The Big IF

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.