The last reflection looked at Ephesians 4 and the encouragement to be gracious and eliminate unity-destroying sin from our lives. The very next verses follow this up with instruction to, “Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”(Ephesians 5:1-2). Ephesians 5:3 then stresses the importance of walking with God in order to guard ourselves from sin: “Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord”(Ephesians 5:8b-10).
1 John 1 also encourages walking in the light, offering specific instruction for restoring the light when sin darkens the path. We tend to view sin as we do dirt and clutter: no big deal when it first starts to collect in our habits and daily life. We can pretend that we don’t sin, but our pretending doesn’t change the facts. When we accept Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sin, we no longer face an eternal punishment; but regularly recognizing and turning from sin, trying “to discern what is pleasing to the Lord,” is a prerequisite to maintaining fellowship with our Savior and with other Christians: “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin”(1 John 1:7).
1 John 1:8 points out the reality of sin and warns against thinking we can ever be done battling it. Verse 9 then presents the only solution to sin-damaged fellowship: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Trying to deceive ourselves by ignoring our sin equates to calling God a liar, the height of blind, darkened foolishness: “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us”(1 John 1:10).
We don’t clean a dirty room by standing in the middle and swishing a dust rag through the air once or twice. We need to see and attack the actual mess. Some Christians, however, think they can deal with sin in their lives by floating through their prayers with a generalized dust rag, not addressing any particular sin: “Lord, if I have sinned today, please forgive me.” If? We need soft hearts to recognize our sin and attack it.
Addressing sin is often a private matter, but sometimes it includes apologizing to others. When we hear the word “apology,” we think of an expression of remorse. A less common definition is a formal justification or defense. If we’re honest, sometimes our “apologies” lack remorse and, ironically, line up more with the second definition as a thinly-disguised attempt to justify ourselves. “I’m sorry, but . . . .” An excuse follows. Although we wouldn’t say these words aloud, our actions and/or tone and/or excuses clarify that we’re actually thinking, “I know you think I should say I’m sorry, so I will, but I don’t believe I did anything wrong”; or, “It’s really all your fault and you should be repentant instead of I”; or, “The extenuating circumstances excuse me”; or, “Surely someone as all-knowing and wonderful as I am couldn’t actually have been wrong, but since I’m so wonderful, I’ll say I’m sorry”; or, “I’m not really wrong but now that I’ve said I’m sorry you’re obligated to be nice to me.” Yikes! Admitting we’re wrong and have behaved poorly is not easy, especially if we’ve built a habit of blaming others; but true remorse doesn’t try to spread the blame. It may seem easier to assume that all “sides” are partially at fault, but that’s not always the case.
We seldom read the Old Testament book of Leviticus unless we’re on a read-through-the-Bible schedule, but we learn something of God’s view of guilt and sin in the details. When an Israelite took an animal to the priest for a sin offering, the Israelite had to place his hand on the animal before the sacrifice, admitting that he had sinned and was sacrificing the animal on his behalf(Leviticus 4). God required an admission of guilt with the offering. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, the final and perfect sacrifice, we no longer need to scrounge for an animal to pay for our sin. However, we still must admit our guilt and need of a Savior in order to gain salvation. Once saved we must follow God’s Word, “walk in the light,” in order to enjoy fellowship with God and other Christians. When we sin, 1 John 1:9 provides us with the path to restoring fellowship with God and other Christians.
Admitting guilt seems difficult when we’re not viewing life and ourselves realistically, but when our hearts desire God it’s much easier. Reconciliation with God and with one we’ve wronged is a beautiful reward. The fact that you’re still reading this indicates a soft heart God can use. King David was called a man after God’s heart not because he was perfect but because he sought after God and grieved for his sin. Psalm 51 is an expression of King David’s repentance, and its poignancy and power have initiated many hymns and spiritual songs. David wrote, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me”(vv. 3-4).
—reflection 2 in a series