I JOHN more than a religion. It is a new life in Christ which is filled with joy. The joy of the Lord comes through our union and commun ion with the Lord. When we are abiding in Christ, there is uninter rupted fellowship. This calls for a consistency of life and purpose. All of the Christian's joy is based on the finished work of Christ. Salva tion and joy are inseparably linked together. All religions have some thing of gloom and sadness at tached to them. It is through Christ only that one can rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). Joy in Christ is much different from the hollow happiness of this world. Today people are happy only if they have things. Happiness always depends upon circum stances but joy depends wholly upon one's relationship to the Sav iour. The Bible reminds us "blessed is the people that know the joyful sound." God's people ought to be the happiest individuals on the face of the earth. Are you ready to "re joice in the Lord alway, and again I say, rejoice"? The subject of sin in I John is prominent (2:1). In the noun and verb forms combined it appears at least 28 times. This does not in clude the words "unrighteous ness," "wicked" and "evil." We should know precisely the mean ing of sin as well as its fearful and fatal results. Sometimes we find the word "sin" appearing in a singular form (John 1:29; I John 1:8). This reveals sin in its unity as the common cor ruption of all humanity. To deny the fact of sin is foolish. If we say that we have no original sin we are only deceiving ourselves. Sin Page 32
entered the human race through one man (Romans 5:12-19). All of us have inherited the nature of sin and the tendency to commit acts of sin from Adam. The record of human history readily proves this. It is absolute heresy to say that we have not the principle of sin in us. To do so denies what the Bible teaches. There are two definitions of sin in I John. First of all "sin is the transgression of the law" (3:4). The original means lawlessness. The two are synonymous (James 2:10). The law, you remember, has a
^
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter