The Book of 1 John:
A Road Map to Holiness
by Bro. John Duncan
The book of 1 John is a road map to
Holiness. Ironically, one of the main verses used to defend "sinning
Christianity" comes from this book (1 John 1:8) while all its other verses
teaching holiness are ignored. Some people just have a misunderstanding on these
verses, while others have a vested interest in believing in "sinning
Christianity:" they hope to condone their own sinful lifestyles with the
Bible.
To come to a good understanding on
any given doctrine, we must study all the verses of the Bible dealing with that
subject, especially within that same book. The next step is to figure out what
all these verses mean when put together. It is imperative to let the Bible
interpret the Bible. I like to think of studying the Scriptures as we would draw
a card from a deck of cards, one truth at a time. I will use this "deck of
cards" illustration to explain my answers.
Let us first examine the
controversial Scripture, 1 John 1:8-9:
"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."
A. 1st Card - No one can
claim to be without sin (1 John 1:8).
B. 2nd Card - The very next
verse (1 John 1:9) says that He will purify us from ALL unrighteousness. If ALL
unrighteousness is gone, how many is left? Zero.
If I have 5 grains of sand on my
hand and I blow them ALL off, how many are left? Zero. If I wash the dishes and
I take ALL the grease out, how much grease is left? Zero.
C. 3rd Card - We are faced
with a contradiction: Card #1 and Card #2 seem to convey opposite truths.
On one hand, Card #1 says that you can not "claim to be without sin" but on the
other, Card #2 says that you can have "all unrighteousness" cleansed, therefore
leaving you with no sin remaining. Can you "not claim to be without sin" and yet
have no sin left?
Something happened in between
verses 8 and 9. Look carefully above. It is called "confession" (caps,
underlined). You cannot say that you have no sin before confessing them
to Christ (repentance). I have witnessed to people who thought that they were
good people and that they never sinned their whole lives. Therefore, they
thought they did not need Jesus.
D. 4th Card - The very next
verse further clarifies it for us: "If we say that we have not sinned, we
make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:10). We make Him a
liar if we say that we have never sinned, because "all have sinned." That's why
we need to be saved.
Let's go back a couple of verses to
get the context (1 John 1:6-7):
"If we say that we have fellowship
with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we
walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
E. 5th Card - We can't walk
in darkness (sin) and have fellowship with God (v. 6). Furthermore, if we say
that we have fellowship with Him - If we call ourselves Christians - and live in
sin, we lie and do not the truth. Right here you can see that "sinning
Christianity" is a false doctrine.
F. 6th Card - If we walk in
the light (truth), the blood of Jesus cleanses from ALL sin (v. 7). Again, ALL
means ALL. If ALL sin is cleansed, how much is left? Zero.
The next verse further shows us
that we are NOT to expect sinning:
"My little children, these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And IF any man
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" (1
John 2:1).
What is the Apostle John's purpose
to writing these things? (answer above)
A. That you may sin
B. That you
may NOT sin
If you correctly answered "b,"
which interpretation of 1 John 1:8 is in more harmony with John's goal for
writing this letter?
Also note that 1 John 2:1 says
"if," not "when" (underlined and capitalized above). Let me ask
you a couple of questions:
1. "IF I have a car wreck
today, I hope not to get hurt." Is this car wreck:
a. inevitable
b. a
possibility
2. "WHEN I drop a ball, it
will fall to the ground." Is the law of gravity:
a. inevitable
b. a
possibility
Likewise, 1 John 2:1 shows us
clearly that sinning is a possibility in a Christian's life ("IF any man
sin..."), but not an inevitable event (not "WHEN any man sin...").
1 John 1:8 shows us that sinning is inevitable in a sinner's life (before
confession and salvation).
I am not claiming to be "without
sin." I used to be a drunkard, a fornicator, etc., before I got saved. But after
I confessed my sins to Jesus and was born-again, I was cleansed of all sin. Now,
by the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God, I am "walking in the
light, as He is in the light," and the blood of Jesus Christ "cleanses me from
ALL sin." I am not expecting to sin, but IF I sin, I have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ, and I am no longer "walking in darkness."
To say that 1 John 1:8 means what
most modern-day professing "Christians" say that it means is bogus. If you look
at the whole context, it CAN NOT mean that we are always going to sin. The verse
in itself is sandwiched between verses that teach the exact opposite!!!
If you read on into this book of 1
John, you will find out some radical statements against "sinning Christianity"
such as:
- 1 John 2:3-6: "And hereby we do
know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I
know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is
not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him
ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked."
1 John 2:29 "If ye know that
he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born
of him."
- 1 John 3:4-10: "Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no
sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen
him, neither known him. Little children, LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU: he that
doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that
committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy
the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for
his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this
the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever
doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his
brother."
- 1 John 5:2-3 "By this we know that
we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his
commandments are not grievous."
The apostle John warned these early
Christians to LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU! (1 John 3:7). The reason for such
admonition is that John knew that deception was coming our way. My friend, that
deception is here in our day.
Modern-day false doctrines:
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