Many verses, especially from the epistles of the apostle John, have been used as a whip to beat the church back into obeying the Old Covenant Law. A good understanding of grace and righteousness would go a long way into clearing up the fog surrounding these topics of discussion, such as the terms “fellowship”, “practicing truth”, “committing sin” or “lawlessness”, etc. Undivided attention and prolonged concentration is strongly recommended for this one.
Fellowship It is commonly believed that whenever a believer messes up in regard to their moral behavior, that they fall out of fellowship with God and that they need to confess their sins in order to restore such “fellowship”. However when viewed from this perspective the term “fellowship” (better known as “fellowshipping with God” in Pentecostal circles) would then refer to a feeling of intimacy that comes and goes depending on our ability to perform at our best. This is not what scripture has to say, in fact not even once in the entire New Testament is the word “fellowship” described in this manner, especially when it pertains to our relationship with God.
The term “fellowshipping with God” is not even used once in the entire Bible. It is a phrase that has been made up by people to refer to their own quiet time with God and through the last few decades it has been twisted by legalistic to make believers feel guilty and stand accused of being “out of fellowship” with God if they didn’t allocate a certain amount of time per week to prayer and Bible study.
On the contrary, here are a few examples of how the word “fellowship” has been used in Biblical terms:
- For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?
- And what communion has light with darkness?
- And what accord has Christ with Belial?
- Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (2 Cor 6: 14b-15 NKJV)
Take NOTE How these opposing entities are contrasted with each other: righteousness vs. lawlessness, light vs. darkness, Christ (anointed) vs. Belial (worthless) and believer vs. unbeliever. It says that such opposites cannot have fellowship with one another, meaning they are not compatible. Just as Christ cannot have fellowship with Belial, in the same way a believer is not to be considered by the same measure as an unbeliever.
If a person is therefore out of fellowship with Christ it means that they have not been born again and they fall under the same category as darkness, Belial, and lawlessness in the above verse.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1: 9 NKJV)
We were called into the fellowship and therefore when we put our faith in Christ we are now in the fellowship.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1: 6 NKJV)
This verse makes it abundantly clear that, the apostle John is talking about OUR POSITION in Christ, not our behavior. We cannot say that we have fellowship with God (in other words that we have been born again) if we walk in darkness (which means we have not actually been born again), because then we would be lying. In simple English: You cannot say you are a Christian if you have not been born again!!
Practicing Truth or Righteousness Vs. Walking in Darkness
Now of course the pessimist or legalist would say, “Yes but what about the parts in the previous verse that says “walk in darkness” and “practice the truth?” The answer is simple: once again this is not referring to our own works of righteousness; in fact it has nothing to do with our behavior.
The terminology used by the apostle John for being Born-again is to “practice righteousness” or “practice truth” or “walk in the light” (we will deal with “walking in the light” a little later).
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2: 29 NKJV)
We know for a fact that every believer on the planet messes up from time to time. It’s clear therefore that the above verse can’t be referring to our behavior, because this would imply that anybody who makes a mistake is not born of God. In contrast, when John talks about those who “commit sin” or who “practice lawlessness” or “walk in darkness” he is referring to the unsaved.
This principle stays consistent throughout all 3 of John’s epistles. Predominantly however these verses have been read through a legalistic point of view, causing much perplexity in the body of Christ. Committing Sin or Lawlessness Another shining example is 1 John 3: 4-9
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 3: 4-5 NKJV)
Once again John is referring to the unsaved here. Whenever the New Testament refers to those who “commit sin” or “practice lawlessness” it does not have the same meaning as under the Old Testament when people were still judged according to the law. The only sin in the New Testament is NOT Believing in Jesus, as we also saw previously when we talked about “The Unforgivable Sin”. Verse 5 (above) depicts God’s answer to mankind’s problem of sin - He took our sin away and placed us in Christ where we now are completely forgiven and seen as though we’ve never even committed a single sin!
Read verse 5 again in this context. Is the light beginning to go on yet that John is not talking about our behavior in this epistle? Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. (1 John 3: 6 NKJV) This verse mentions another “buzz” concept, namely to “abide” in Him.
It’s really very simple to prove that this also refers to being saved and not to our own efforts to maintain a good standing with God. Simply do searches for the word “abide( s)” on any Bible software program and study the results. This verse further says that whoever sins “has not seen God or does not know God”, which implies NOT having a relationship with Him.
