I John and the Power of Forgiveness

It's hard to believe I'm (Mike) already in my last week of teaching here. As much as this busy schedule has worn me out, it will be hard to leave this incredible experience. Last week we finished the last of the General Epistles (2 John, 3 John, and Jude) and today we begin the final stretch in the book of Revelation. I've had some experience in these books before, of course, but the experience of studying them to teach on the college level has caused me to gain new insights and depth in my own understanding of these books and their true power to transform.
Seeing the students learning something new that can have a direct impact on their lives is exciting. In the book of I John, we spent some time discussing what it means to live in light of forgiveness as a believer. The familiar verse "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins" I think too often falls on deaf ears. What is so profound about this simple verse is how much it says about God's grace by all that it doesn't say. It doesn't say that we need to perform acts of penance or work our way back into right fellowship. Here on Guam, there is a mountain with crosses at the top. Many religious people climb this mountain to reach these crosses, some beating themselves as they go, or crawling on their hands and knees.

How tragic, for professing believers, to think God would somehow take satisfaction from self-punishment. Scripture is clear, that for the believer in Christ, his sin is forever taken care of. "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Jesus died to take care of our sin forever. Why is it then, that those of us who have been granted such forgiveness can't seem to accept it? John says that God is faithful and just to bring us new forgiveness and restored fellowship by nothing more than simple confession of our sin to him. The grace of God is what separates knowing Christ from all world religions that demand countless works and rituals to find some kind of peace. Peace is ours as believers, and its all because of God, who he is, and what he has done. Living in guilt, discouragement, and defeat is in no way consistent with the worldview we so adamantly claim to hold. If we as believers don't live in light of forgiveness, who will?