2 John

Light and Darkness. A new command and an old one. Obeying His commands.

God is light in HIm is no darkness at all. This is how Jesus lived. He walked in the light without sin and had perfect fellowship with God. This is our goal but we are not perfect and we sin. But when we sin we have Jesus on our side. He is our advocate to speak for us. But He is also the complete sacrifice for our sins. But we need to face our sins, confess, repent and be forgiven and purified. John makes is clear he is saying: "Do not sin", but when you do there is a remedy. Jesus will help you fix it.

When we focus on obeying Gods commands we need to be careful not to make the mistake of the Pharisees and fall into legalism. In John 13:34 Jesus said he was giving his disciples a new command. "As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." This is not a new command to love one another. Jesus said that the second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself. What is new is this part: "As I have loved you". When God walked in a human body this is how he loved. Jesus has given us the example and He has given us the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to walk in the light? Do not sin. When you do sin confess your sins to God and be assured of your forgiveness thanks to the blood of Jesus. But this is only the beginning. To love others as Jesus loved is far greater than just avoiding sin. The commands of Jesus are active they tell us what we should do much more often than they tell us what to avoid.