselves if we really are
the light or darkness in God’s sight. Even after receiving the remission
of sins, our thoughts and acts still go astray, and we still have many
shortcomings. In times like these, we must confess to God right away and
ruminate on the gospel of the water and the Spirit once again. We must
look towards the Truth and think about how the Lord has blotted out our
sins. And in doing so, we must believe that the Lord has already turned
us into the light of the world and made us sinless. The Lord has given
us the faith to overcome this world. He has given us the faith to
overcome ourselves also. He has blotted out each and every sin committed
by you and me. From the sins that we have committed to the sins that we
will commit in the future, the Lord bore them all and blotted them out
when He was baptized. He has thereby turned us into someone who can
follow the Lord.
Misinterpretation of Verse 8
Those
who are ignorant of the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit
misinterpret verse 8 continuously, claiming that the remission of sins
is received just by repenting. Although these people believe in Jesus,
because they know and hang on to just the blood of the Cross for
salvation, whenever they sin, they turn themselves into sinners once
again and beg the Lord in tears to forgive their sins. By doing so, no
one can follow the Lord properly. If you are bound by your personal
sins, you cannot follow the Lord. Regarding our sins, the Lord said in
Isaiah 1:18:
“‘Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the Lord,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.’”
The
Bible says here that our sins are scarlet, red like crimson, and thick
like the fog. That’s just how many sins we commit. This implies that,
since our sins are so many, if we try to be remitted from them just by
offering our own prayers of repentance, we will be bound by our sins and
not be able to follow the Lord. What, then, should we do to follow the
Lord? What must we do to be freed from our personal sins? Knowing that
the Lord is light, we must realize and believe that the Lord has turned
us into the light as well. We must follow the Lord knowing and believing
that He has blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. But should we by chance sin, then we ought to admit this sin
immediately, and know and believe that the Lord has blotted out even
this sin.
By
believing that the Lord has blotted out all our sins, we are able to
avoid being bound by sins. It is by having this faith that we can
continue to serve the Lord’s righteous work and follow Him. Whoever
believes in Jesus naturally wants to do the righteous work. It’s only a
matter of course for the believers to do what is right. However, no one
who remains sinful can carry out any righteous work. After all, such
people are destined to die for their sins, so how could they ever do any
righteous work, it’s not possible?
My
fellow believers, if we allow ourselves to be bound by our sins, it
would simply not be possible for us to live as proper Christians. Jesus
is light. He told us to follow Him, for He is the light of the world;
and for us to do so, we must first free ourselves from our sins by
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must follow the
Lord by believing that He has saved us by bearing all our sins through
His baptism, dying on the Cross, and rising from the dead again. We
cannot afford to fall into our own weaknesses or our own thoughts. Nor
should we fall into the dogmatic faith of the world. Our co-workers
abroad say that many Christians around the world believe in popularly
held doctrines. But this is in fact the wide-way. Faith is not a
popularity contest. No matter how many people might say that there is
nothing wrong for Christians to be sinful despite believing in Jesus, if
the Scripture says that it is wrong, then it is wrong.
The
narrow way is believing that the Lord has blotted out all our sins with
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and this is the correct way.
The basis of our faith should be what the Word of God says, not what
everyone else says. God is holy. It is a huge mistake for sinners to
call the holy God their Father. This constitutes a grave sin. Jesus came
to this earth when we were sinners. He bore our sins by being baptized
in obedience to the will of God the Father. He was then crucified to
death, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved us wholly from
the condemnation of our sins. We should therefore not place our faith in
our weaknesses, our fleshly thoughts, or commonly taught Christians
doctrines. Instead, we should open the Word of God and make sure that
our faith is consistent with the Bible.
We
have received many emails from abroad bearing witness of salvation. One
of them, a sister, said that when she read our first volume, she
compared it to the Scripture to see if it was biblically accurate. She
was fair-minded, just like the Bereans. The Bible says that the Bereans
“were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find
out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). I can’t emphasize enough
just how important it is for us to confirm our beliefs with what the
Bible says.
Many
Christians, however, commonly believe in the blood of the Cross alone
for salvation even as they seek fellowship with God. Trapped in their
sins, such people cannot escape from their sinful condition. They were
sinners when they did not believe in Jesus, they remain sinners even
after believing in Jesus, and they will die as sinners. Many Christians
are fond of confessing to God, “Lord, I am a sinner,” as though this
were something to be proud of. But these people will perish as sinners
in the end. It is absolutely indispensable for us to discover and
believe in the righteousness of the Lord while we are still alive. We
must make the righteousness of the Lord ours by faith.
When
God Himself is telling us that He has blotted out our sins and that we
are His children, we cannot then say to Him, “Lord, I still have many
sins left. I am a sinner. I am grateful that You are calling me Your
child, but there still are sins in my heart, and I can’t say that I am
Your child. I can’t even tolerate myself.” Are we going to decline like
this? There are times when such modesty is appropriate, but this is not
one of them. What reason do we have to decline what God is offering us?