Many (if not all) sincere Christians who have had an intimate relationship with God for decades still make mistakes every day of their lives despite their best efforts. If this verse meant that they are disqualified from their relationship with God if they sin even once (because it doesn’t say “sin a hundred times” or “sin four times per day”), this would amount to no one on the entire planet being able to maintain a stable relationship with God.
Clearly therefore this is not the context of this verse. Let’s look at the subsequent three verses:
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness [which means to be saved] is righteous, just as He [God] is righteous.
8 He who sins [an unbeliever] is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of God [a believer] does not sin, for His [God’s] seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3: 7-9 NKJV )
The Key here is verse 9. How is it possible that a believer cannot sin if we’re all too aware of how many mistakes we make? Simply because John is not talking about our behavior! He is still using the same terminology to differentiate between being saved or not.
Read verses 7 - 9 again and let it sink in.
In verse 8, if John meant that anybody who commits an act of sin is of the devil, it would imply that all Christians are of the devil. Clearly this is not what he meant.
There are two main reasons why Christians can’t be called “sinners” anymore:
1. The first being because they are no longer under the Old Covenant Law. And since there is no more law to break (and sin is defined as breaking the law) consequently their mistakes can no longer be called “sinning”. And where there is no law there is no transgression. (Rom 4: 15b NKJV)
2. Secondly everybody on the planet falls into one of two categories: they’re either a sinner or a saint. Not once in the entire Bible is mention made of a “neutral” position somewhere in the middle. We either have God as our Father, or the devil. So a person is either a saint or they’re a sinner. A Christian can’t be a sinner.
Practicing Lawlessness or Unrighteousness
Jesus basically used the exact same terminology in Matthew 7: 15 when He warned about the false prophets that would come in sheep’s clothing. What most people miss though is that down in verse 21 Jesus was still talking about these same people.
We’ll look at the entire text here so the skeptics can see for themselves:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matt 7: 15-20 NKJV)
These verses pertain specifically to the fact that an unbeliever cannot manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit because they don’t have the Spirit living in them.
They may act kindly or behave in a very moral manner, but their hearts still remain evil and sinful, hence Jesus says they are “ravenous wolves” on the inside. Also, since Jesus is the tree of life and the good vine, He cannot bear bad fruit. This means that we as believers are the good fruit that He bears since His life is recreated in us. God the Father sowed His own Son and reaped more sons.
Now NOTE that in the next verses that Jesus is still talking about these same people (the false prophets and unbelievers):
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’(Matt 7: 21-23 NKJV)
In verse 21b Jesus says that “whoever does the will of the Father” shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now hang in there for the next paragraph; it may seem disjointed, but we will pull it all together at the end. In the gospel of John, Jesus also said the following:
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’. (John 3: 5-7 NKJV)
Here Jesus was referring to the two different births (natural and spiritual) of any human being that enters the kingdom of heaven –firstly they are born from the water of their mother’s womb (He was not talking about water baptism, because in verse 6 He specifically talks about being born of the “flesh” which means to be born into this world) and secondly they are born of the spirit, better known as being “born again”.
Now what does the Bible teach us about how to be born again? …that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom 10: 9-10 NKJV)
Once again it would “appear” as though we have a contradiction: In Matthew 7: 21 Jesus says that whoever does the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but from John 3: 5 and Romans 10: 9-10 we can conclude that whoever believes in Jesus shall enter the kingdom of heaven. The following verse sheds some light on what it means to “do” the will of the Father and “work” the works of God:
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”. (John 6: 29 NKJV) As before we see that these expressions, even though they appear to imply that we have to do some external action or work, actually refers to an action of faith, of placing our trust in Jesus Christ. This is what it means to do the will of the Father. Then in Matthew 7: 23 Jesus tells those who “practice lawlessness” to depart from Him, referring to the unsaved again, just like we previously saw John do in his epistles. Jesus also said to them “I never knew you”. Can it be any clearer that in fact He was referring to unbelievers?
Practicing lawlessness does not mean breaking the 10 Commandments: it means not being saved. Obeying Commandments Let’s slam another nail in the coffin and prove to the legalists just how fully the grace of God has made provision for our natural human insufficiencies. Let’s try and figure this one out together. Remembering all that we have just learnt about those who “practice righteousness” and previously also about those who “commit sin”, it is obvious that John could also be talking about something else than obeying the 10 Commandments when he says that we need to “obey God’s commandments”. This is in fact a big favorite with those who still preach that we should live according to the Old Testament Laws.
