A text without a context is a pretext for making the Bible say what you want it to say! But sincere, humble faith in God respects the meaning of a biblical passage in its context. Consider an example.
1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Just think: mercy is available to sinners who confess their disobedience to God. And if we try to wiggle out of the charge that we’re guilty of sin, verse 8 pins us down: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” It’s a fact of both past and present: Christians are sinners. Let’s admit it.
But let’s not wallow in it. 1 John 1:9 on its own doesn’t reveal the fullness of God’s message about our sin. Widen the angle of the Bible-reading lens and take in 1 John 2:1, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.” This verse keeps us from twisting 1:9 and saying, “It doesn’t matter what I think or say or do because I can just confess it and then everything’s fine.”
Or open the lens to the verses preceding 1:9, like 1:6, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” If we think walking in darkness (i.e., sinning) isn’t going to hurt our relationship with God, we’re just plain wrong. Remember 2:1: John writes so that we may not sin.
And yet, in the interest of biblical balance and taking in the full context, don’t miss the rest of 2:1: “But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” When we defy and dishonor the Lord, if we then humbly turn back and confess our rebellion, we can be assured that the sinless Son of God has taken our guilt on his shoulders (see 2:2); he suffered in our place so that we can be forgiven and restored!
So there IS mercy for repentant sinners. And it IS urgent that followers of Jesus say no to temptation and pursue holiness. That’s the whole truth—the message of the text in context.
