“From the very first day, we were there, taking it all in, we heard it with our own ears, saw it with our own eyes, verified it with our own hands. The Word of Life appeared right before our eyes; we saw it happen! And now we’re telling you in most sober prose that what we witnessed was, incredibly, this: The infinite Life of God Himself took shape before us. We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so we can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!
- The message of salvation is a message of forgiveness for acts of rebellion and indifference to God.
- It is a message of hope to a person who is broken because of failure.
- It is a message of healing to those who have been victims of life’s dark side.
- It is a message of life to those who are watching the gradual decay of their physical frame. It is a declaration of value for those who feel worthless.
- It is a message of a love that exceeds any love we have ever known.
John is not simply interested in us merely learning his story. He wants us to meet the Jesus that changed his life and the life of millions since then. He shares what He saw, heard, and touched so that you and I might come to trust the Saviour with our lives.
God’s formula for fellowship: (1:5-10)
Here “Fellowship” means fellowship with God. The word fellowship means “things held in common.” It implies standing together on common ground. “God desires to have a close, personal relationship with us, where we and God stand together on common ground.” But for many it sounds impossible! John tells us exactly how this can take place. He shows how close communion and intimate fellowship with the Father can be the normal Christian experience, instead of some mystical thing we only hear about, or see in the lives of others.
A true believer can slip and fall into sin, but there is always a desire for a quick recovery. The Christian will not be happy or satisfied until the situation is dealt with and the sin made right with God. Here’s what happens, when a Christian sins, he breaks fellowship with God. But, praise God, there is a formula for restoring and then maintaining that fellowship day by day.
The simple formula to remember: 3R
- i) Recognise, ii) Repent, iii) Reveal.
i) Recognize our sins: (1:8):
True fellowship with God hinges on our ability to admit our sin. God forgives sin, but it must be admitted before it can be forgiven. Before sin can be dealt with, it must be seen as an affront to God. Until sin is recognized as a personal attack on God Himself, it can never be forgiven and there can be no real fellowship with God!
Let’s look at world’s viewpoint concerning dealing with sin:
- Evolution: Man is on his way up! Sin isn’t an issue.
- Education: Man can be taught to live without sin.
- Science: Solve the problems and mysteries of nature and man can be set free from sin.
- Sociology: Sin is the by-product of an unhealthy environment.
- Psychology: Talk about yourself long enough, focus on what you need, and eventually you can eliminate your own guilt.
- Religion: Learn the doctrines, practice the rituals and do good things and you will feel better about yourself and God will accept you.
None of these work, because none of these deal with the problem of sin. At the end of the day man is still a sinner.
So only God’s plan will work. Admit our sin, trust God totally through Jesus Christ His Son and He will remove both our sin and our guilt. He will deliver us.
ii) Repent for our sins: (1:9)
If we recognize our sin and confess it to God, and truly repent of that
sin, He will absolutely forgive us and cleanse our lives (Heb. 8:12; Isa. 43:25; Isa. 1:18). He will not only cleanse our sins but also all our unrighteousness. Cleansing has two sides like the two sides of the coin, both judicial and personal. In the judicial sense, we are justified before God, because He shed His precious blood on the cross of Calvary as a propitiation for our sins and so we are justified before the court of God. But our corrupted heart needs cleaning, refining and inward cleansing also.
Psalmist puts the general word sins in 4-categories in (Ps.32:1-2). They are:
- Transgressions: Crossing over the line and rebelling against God, breaking the Ten-Commandments even.
- Sins: To miss the mark and not live up the standards and expectations of God.
- Iniquity: It is twisted and describes the inner character of the sinner. It is the corruption of the human nature. It is perversity.
- Guile: It is deception, defilement of the spirit by which one tries to excuse his offence.
When we confess sincerely, the Lord cleanses all sorts of sins. That’s why David said: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps.51:10). Further the prophet Isaiah said: “All of us have become like one who is unclean and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isa.64:6a). That’s why a true and sincere confession with repentance is required for cleansing our basic sinful nature.