Let’s take a look and see what John really meant:
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2: 3-4 NKJV) Some other verses address this same issue and the aforementioned “abiding in Him” issue as well: Now he [someone] who keeps His [God’s] commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3: 24 NKJV)
From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we know that every believer receives and is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that they are indeed saved:
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our that they are indeed saved: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph 1: 13-14 NKJV)
We can therefore see that believers receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee after they are born again and because He is sealed inside them He naturally will also “abide” with them and they with Him. Now in this context, read 1 John 3: 24 (above) again. Clearly John is saying that whosoever has the Holy Spirit (a believer), such a person also keeps God’s commandments. What “commandments” is he talking about? And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3: 23 NKJV)
When the very nature and character of the person of the Holy Spirit resides within a person, a natural result will be that they begin to change in their outward behavior. People will begin to notice a difference in the way they live. It can’t happen the other way round –somebody that acts in a well behaving manner can never through their good actions be changed on the inside –they need to receive the Holy Spirit first. This is exactly what the apostle John is talking about: When we believe in God and are born again, we will love one another more and more as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that abides within us. Obeying God’s commandments in the New Testament therefore means to believe in Jesus. Walking in the Light 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 cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1: 7 NKJV)
At a first glance, this verse seems to say that as long as we hold up our end of the bargain, Jesus’ blood will cleanse us from our sin. However to walk in the light as God is in the light is actually a result of God giving us His righteousness - again John is talking about our secure position in Christ here, not our behavior.
Our position in Christ is eternally secured the day we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. From that day on we “walk in the light”. Now some people may ask: “What is light?” In John 8: 12 Jesus said “I am the light of the world”, therefore we can conclude Jesus is light. When we are born again we are placed in Christ (1 Corinthians 1: 30, Ephesians 2: 10) and therefore we are in the light. But because we are in the light, we also become light: …you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (Eph 5: 8 NKJV) Jesus also says we are the light of the world: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matt 5: 14 NKJV)
As He was (and still is) the light, so we have become as He is: ... because as he is so also are we in this world. (1 John 4: 17b NKJV)
Most of the arguments against the grace message come from the three epistles of John. Most legalists that read these books see it as a set of instructions that tell us what we are supposed to do, instead of reading it in the correct context (as we’ve already discussed previously):
The epistles of John were written by John to his “little children” who had just come out from under the false teachings of Gnostics.
John was by no means trying to tell them to “DO THIS!” or “DO THAT!” Instead he was telling them how secure they were in Christ, assuring them of their eternal salvation. 1 John 1: 7 (above) says the blood cleanses from every sin and to any sensible believer that should pretty much mean exactly what it says: every sin.
In the original Greek language the word that was used for “cleanses” was katharizo. This literally means to “continually cleanse”. So if we make a mistake the blood removes it completely and this happens day and night without ceasing.
Also if we believe we can “walk in the light” based on our own obedience, why then would we need the blood to continually cleanse us? Because now we are doing it all our self! No, we walk in the light because we have been given the righteousness of God as a free gift.
Here are some more verses to explain this:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord... (Eph 5: 8a NKJV)
This says that we were once lost (in darkness), but now we have been born again (we have become light). And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they might shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations of those who are saved will walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev 21: 23-24 NKJV)
This passage says that those who have been saved will walk in the light. Once again “walking in the light” refers to the believer’s secure position in Christ and NOT to some physical thing they are supposed to do. Yes when we look at our behavior we will clearly see that we make mistakes every day and that we don’t necessarily walk in the light in our actions, but that is because our minds have not yet been fully renewed.
Until the day we go to be with the Lord there will always be some area in our lives that we will need to bring under submission to the authority of God, whether it be thought patterns, habits, or whatever. The point is that we don’t practice “correct behavior” in order to earn God’s approval, but it happens spontaneously as a result of us falling more in love with Jesus and becoming more and more aware of how wonderfully we have been saved. During our entire time spent on the earth we will always be able to improve our external conduct and bring it more in line with our perfect position in Christ.
