godrulz said:
I am not preaching a license to sin. If you could read, I said we should not sin and that it is not necessary to sin.
According to Romans 6, are you a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness?
Your view of sinless perfectionism is heretical and does not account for believers who do sin (adultery, for example should not be hard to understand).
It is not my view, you are deceived.
"For by one offering He
has perfected for all time those who are sanctified"
I John 1:9 is provision for a believer's sin. Evangelists use it for the lost, but that is not the context.
Verse 1
"What was from the beginning, what
we have heard, what
we have seen with our eyes, what
we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life"
John confirms that Jesus was "from the beginning" and they
were witnessess to his appearing. They heard Him, they saw Him, and they touched Him. He was very real, and not an illusion.
Verse 2
"...and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and
proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us"
The eternal life of God the Father was evident and proved to John through Christ, and John further proclaims this to those whom he is writing that they (those with John) were witnessess to this fact.
Verse 3
"...what we have seen and heard
we proclaim to you also, that you
also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ."
Again, John reiterates the importance that they were indeed witnessess and that he now is proclaiming this life to them that they may have fellowship with John, for John's fellowship is "indeed" with the Father and His Son Jesus.
Verse 4
"And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete."
Why was John's joy not complete? Was John writing to ask for their approval of fellowship? Or was he writing to present them the truth of Christ, that they also could have fellowship with John? John's "joy" would be complete if they accepted the message of life eternal that God "has promised to those who love Him"
John is writing this letter to this church to confirm with them that they have come to know Christ, because there were many false teachers who had crept into the church. Some who had proclaimed that Jesus had not come in the flesh. (1 John 4:2) John needs to make sure that this church he is writing to knows that John is someone who actually walked with, spoke with, and touched Jesus. He is a legitimate authority who has fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ, John needs to establish that if they (those who are reading his letter) are going to claim to have fellowship with Jesus and with each other, then John needs to make sure that they understand some of the fundementals of the faith. Obviously, there had to have been some concern on John's part about some of the teaching that had crept in, or he would not have brought up the things that he is now proclaiming.
Verse 5
"And this is the message we have heard
from Him and announce
to you, that God is light, and in Him there is
no darkness at all.
Here John affirms a message that He had indeed heard from Jesus himself, that is, that "God is light, and in Him there is
no darkness at all". There are many passages that talk about "light" & "darkness" in the NT, and
every reference of "light"deals with either the truth of God, or being saved, that is possessing the very life of God. The very thing that John is proclaiming.
For men to "let their light shine", they must possess that light, whether it be the truth, or God's life. As this same John proclaims in his writing of the gospel... "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" and as Jesus stated... "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." Jesus clearly explains that to have the life, is to have the light, and they shall not walk in darkness. And this should remove all doubt... Jesus also stated "I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may
not remain in darkness."
When Jesus commisioned Paul, He again confirms the message of being in the light as saved... "...they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
have been sanctified by faith in Me."
And as Paul proclaims... "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?"
John had said that "In God there is no darkness at all", and when we are "in Christ", there is also "no darkness" in us.
Again, Paul confirms... "...for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light." How do we walk as "children of light"? By being who we are!
Peter also confirms..."who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light"
There can be no question that if you are "in the light", you are saved! If you are "in darkness", you are lost and without the life of God.
Verse 6
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;"
This is not difficult to understand. If you are not saved (in darkness), then you are not in fellowship with God, and if you say you are, well then you're lying. And we know that "fellowship", literally means to be in communion with God.
Verse 7
"...but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Here is the crux of John's message, and it is clear that to be in fellowship with God that you are "in the light" as He is "in the light" and the result has been that you are cleansed of all sin. There is no way that you can be "in sin" and "in Christ" at the same time. There is no way that you can be "in darkness" and "in the light" at the same time. As John further explains later... "And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin." . Those who teach that you can move in & out of fellowship, would also have to believe that you move in & out of light, in & out of life, or in & out of Christ! That is a doctrine of demons, and one that paralyzes belivers into a fear of having any hope that God loves them and that He sustains or keeps them.
Verse 8
"If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us."
This verse has to do with those who claim to have never sinned, or believed that they did not have a sin nature. If that is what they are believeing and/or teaching, then they are decieved, they are not "in the light", they are not "in fellowship", and they are not "in Christ"! John even goes so far as to include himself, that if he were making those claims, it would also apply to him. Also, this verse has nothing to do with a process of salvation as some teach, if it does then there is a clear contradiction, because verse 7 states that Jesus has cleansed us from all sin! Verse 8 is therefore there to affirm that we have in fact, had sin, a sin nature, and that it is Christ that took it away! Either we have been cleansed, or we haven't. You cannot have it both ways.
Verse 9
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Based on what we have already discussed, this should put the false perceptions of this verse to rest. This verse just reaffirms verse 7. To be justified by faith we must admit that we do indeed have sin (a sin nature), and we have in fact sinned. Therefore, John proclaims that it is indeed Jesus who is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If Jesus has cleansed you, you can not make yourself uncleansed! You were unrighteous because you were "in Adam", "in darkness", & "in the flesh". You had no ability to make yourself righteous apart from the cross. But, having now come to Christ, you are "in Christ", "in the light", "in fellowship", & "in the Spirit"! God has placed you there, and it had nothing to do with your works. You have been made righteous by the blood of Christ! How then do you suppose after having been made righteous, that you could make yourself unrighteous? You could never make yourself unrighteous to begin with. The fact is you can only be cleansed of sin once! You can only be cleansed of unrighteousness once! "For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness" Jesus is not going to be crucified everytime you "think" you need forgiveness.
Verse 10
"If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
Again, John affirms that those who claim that they never sinned are calling God a liar, and Jesus is not in them!