We are in no position to do so. If God is saying to us that He has
blotted out our sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then
we ought to accept it right away with thanksgiving. That is the right
thing to do. Who are we to decline this offer? Given our wretched state
as sinners, why would we decline God’s grace? What basis do we have to
decline when we have absolutely no righteousness nor any merit of our
own?
A
destitute beggar should gratefully accept the kindness shown by those
offering help to him. Refusing to do so is just being arrogant. The
Scripture says that pride goes before destruction (Proverbs 16:18). It
also says that a haughty spirit goes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
Rejecting God’s grace is the height of arrogance. God the Father has
saved us by sending His Son to this earth and making Him bear our sins
and be crucified. This is what we must believe. We must not reject this
salvation. We ought to believe with thanksgiving. We ought to be
grateful to God. And we ought to glorify God in our lives. Even though
we ourselves are full of shortcomings, the Lord has still saved such
undeserving people like us.
He
has saved the entire human race. You and I have therefore reached our
salvation. We must preach this true gospel to everyone. We must spread
this blessed news, the joyous news that the Lord has blotted out all our
sins. We must preach this gospel that frees those who are bound by sins
and open the eyes of the blind.
Even
now, Christians are unable to follow the Lord because of their personal
sins. They remain unable to be freed from their personal sins. For them
to be liberated from their personal sins, they must realize and believe
that the Lord is light. They must follow Him with the knowledge and
faith that the Lord has blotted out all their sins with the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, and that He has made them into the light. This
is absolutely indispensable. One of our books is titled, Are You Still
Suffering Because of Your Personal Sins? What is the cause of suffering
for most of today’s Christians? They are suffering and tormented by the
fact that despite believing in Jesus, they are still bound by the sins
they’ve committed. And they sincerely yearn to be remitted. Many of them
say that if they could obtain the true remission of sins, they would
have nothing more to wish for even if they were to die right now. Some
people even commit suicide over their sins.
My
fellow believers, you must not reject the love of the Lord. Through His
Son, God the Father has blotted out all the sins of mankind with the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. What will you do then? Will you
reject this love or believe in it? You must believe in it with all your
heart. You must believe in the righteousness of God before His presence.
You should never boast of your own righteousness of the flesh. Do not
take pride in your own piety boasting about such mundane things as the
offerings you gave to your church, the equipment you donated, the
contribution you made to foreign mission, the service you rendered as a
volunteer, or the diligence with which you attended every worship
service.
Even
if you really did all these things, it was all because of God’s help.
You could not have done them unless God had permitted fortuitous
circumstances to you. We must break down our own wills and believe in
the righteousness of God. We must exalt God’s righteousness. Only then
will the Lord be pleased. It is then that the Lord can use us as His
willing and faithful workers. We should never boast of our own
righteousness before God. The believers in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit boast of only the righteousness of the Lord, and they spread
and serve this righteousness alone. In contrast, those who still remain
sinful even as they believe in Jesus boast of their own righteousness
before Him. And when they have nothing to boast of, they are
disheartened and dejected.
What
pleases God? God is pleased when we believe that He has blotted out all
your sins and mine with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, exalt
this Truth of salvation, spread it, and serve it. Would God be pleased
with you if you were to continue boasting of your own righteousness? No,
of course not. We ought to praise God. We ought to have the faith that
is pleasing to God. We ought to throw away our own righteousness. The
Book of Isaiah says that all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6).
Jeremiah
2:22 says, “For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is marked before Me.” If the Lord had not blotted out
your sins and mine with the gospel of the water and the Spirit, our sins
would remain intact with us. If the Lord had not already blotted out
your sins and mine, these sins of ours would still be with us.
Thankfully, however, the Lord had already blotted out your sins and mine
about 2,000 years ago. When He came to this earth incarnated in the
flesh of man, He bore all our sins by being baptized by John the Baptist
in the Jordan River. He was then crucified to death, rose from the dead
again, and has thereby blotted out all our sins and fulfilled all
righteousness. The Lord is telling us now that there is no more offering
for sin, for He has blotted out all our sins, just as He said, “Where
there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin”
(Hebrews 10:18).
Therefore,
realizing that the Lord has blotted out all our sins, you and I ought
to thank God and praise Him. We should never cling to our personal sins
and repent from them constantly. As the Bible warns us in 1 John 1:8-10,
do not say, “When I believed in Jesus, I became sinless. But if I sin
again, then I’d be sinful again. But, even so, I will still go to Heaven
since I believe in Jesus. Sure, since I still sin, I’m still a sinner,
but the Lord calls on sinners. So sinners can go to Heaven.” No never!
Not a single sinner can ever enter Heaven. Although it is to call on
sinners that God came to this earth, among those who have been saved by
Him, there is absolutely no sinner at all. They have all become sinless.
None of them has any sin left at all.
Do
not end up deceiving yourself. Do not try to deceive God when you stand
before Him. Because we cannot help but sin constantly before God, the
Lord already blotted out all our sins once and for all about 2,000 years
ago with the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. It is with this
knowledge that we confess all our wrongdoings and sins to the Lord,
realizing and believing that the Lord has already blotted out all these
sins also with the water and the Spirit. So let us dwell in the light by
this faith and give glory to God in our lives. Know and believe that it
is then that God is joyful.
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