But until we receive our glorified bodies, God has already provided more than enough grace to cover any mistakes we may make along the way. There is nothing wrong with living moral lives, but we should not use our ability to live ethically as the measure or standard of our relationship with God.
Fellowship It is commonly believed that whenever a believer messes up in regard to their moral behavior, that they fall out of fellowship with God and that they need to confess their sins in order to restore such “fellowship”. However when viewed from this perspective the term “fellowship” (better known as “fellowshipping with God” in Pentecostal circles) would then refer to a feeling of intimacy that comes and goes depending on our ability to perform at our best. This is not what scripture has to say, in fact not even once in the entire New Testament is the word “fellowship” described in this manner, especially when it pertains to our relationship with God.
The term “fellowshipping with God” is not even used once in the entire Bible. It is a phrase that has been made up by people to refer to their own quiet time with God and through the last few decades it has been twisted by legalistic to make believers feel guilty and stand accused of being “out of fellowship” with God if they didn’t allocate a certain amount of time per week to prayer and Bible study.
On the contrary, here are a few examples of how the word “fellowship” has been used in Biblical terms:
- For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?
- And what communion has light with darkness?
- And what accord has Christ with Belial?
- Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? (2 Cor 6: 14b-15 NKJV)
Take NOTE How these opposing entities are contrasted with each other: righteousness vs. lawlessness, light vs. darkness, Christ (anointed) vs. Belial (worthless) and believer vs. unbeliever. It says that such opposites cannot have fellowship with one another, meaning they are not compatible. Just as Christ cannot have fellowship with Belial, in the same way a believer is not to be considered by the same measure as an unbeliever.
If a person is therefore out of fellowship with Christ it means that they have not been born again and they fall under the same category as darkness, Belial, and lawlessness in the above verse.
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1: 9 NKJV)
We were called into the fellowship and therefore when we put our faith in Christ we are now in the fellowship.
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1: 6 NKJV)
This verse makes it abundantly clear that, the apostle John is talking about OUR POSITION in Christ, not our behavior. We cannot say that we have fellowship with God (in other words that we have been born again) if we walk in darkness (which means we have not actually been born again), because then we would be lying. In simple English: You cannot say you are a Christian if you have not been born again!!
Practicing Truth or Righteousness Vs. Walking in Darkness
Now of course the pessimist or legalist would say, “Yes but what about the parts in the previous verse that says “walk in darkness” and “practice the truth?” The answer is simple: once again this is not referring to our own works of righteousness; in fact it has nothing to do with our behavior.
The terminology used by the apostle John for being Born-again is to “practice righteousness” or “practice truth” or “walk in the light” (we will deal with “walking in the light” a little later).
If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2: 29 NKJV)
We know for a fact that every believer on the planet messes up from time to time. It’s clear therefore that the above verse can’t be referring to our behavior, because this would imply that anybody who makes a mistake is not born of God. In contrast, when John talks about those who “commit sin” or who “practice lawlessness” or “walk in darkness” he is referring to the unsaved.
This principle stays consistent throughout all 3 of John’s epistles. Predominantly however these verses have been read through a legalistic point of view, causing much perplexity in the body of Christ. Committing Sin or Lawlessness Another shining example is 1 John 3: 4-9
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. (1 John 3: 4-5 NKJV)
Once again John is referring to the unsaved here. Whenever the New Testament refers to those who “commit sin” or “practice lawlessness” it does not have the same meaning as under the Old Testament when people were still judged according to the law. The only sin in the New Testament is NOT Believing in Jesus, as we also saw previously when we talked about “The Unforgivable Sin”. Verse 5 (above) depicts God’s answer to mankind’s problem of sin - He took our sin away and placed us in Christ where we now are completely forgiven and seen as though we’ve never even committed a single sin!
Read verse 5 again in this context. Is the light beginning to go on yet that John is not talking about our behavior in this epistle? Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. (1 John 3: 6 NKJV) This verse mentions another “buzz” concept, namely to “abide” in Him.
It’s really very simple to prove that this also refers to being saved and not to our own efforts to maintain a good standing with God. Simply do searches for the word “abide( s)” on any Bible software program and study the results. This verse further says that whoever sins “has not seen God or does not know God”, which implies NOT having a relationship with Him.
Many (if not all) sincere Christians who have had an intimate relationship with God for decades still make mistakes every day of their lives despite their best efforts. If this verse meant that they are disqualified from their relationship with God if they sin even once (because it doesn’t say “sin a hundred times” or “sin four times per day”), this would amount to no one on the entire planet being able to maintain a stable relationship with God.
