1 John 1:5-10
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [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 his Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. [10] If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
John tells us that confession is connected to walking in the light. When you walk in the light you see God more clearly, you see yourself more clearly, and you see the situations of life more clearly. You have a much better understanding of where your life does — and does not — align with the life to which the Lord calls you.
Walking in the light creates an honest view of self, and it activates self-awareness. People who walk in the light are aware of their strengths and blessings, but they also see the reality of their sin. Most importantly, they see their sin not just from their own viewpoint, but also from God’s perspective.
Walking in darkness creates a false view of self and causes self-deception. People who walk in darkness are blind to the reality and depth of their sin. They are blind to the impact of sin on themselves, they are blind to the impact of sin on the people around them, and they are blind to the impact of sin on God.
Blindness to sin and its impact is profoundly revealed in the current social and political support for deviant sexual behavior. The “trans” movement, in particular, promotes a distorted view of sexual identity that is having a devastating impact on the lives of adolescent and teenage children who are seeking to find themselves and their true indentity.
Rather than understanding that sexual confusion and gender dysphoria are the result of the distorting influences of sin, these confused young people are being led astray by the deception of their disorienting impulses and the manipulative influence of pernicious social forces. In the midst of this darkness and deceit, the gospel appeals to them to understand their identity through the lens of the God who created them, loves them, died for them, and calls them to himself.
As I said yesterday, most people have a self-centered view of sin; they feel badly about what sin does to them. However, a profound shift takes place when you begin to see sin from God’s perspective and recognize what sin does not just to you, but also to God and others.
Thus the message of Proverbs 28.3: “The one who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.”
We serve a great God who loves us beyond comprehension. May we respond to God’s love and grace by walking in the light, confessing our sin, and enjoying fellowship with the Lord and each other.
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32.1-5)
The Lord is calling.
