Continuing in the Light
04/03/07 20:17
Solomon tells us that the path of the righteous is
like the first gleam of the dawn shining ever
brighter until the full light of the day. We walk in
the light even as He is in the light. God has
ordained that Jesus Christ’s life would be that
light by which the peoples of this world should live
by. David said, “Thy word is a lamp unto my
feet and a light unto my path.” If one would
desire to walk in this dark world without stumbling,
then he must walk by the Light of the world
–Jesus Christ.
Over the years, since I have become a Christian, I have heard a number of Christians and even preachers, talk about Christians who fall into sin. There has even been the occasional statement that Christians are not perfect –everyone sins. They back it up with John’s statement in 1John 1:8 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But John isn’t telling us that no matter how long we live for God, that we are going to have sin in our lives and we might as well get used to it. That kind of thinking only fosters a tolerance for the sin that is in our lives. No, what John is saying is that when God brings to light the sin that is in us, and then we confess that sin, God will be faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If this was not true then he wouldn’t have said later, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” Back to what John said in verse eight: “If we claim to be without sin,” is spoken in the same spirit as Solomon’s adulteress; She eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”Pr,30:20 This is the attitude of many Christians today. They believe, that because they asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins, that there isn’t really any reason to keep going to the light to disclose any more. That would cramp their style. And it’s better not to know that Jesus considers some things as sin, then, I would have to give those things up –and that wouldn’t make me very happy. Actually, just the opposite is true as we see in the song, “What a Friend we have in Jesus.”
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
No, saint of God, it behooves us to run to Jesus with the cry, “Lord, Search me with Thy penetrating light. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me. For you alone can discern my hidden faults. I do not want to be like the wicked who do not come to the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. For I know that those who conceal their sin will not prosper, but those who confess and renounce them finds mercy.” Pr.28:13
Over the years, since I have become a Christian, I have heard a number of Christians and even preachers, talk about Christians who fall into sin. There has even been the occasional statement that Christians are not perfect –everyone sins. They back it up with John’s statement in 1John 1:8 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” But John isn’t telling us that no matter how long we live for God, that we are going to have sin in our lives and we might as well get used to it. That kind of thinking only fosters a tolerance for the sin that is in our lives. No, what John is saying is that when God brings to light the sin that is in us, and then we confess that sin, God will be faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If this was not true then he wouldn’t have said later, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” Back to what John said in verse eight: “If we claim to be without sin,” is spoken in the same spirit as Solomon’s adulteress; She eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”Pr,30:20 This is the attitude of many Christians today. They believe, that because they asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins, that there isn’t really any reason to keep going to the light to disclose any more. That would cramp their style. And it’s better not to know that Jesus considers some things as sin, then, I would have to give those things up –and that wouldn’t make me very happy. Actually, just the opposite is true as we see in the song, “What a Friend we have in Jesus.”
What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
No, saint of God, it behooves us to run to Jesus with the cry, “Lord, Search me with Thy penetrating light. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me. For you alone can discern my hidden faults. I do not want to be like the wicked who do not come to the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. For I know that those who conceal their sin will not prosper, but those who confess and renounce them finds mercy.” Pr.28:13
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