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The Second Sunday in Lent

1 John 1:5-2:2 (ESV)
5  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
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 his Son cleanses us from all sin.
8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

The fact of the matter is that we are stained with Sin.  It is not a matter of "If" we will sin, but only a matter of when and how.    
God is not stained with Sin...in Him there is no darkness, no possibility of acting injustly, unmercifully, ungracefully, in relation to human kind - us!  It is clear that God's great desire in making mankind was to fellowship with them - not because of His need, but again, for us.  That fellowship is still possible, but there is this matter of Sin.  
C.S. Lewis reminded us that the greater temptation is the temptation that comes in trying to be good.

“No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down (p. 142).” Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

He reminds us that the need is to face our sin, not pretend it does not exist.  When we "confess" - literally from the greek words to mean, "say the same thing" - to God, we step out of the lie and affirm his truth.  We step out of the personal darkness and step into God's light of mercy, forgiveness and grace.

Whenever we do sin, the end is not our failure, the end is Jesus Christ, the righteous one, who knew no sin and has gained for us what we could not gain for ourselves - no condemnation, just favor.

Peace

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