In a Nutshell

1 John 1:1-10

If you needed to summarize the message of the Bible in 10 verses, I think you could use 1 John 1. John tells us that he knew Jesus; he did life with Jesus. Jesus was with the Father and then was revealed to John and many others. John wants his readers to know these things, so that they might share in the blessings he's experienced, so that they might share relationship with each other and with God.

While John was with Jesus, Jesus taught him that God is light and has no darkness in him; God is good and righteous, separated from evil. Therefore, we are lying if we say that we are following God but live in darkness. But Jesus can bring us into the light where He is by cleansing us with his blood, shed on the cross as an atonement for sin. If we claim not to have sin and deny our need for this merciful cleansing from Jesus, we are only deceiving ourselves. But if we confess our sin, our need for forgiveness, to God, He is faithful to do what He promised and just to not make us pay again for what Jesus paid on our behalf. Therefore, He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. Jesus can wash us all clean and bring us into the light.

And as we confess our sins to God and experience this miraculous and wonderful cleansing by Jesus, our Savior, this testimony of John's becomes ours. Although, we might not be able to say that we have literally seen and touched Jesus, like John had. We have experienced Him. We have witnessed His work in our lives and in the lives of others. We have been brought from darkness into light. We have fellowship with God, as part of his family.

And now it is our joy to share this story with others, testifying to the work of God in our lives and in the world, as Jesus offered His life for all who would confess their sin and receive His mercy. And as we share this story, others, too, can experience this salvation and joy with us and enter into a relationship with God!