That They May Be One

That They May Be One

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8. “He who practices sin is of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

We see that John makes a difference between having sin and practicing sin. It is good to have a clear understanding on this point. We can be tempted because we have sin. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Jas. 1:14.

However, there are many people who believe they have sinned when they are tempted. We all know that we cannot avoid being tempted, which is the reason most people do not believe in victory over sin. If it were sin to be tempted, how could James then write the following words: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience”? And: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Jas. 1:2-4, 12.

Jesus, too, was tempted when He suffered; therefore He can also aid those who are tempted. Jesus did not sin, and He will help us to overcome just as He overcame. Heb. 2:18, 4:15-16; Rev. 3:21. Since the gospel gives us this hope, and because people do not want to receive Jesus who came to destroy the works of the devil, John writes: “He who practices sin is of the devil.”

However, John 1:8 has to be read in connection with verse 7: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

It is strange that it speaks about cleansing when we walk in the light as He is in the light. No one can do any better than walking in the light he has. But he must not thereby think he has light over all of his sin. When he walks in the light, he also walks in the Spirit, and the Spirit is to guide us into all truth. John 16:13.

When there are difficulties in a fellowship, one does not reckon with the fact that one has sin. Two brothers have something against each other; perhaps they even accuse each other, and yet they both think they are walking in the light. In that case neither of them is sufficiently humble to reckon with the fact that he has sin. If they had reckoned with it, their conversation would have been a blessing. Then they would have been one in examining their own work. Gal. 6:4. They would have sought the light of the Spirit so they could partake of a deeper cleansing. All backbiting, all accusations, all hardness—everything that does not build up unity—is rooted in the fact that one does not believe that one has sin. Such people will often become bitter and impatient.

If Timothy was to grow and serve the others for their salvation, he had to pay heed to himself and to the doctrine. All of us have to reckon with this: “I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.” Rom. 7:21; 1 Tim. 4:15-16. All those who live in this state of acknowledgment have no difficulty in the fellowship.