"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
In today's quote, John completely destroyed the common contention that one can live an earthly life that is without sin.
Sadly, there are millions who believe that if there is just one sin that has not been asked to be forgiven that day, their soul at the time of death has no possibility of eternal salvation. That contention is true only as it applies to those whose faith lies in their own ability to live above sin, or, those who pray for forgiveness every second of every day.
If one has accepted the virgin borne only begotten Son of God as their savior and intercessor, the sins he/she might commit are JUSTIFIED through the soul cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, as Paul said in Romans 4:4-8; "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."
If we say we are above sin, John said we are liars. "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
How then does a sinner become righteous enough to attain everlasting life? The answer is simple. The only means by which a lost soul can achieve perfect righteousness is by having that righteousness imputed into him/her through faith in the perfection and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ: (Romans 4:3) "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."The faith of Abraham qualified him as wholly righteous in the sight of God just as Paul said, "his faith is counted for righteousness".
Mankind will NEVER be able to conquer sin without Jesus Christ. Those who rely upon their own good works to get them past the Judgment are in for a very sad awakening.
It behooves us all to pray daily that the truth of the gospel of Jesus be taught to every soul before His glorious return.~
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