Faith & Love: A One Year Bible Reading Plan - Part 10Sample

Occasionally, there is confusion among people about whether their sins have been forgiven. In 1 John 1, John writes to Jesus' followers living in a community dominated by agnostics. According to them, there is no sin, so asking for forgiveness is not necessary. In looking at the world around us, we sometimes wonder how people live the way they do, seemingly without sin.

In this verse, John shares three fundamentals that shed light on sin's understanding:

1. We live in the light of God. Being born again and surrendering our lives to God means having God in our hearts, who is Light. Our relationship with Him has been restored, and we are no longer called sinners. Hence, we are the righteousness of God in Christ. The old has passed away, and we are a new creation. We do not have to repent repeatedly. We have been forgiven once and for all.

2. We also share life with other people. We all make mistakes when we share life with other followers of Christ, either through our words or our actions. John also calls that sin against each other. It is important for us to confess to one another.

3. When we confess our sins and wrongdoings, we forgive others and receive forgiveness for ourselves. That is the power of the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, who lives in and amongst us.

What difference will it make if your relationship with God is not based on a sin-conscious mind but rather a clean-conscience mind, knowing that your sins have been forgiven?

How will fellowship with other Jesus followers be different if we confess our wrongdoings to one another and don’t allow resentment to distance us from each other?

As Jesus' followers, how will we impact the world by forgiving others and teaching them to forgive as well?