Clearly therefore this is not the context of this verse. Let’s look at the subsequent three verses:
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness [which means to be saved] is righteous, just as He [God] is righteous.
8 He who sins [an unbeliever] is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of God [a believer] does not sin, for His [God’s] seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. (1 John 3: 7-9 NKJV )
The Key here is verse 9. How is it possible that a believer cannot sin if we’re all too aware of how many mistakes we make? Simply because John is not talking about our behavior! He is still using the same terminology to differentiate between being saved or not.
Read verses 7 - 9 again and let it sink in.
In verse 8, if John meant that anybody who commits an act of sin is of the devil, it would imply that all Christians are of the devil. Clearly this is not what he meant.
There are two main reasons why Christians can’t be called “sinners” anymore:
1. The first being because they are no longer under the Old Covenant Law. And since there is no more law to break (and sin is defined as breaking the law) consequently their mistakes can no longer be called “sinning”. And where there is no law there is no transgression. (Rom 4: 15b NKJV)
2. Secondly everybody on the planet falls into one of two categories: they’re either a sinner or a saint. Not once in the entire Bible is mention made of a “neutral” position somewhere in the middle. We either have God as our Father, or the devil. So a person is either a saint or they’re a sinner. A Christian can’t be a sinner.
Practicing Lawlessness or Unrighteousness
Jesus basically used the exact same terminology in Matthew 7: 15 when He warned about the false prophets that would come in sheep’s clothing. What most people miss though is that down in verse 21 Jesus was still talking about these same people.
We’ll look at the entire text here so the skeptics can see for themselves:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Matt 7: 15-20 NKJV)
These verses pertain specifically to the fact that an unbeliever cannot manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit because they don’t have the Spirit living in them.
They may act kindly or behave in a very moral manner, but their hearts still remain evil and sinful, hence Jesus says they are “ravenous wolves” on the inside. Also, since Jesus is the tree of life and the good vine, He cannot bear bad fruit. This means that we as believers are the good fruit that He bears since His life is recreated in us. God the Father sowed His own Son and reaped more sons.
Now NOTE that in the next verses that Jesus is still talking about these same people (the false prophets and unbelievers):
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’(Matt 7: 21-23 NKJV)
In verse 21b Jesus says that “whoever does the will of the Father” shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Now hang in there for the next paragraph; it may seem disjointed, but we will pull it all together at the end. In the gospel of John, Jesus also said the following:
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’. (John 3: 5-7 NKJV)
Here Jesus was referring to the two different births (natural and spiritual) of any human being that enters the kingdom of heaven –firstly they are born from the water of their mother’s womb (He was not talking about water baptism, because in verse 6 He specifically talks about being born of the “flesh” which means to be born into this world) and secondly they are born of the spirit, better known as being “born again”.
Now what does the Bible teach us about how to be born again? …that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Rom 10: 9-10 NKJV)
Once again it would “appear” as though we have a contradiction: In Matthew 7: 21 Jesus says that whoever does the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but from John 3: 5 and Romans 10: 9-10 we can conclude that whoever believes in Jesus shall enter the kingdom of heaven. The following verse sheds some light on what it means to “do” the will of the Father and “work” the works of God:
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”. (John 6: 29 NKJV) As before we see that these expressions, even though they appear to imply that we have to do some external action or work, actually refers to an action of faith, of placing our trust in Jesus Christ. This is what it means to do the will of the Father. Then in Matthew 7: 23 Jesus tells those who “practice lawlessness” to depart from Him, referring to the unsaved again, just like we previously saw John do in his epistles. Jesus also said to them “I never knew you”. Can it be any clearer that in fact He was referring to unbelievers?
Practicing lawlessness does not mean breaking the 10 Commandments: it means not being saved. Obeying Commandments Let’s slam another nail in the coffin and prove to the legalists just how fully the grace of God has made provision for our natural human insufficiencies. Let’s try and figure this one out together. Remembering all that we have just learnt about those who “practice righteousness” and previously also about those who “commit sin”, it is obvious that John could also be talking about something else than obeying the 10 Commandments when he says that we need to “obey God’s commandments”. This is in fact a big favorite with those who still preach that we should live according to the Old Testament Laws.
