As a parent of four children I
often find myself using the word “if.” “If you don’t clean your room this
morning you will not play the Wii for a week.” Or, “If you don’t stop
aggravating your brother you will go to bed at 6:00 PM!” The key word to my kids
is… IF. When I use the word if, I give my kids a condition. If you chose to obey my command, you will
escape my discipline. For example, “If you clean your room you get to play the
Wii.” The word if is not only a conditional clause in my parenting (for good or
bad) but the word if is critical to understanding the gospel.
The apostle John uses the word if
six times in 1 John 1:5–2:6 to contrast between true believers and those who
just profess to believe. The brief letter of 1 John clearly explains the gospel
by using the two letter word… if. John’s letter may explain the gospel better
than any other New Testament book, by using the word if. Have you ever wondered
if you were truly a believer? Have you ever thought, “I wonder if my friend is
really a believer?” If you are searching for an answer, then John’s letter is
for you. His concise note to believers helps in evangelism and discipleship. It
is worth your time to dive deep into John’s letter and specifically the
conditional clauses he chooses to use. Listed below are the six times John uses
the word if to explain the gospel:
1.) 1:6 – “If we say we have fellowship with Him while we
walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (ESV).”
2.) 1:7 – “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 all sin (ESV).”
3.) 1:8 – “If
we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us
(ESV).”
4.) 1:9 –“ If we confess our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins (ESV).”
5.) 1:10 – “If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a
liar, and His word is not in us (ESV).”
6.) 2:3 – “And by this we know that we have come to
Him, if we keep His commandments (ESV).”
The apostle Paul exhorts the
church at Corinth to test themselves to see if they are in the faith (2
Corinthians 13:5). John’s description of the gospel mirrors the same self
examination. Do you pass the IF test?
Two aspects are true from these
six verses and can be used to test ourselves against them. First, believers
recognize their condition before God. God is light, holy, and righteous.
Contrasted to us… we are sinful. The world (unbelievers) lighten the blow of
sin, cover up sin, excuse sin, call sin good, applaud sin, lighten the weight
of sin, and take pride in sin. This is just one reason John writes that we
cannot love the world and love Jesus. Believers understand the sin in our
lives. Unbelievers buy into that some people are bad, but they themselves are
not that evil. Unbelievers think, “With a little bit of Jesus and a lot of my
effort, God will accept me.” Believers have been set free from the bondage of
sin and now believers are slaves (bondservants) to Jesus. Do you pass the first
test?
Second, how is your walk? The
word walk represents your lifestyle or how you live your daily life. How would
others characterize your walk? To walk in the light means your lifestyle bears
fruit for Jesus. You love and obey Christ’s law (His commandments). The
evidence that you are a real believer is seen by others and recognized by your
walk. Is your lifestyle, or walk, characterized by indulging in sin? Do you
fight sin? Do you hate sin? If John examined your life, would he say you walk
in light or in darkness? Do you pass the second test?
Two little letters – if – are a
matter of life and death.
