EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/5/2024 10:39 PM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “Intro to 1 John 1:7, 9; 2:1a”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 1:7, 9; 2:1a”
Message of the verses: “But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.”
I wish to complete this quotation from John
MacArthur’s commentary on the introduction to these verses.
“Modeling humility and servanthood, the Lord performed
one of the most frequent menial acts of courtesy found in the ancient Middle
East—a task normally done by the lowest-level slave. Instead of asking one of His disciples to do
the dirty work, Jesus Himself removed the sandals of His followers and washed
their grimy feet in preparation for the Passover meal.
“When
Jesus told Peter, He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is
completely clean’ (John 13:10), the Lord made a distinction between the two
aspects of forgiveness. The
all-cleansing bath represents God’s forensic application of Christ’s death to repentant
sinners, completely and forever justifying them (Acts 13:39; Rom. 3:22, 24;
4:6-8; 5:1; Gal. 2:16), and freeing them forever from eternal hell. Washing feet, on the other hand, represents
the paternal forgiveness of sanctification.
Although repentant sinners have already been justified once-for-all,
they have not yet been delivered from the presence and power of sin in their
daily lives (Rom. 7:15-20; Gal. 5:17).
Therefore believers need to confess and forsake sin regularly, thereby
washing the metaphorical dirt of sin off their feet (cf. Pss. 38; 18; 97:10;
139:23-24; Eph. 2:4), endeavoring to avoid His displeasure and discipline (cf.
Heb 13:17). It is this kind of
forgiveness that confessing Christians seek, and why they forgive others so
that God does not withhold the relational forgiveness that blesses (Matt.
6:14-15).” I will now quote Matthew
6:14-15 “14 "For if you forgive others for their
transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do
not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
“Repentance is not only God’s work in the heart
leading to salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 2 Cor. 7:10; 2 Tim. 2:25), but
also an essential element of every believer’s sanctification (cf. 2 Cor.
7:1). John concludes the opening section by applying two tests
of genuine salvation that are related to repentance: a belief in God’s forgiveness of sin and a
regular practice of confessing sins.
This instruction suggests three terms that describe true believers in
contrast to those who falsely profess to be in the fellowship of faith (cf.
1:6, 8, 10). True believers are cleansed
from sin, yet, confessing sin; and even conquering sin.”
Lord willing we will begin to look at the first
section entitled “Cleansed” in our next SD, which will cover 1 John 1:7. 9/5/2024 10:59 PM
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