Truths we hold

We live in a world that holds on to a lot of partial truths.

But as Christians we can’t do that. We need to hold to the whole truth.

And so as we read 1 John, it’s important to hold all truth together.

What are these truths.

1. You can’t walk in darkness and claim to be a Christian. Put another way, you can’t live in unrepentant sin and say you are a Christian. To do so, John says, makes you a liar (1 John 1:6). Rather a true Christian is marked by a love for God and a love for others.
2. That said, all Christians sin (1:8, 10). No Christian is perfect. And no Christian loves God or people perfectly.
3. When we sin, Jesus intercedes for us before the Father. On the cross, Jesus took all of the Father’s wrath for our sins upon himself (2:1-2). And because of that, we have peace with God.

What happens when we fail to hold these truths together? We either fall into a life of licentiousness, or we fall into depression that we don’t measure up as Christians.

Let’s run from both extremes. Rather, let us do these two things:

1. Live in the light. Make loving God and loving others your top priorities. And when you fall, don’t hide your sin. Bring it before God with a heart of repentance.
2. Walk in grace. When you fall, don’t beat yourself up. Don’t run in shame from God. Instead, run to him, knowing Jesus himself is interceding for you.