“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is
not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not
sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” – 1 John
1:8-10 NIV
First of all, we need to know that God is our heavenly
Father (Ephesians
4:6) and we are sinners from the beginning, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans
3:23) This is because this world is under the control of Satan, the evil
one, who is also the enemy of God. The reason for this is in Romans
5:12, which states: “When Adam
sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to
everyone, for everyone sinned.” Thus, our heavenly Father sent His only
beloved Son as an image of Himself (Colossians
1:15) into the world to crucify Himself on the cross as an atonement of our
sin. (Colossians
2:13-15; Hebrews
2:14-15) He did this out of His abundant grace and mercy, because He wanted
us to restart our lives, being the righteousness of God. We can see this in 2
Corinthians 5:21 and 1
Peter 2:24-25:
For God made Christ, who never
sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God
through Christ. (2
Corinthians 5:21)
“He himself bore our sins” in his
body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by
his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but
now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1
Peter 2:24-25)
Because we are sinners, God had appointed some specific people
to write the Bible, which is the word of God that contains different gospels.
In other words, the Bible was created for us to read daily, so we may not sin
and start to live our lives as the righteousness of God.
For in the gospel the righteousness
of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as
it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” For the word of God is alive
and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the
heart. (Romans
1:17, Hebrews 4:12)
All Scripture is God-breathed and
is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so
that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2
Timothy 3:16-17)
Whatever happens, conduct
yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and
see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm
in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without
being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them
that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it
has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but
also to suffer for him. (Philippians
1:27-29)
More than that, out of God’s abundant mercy, grace, and
love, God gave us to confess our sins on Him and to ask Him to remove our unrighteousness;
so that we may be healed and continue to be the righteousness of God. We can
see this in 1
John 1:9-2:1, which declares:
If we claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar
and his word is not in us. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will
not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus
Christ, the Righteous One.
Lastly, our heavenly Father poured His Spirit into us to
help us in the walking with Him. We can see this in John
14:15-17,26-27, which Jesus says:
If you love me, keep my commands. And
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you
and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept
him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives
with you and will be in you… The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of
everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I
do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and
do not be afraid.
However, we need to abide in the Holy Spirit and the word of
God to have relationship with our heavenly Father as well as walking in the
truth with Him properly. We can see these in Ephesians
5:15-18 and 2
John 1:9:
Be very careful, then, how you live—not
as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days
are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do
not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit. (Ephesians
5:15-18)
Anyone who runs ahead and does not
continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the
teaching has both the Father and the Son. (2
John 1:9)
No comments:
Post a Comment