Pastor’s Thoughts – 11/30/2025

The Bible tells us in order to have fellowship with God we must walk in the light. By contrast the unsaved of the world are those controlled by sin, “The thoughts and intentions of their hearts are on evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Sin is a powerful condition that encompasses all mankind and is the reason we desperately need a Savior. We are born sinners by nature, and we are living in a fallen world that is dominated by Satan. An important issue in being a Christian is coming to grips with who we really are! Our Lord Jesus Christ came not only to ultimately take us to glory, but to save sinners from their sin and restore our relationship to God our Father. The challenges for those justified in Christ in their new sanctified life are real. We have a new nature and ability to fight sin but are not yet glorified or free from all that opposes God. We began our new life in Christ as spiritual babies requiring spiritual assistance for our growth. We continue living in bodies capable of and prone to sin. Older saints call the battle experience of those in Christ as a process of the mortification of remaining sin. We exist in enemy territory at every turn. The world is dominated by Satan and we are under attack. We must also associate and live among those who are spiritually dead and antagonistic to righteousness. The world in which we dwell promotes sinful desires and behavior. So, we in Christ are in a constant battle with our own flesh in which we dwell and are surrounded by all that opposes God.

However, our battles in this sinful world are not accidents. God uses them to prove and mature our new relationship with Him. We are by our new nature concerned to please God. It is our number one ambition (2 Cor. 5:9). But even though we are devoted to pleasing God, we will not be fully able until our salvation is completed by glorification. This is a reality that confuses many Christians. On the one hand we will not perfectly please God until we are in a state of glorification, but on the other hand neither will sin be the norm or the dominating characteristic of our life in Christ. Christians are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), and because of this are characterized by thinking and living contrary to evil. The Christian is directed not only by the Words of the Bible, but by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Our difficulty and how we deal with it is at the heart of our fellowship with God our Father.

Some who claim Christianity act as if sin doesn’t matter, and others claim to have no sin. John says, “If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Such positions show that either we do not realize what sin is, or we are without conviction, and either way we are living a lie and cannot be living in fellowship with God. Such a lack of understanding and attitude brings into question the reality of our salvation. The idea of fellowship with God means like mindedness. What God requires is our agreement with Him. God will not come down to our sinful level and forgo His righteousness. We must come to Him by faith and be in agreement with Him. This is why John says of those who disregard sin, “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:6). By such thinking and manner, we are completely out of fellowship with God. A Christian either disregarding their sin or claiming to have reached a plateau where sin does not exist in their life disregards Scripture and is not engaged in the spiritual battle. The nature of our sanctification or walk with God is one of progression. We cannot progress outside of this personal battle with sin. Our growing in Christ likeness is described in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. It involves being in God’s Word and becoming more and more like our Savior.

Having a true picture of self comes from knowing and believing God. The first step toward a right relationship with God is repentance. Repentance has at its heart agreement with God about our sin and includes a desire to turn from sin to Jesus Christ. One of the important features of understanding our sin is that it brings humility. It causes us to see our unworthiness before God. In discussing this matter of recognizing the problem of sin in the life of a Christian, John has given us God’s provision to maintain our fellowship. He says to every Christian, “If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

As we sin and are far from perfect, God has provided confession as an ongoing means of maintaining fellowship with Him. It is a life of prayer whereby we come in continual agreement with Him seeing ourselves as dependent upon His grace to restore and maintain our precious fellowship. All of us know what it means to be out of fellowship with family members or loved ones. A son may fall out of fellowship with a father but still be his son. The relationship may be hindered and the father grieved, but the relation is never severed, and fellowship is restored when the two come together in agreement. This is what we do when we come to our Lord and confess our sins. He, out of His infinite grace and love, restores our hindered fellowship. How special it is to the heart of all who love God to maintain this most precious of relationships by humbly and genuinely confessing our sins and experiencing His mercies. Praise God for all the provisions He has made on behalf of His people that we may walk with Him in the light.