Let’s take a look and see what John really meant:
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (1 John 2: 3-4 NKJV) Some other verses address this same issue and the aforementioned “abiding in Him” issue as well: Now he [someone] who keeps His [God’s] commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us. (1 John 3: 24 NKJV)
From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we know that every believer receives and is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that they are indeed saved:
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our that they are indeed saved: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory. (Eph 1: 13-14 NKJV)
We can therefore see that believers receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee after they are born again and because He is sealed inside them He naturally will also “abide” with them and they with Him. Now in this context, read 1 John 3: 24 (above) again. Clearly John is saying that whosoever has the Holy Spirit (a believer), such a person also keeps God’s commandments. What “commandments” is he talking about? And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. (1 John 3: 23 NKJV)
When the very nature and character of the person of the Holy Spirit resides within a person, a natural result will be that they begin to change in their outward behavior. People will begin to notice a difference in the way they live. It can’t happen the other way round –somebody that acts in a well behaving manner can never through their good actions be changed on the inside –they need to receive the Holy Spirit first. This is exactly what the apostle John is talking about: When we believe in God and are born again, we will love one another more and more as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that abides within us. Obeying God’s commandments in the New Testament therefore means to believe in Jesus. Walking in the Light 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 cleanses us from every sin. (1 John 1: 7 NKJV)
At a first glance, this verse seems to say that as long as we hold up our end of the bargain, Jesus’ blood will cleanse us from our sin. However to walk in the light as God is in the light is actually a result of God giving us His righteousness - again John is talking about our secure position in Christ here, not our behavior.
Our position in Christ is eternally secured the day we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. From that day on we “walk in the light”. Now some people may ask: “What is light?” In John 8: 12 Jesus said “I am the light of the world”, therefore we can conclude Jesus is light. When we are born again we are placed in Christ (1 Corinthians 1: 30, Ephesians 2: 10) and therefore we are in the light. But because we are in the light, we also become light: …you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (Eph 5: 8 NKJV) Jesus also says we are the light of the world: You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matt 5: 14 NKJV)
As He was (and still is) the light, so we have become as He is: ... because as he is so also are we in this world. (1 John 4: 17b NKJV)
Most of the arguments against the grace message come from the three epistles of John. Most legalists that read these books see it as a set of instructions that tell us what we are supposed to do, instead of reading it in the correct context (as we’ve already discussed previously):
The epistles of John were written by John to his “little children” who had just come out from under the false teachings of Gnostics.
John was by no means trying to tell them to “DO THIS!” or “DO THAT!” Instead he was telling them how secure they were in Christ, assuring them of their eternal salvation. 1 John 1: 7 (above) says the blood cleanses from every sin and to any sensible believer that should pretty much mean exactly what it says: every sin.
In the original Greek language the word that was used for “cleanses” was katharizo. This literally means to “continually cleanse”. So if we make a mistake the blood removes it completely and this happens day and night without ceasing.
Also if we believe we can “walk in the light” based on our own obedience, why then would we need the blood to continually cleanse us? Because now we are doing it all our self! No, we walk in the light because we have been given the righteousness of God as a free gift.
Here are some more verses to explain this:
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord... (Eph 5: 8a NKJV)
This says that we were once lost (in darkness), but now we have been born again (we have become light). And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, that they might shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations of those who are saved will walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. (Rev 21: 23-24 NKJV)
This passage says that those who have been saved will walk in the light. Once again “walking in the light” refers to the believer’s secure position in Christ and NOT to some physical thing they are supposed to do. Yes when we look at our behavior we will clearly see that we make mistakes every day and that we don’t necessarily walk in the light in our actions, but that is because our minds have not yet been fully renewed.
Until the day we go to be with the Lord there will always be some area in our lives that we will need to bring under submission to the authority of God, whether it be thought patterns, habits, or whatever. The point is that we don’t practice “correct behavior” in order to earn God’s approval, but it happens spontaneously as a result of us falling more in love with Jesus and becoming more and more aware of how wonderfully we have been saved. During our entire time spent on the earth we will always be able to improve our external conduct and bring it more in line with our perfect position in Christ.
But until we receive our glorified bodies, God has already provided more than enough grace to cover any mistakes we may make along the way. There is nothing wrong with living moral lives, but we should not use our ability to live ethically as the measure or standard of our relationship with God.
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