Am I a Christian?
Jim was talking with his minister. He had become a Christian from a rough background and had joined a Bible teaching church. However he was troubled because he felt his lifestyle did not match what he saw in others in the church and he wondered if he would go to heaven. They looked together at the book of 1 John.
1 John was written because the Christians in Ephesus were being troubled by some teachers who were suggesting that having a simple belief in Jesus was alright as a start but then people need to progress in their knowledge and become more advanced Christians. John, the apostle felt that this was a deadly heresy and wrote this short letter to reassure the Christians that in Christ they have everything they need but that they must grasp what this means. It is the message that God wants all people to understand - if they are ‘in Christ’ then all is well. The purpose of the book is summarised later on. Please note the tenses – we have been given eternal life, it is never earned, it is a gift because we belong to Jesus Christ
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13
There can be no doubt that all Christians are meant to know for certain that they have eternal life. However back at the beginning of John’s letter this is qualified by five ‘ifs’. John wants people to know that our security is not in experiences or knowledge that the false teachers were delivering but in Jesus Christ himself.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
“If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
But 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, purifies us from all sin.
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 1:5-10
This paragraph begins with the character of God, ‘God is light; in him is no darkness at all’. What does this mean? A clue is given in verse 7, ‘purifies us from all sin.’ In the following 10 verses ‘sin’ is mentioned ten times. God is sinless and cannot tolerate any sin.
“Then how can I hope to go to heaven, seeing all the wrong things I have done. I am far from sinless,”
This is the real worry of many people. We must understand what ‘walking in the light’ means. It cannot mean becoming as sinless as God is, in view of the verse that follows,
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 5:8
To walk in the light is to be seen and open. It is the opposite of walking in the dark, which means to keep things hidden. Just as the main secret of a happy marriage is to be open with your husband or wife and keep no secrets, so it is with God. So ‘to walk in the light’ must mean to live in close harmony with God, the thrill of knowing that he has accepted me in spite of what I am. This relationship will inevitably result in us becoming more like our heavenly partner. We will never be perfect in this life because we still have that ‘old person’ still in us who keeps dragging us away from our walking in the presence of God.
‘Walking in the light’ will have other significant effects on us. We will increasingly realize how ungodly we really are. Yet it is in that close relationship that forgiveness is found.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Effect of Bible Teaching in the Old Testament
When Nehemiah was re-establishing the city of Jerusalem after many Jews returned from the Babylonian exile he first built the walls of the city. Then he addressed the blatant social inequalities that were dividing the people of God. His next phase was to encourage God’s people to get to know the Word of God. He arranged for the High Priest Ezra to read through all the Scriptures they had and to all the people who, in spite of the long sessions listened attentively to what they heard.
“So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.” Nehemiah 8:2-3
Then the Levites,
“. . . instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.” Nehemiah 8:7-9
The priority for the leaders of God’s people has always been to make what God teaches in his Word widely known. For God’s people to ‘walk in the light’ meant for them to want to live closely with God. The first effect of the combination of wanting to live closely with God and hearing His Word is a feeling of failure, the realization that we fall far short of the standards of God. The Children of Israel wept and mourned. The use of the word ‘mourned’ is significant as it is usually associated with death. They realized, perhaps for the first time that they were ‘spiritually dead’. However there was good news to come.
“Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, ‘This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.’ For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.”Nehemiah 8:7-9
So often people think that the Bible is just about hell and damnation and they don’t want to hear about that! However they forget that it goes on to give the ‘Good News’ or ‘Gospel’ about how God loves his people in spite of all their rejection of him and wants to restore the relationship so people can ‘walk in his light’.
“Nehemiah said, ‘Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, ‘Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.’ Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.” Nehemiah 8:10-12
The effect of hearing and understanding the Word of God had two effects. They became intensely aware of how sinful they still were. Sackcloth and ashes was another sign of mourning. God’s people today sometimes like to wear their best clothes to demonstrate their special status but rarely do we publicly demonstrate our realisation that we are at heart still sinful people who are dependent on God’s grace for us to be accepted.
“On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshipping the Lord their God. Nehemiah 9:1-3
This creates a great tension. How can an imperfect people ever hope to be right with God. Their sin had to be transferred to another. God had told them that they needed to regularly sacrifice animals as their sin substitutes and they transferred their sin symbolically to the sheep or goat before it was sacrificed. The climax of the return of God’s people to live with him was the public transmission of their guilt to these sacrificial animals. This had great meaning to God’s people and filled them with joy.
“And on that day they offered great sacrifices, rejoicing because God had given them great joy.” Nehemiah 12:43
This story demonstrates the gospel. We hear God’s word taught, we realize how far short we have fallen in rebelling against God but then understand the forgiveness that has been won for us by the ‘Lamb of God’ who sacrificed himself to be our substitute, to take away our sin. Paul later summarised this succinctly,
“For all have sinned and fall short of the kingdom of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24
The effect of Bible Teaching today
The essential gospel has never changed. We hear God’s word, realize our need and then seek forgiveness. This forgiveness is now only found in the sacrifice of God’s one and only Son. There is no other way to become right with God. The Bible is adamant about this. Jesus said,
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Peter and John were arrested by the orders of the ruling Jews because they were teaching that Jesus Christ was God’s only Son and that he was the ultimate sacrifice for sin. In their defence they said,
“Salvation is found in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
Paul, wrote to Timothy and emphasised the uniqueness of Jesus and the necessity of believing in him.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.” 1 Timothy 2:5
For us to ‘walk in the light’ is not to live by what we consider to be God’s rules. That is religion. God wants us to life in a relationship with him based on the fact that he has acted to save us and admit us into his family. When the significance of this dawns on us we will want to life in a way that pleases him, doing anything that enhances the relationship. We will want to know his Word, talk with him about what he wants us to do and share the difficulties we face in doing this. He wants us to be encouraged by meeting up with other Christians regularly.
Christians have all entered into a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The ‘light’ of this relationship will increasingly make us aware of our failings and this is why we need to keep returning o remember the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
If we refuse to listen to God, fail to recognize how we have failed to walk in his light and have rejected the death of God’s Son as our Saviour, the Bible is clear about what will happen to us eventually.
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” John 3:36
What a joy it is to know that if we are in Christ we are secure for eternity, but that being in Christ means ‘walking in his light’, leaning to love and obey what he wants. After all, we Christians are the ‘bride of Christ’ and should act accordingly.
BVP
