Main news for 18 December 2026

The words of John's letter seem paradoxical at first glance. On the one hand, he states that as Christians we must not be involved in sin, because the blood of Christ cleanses us from every sin (1 John 1:6-7). On the other hand, according to his own words, we are by no means sinless, and we had better not deceive ourselves about this (1 John 1:8).

Meanwhile, this paradox, or rather this antinomy, describes the phenomenon of biblical righteousness, known even in pre-Christian times. Sober-minded people who sought genuine spiritual life and, accordingly, firm relations with God never considered themselves perfect or sinless. And biblical righteousness was never equated with sinlessness. There is no darkness in God; in Him there is only light (1 John 1:5). This truth was known to believing Jews in every age. Righteousness is not light emitted by a person, but God's light reflected by him. Such is human righteousness, and this is exactly how the authors of the Old Testament books describe it.

In this respect nothing has changed: after the coming of Christ, the human being remained what he had been. Neither before nor now is anyone born into the world free from sin. But with the coming of the Messiah, something did change. New possibilities opened up. Formerly the Kingdom was beside the world. The prophets of Israel sometimes saw it as if through a transparent but insurmountable barrier. Many, not only among the Jewish people but throughout the world, sensed its breath.

But for the transformation of the world, for a complete and qualitative change in its nature, for its final liberation from the power of sin and death, this was not enough. The Kingdom had to enter into the world in all its fullness, inevitably colliding in doing so with the evil in which, according to the word of the Gospel, the fallen world lies. This collision, its first and chief blow, was taken upon Himself by the One who brought the Kingdom into the world, the Savior Himself. It was His blood that opened the road into the Kingdom for us. But not only that: it also opened the road for the Kingdom into our hearts. Formerly those who sought the path of righteousness strove to become a perfect reflection of God's light, in spite of their sinfulness, which remained unconquered to the end. Now those who seek the path of the Kingdom can become an open door through which the breath of the Kingdom enters the world being transformed. This happens in spite of their own sinfulness, which, however, has become conquerable thanks to what the Savior has done for us. And now the path of the Kingdom, beginning in our world that has not yet been transformed, is completed in the fullness of that Kingdom. In the fullness that will be revealed to the world on the day of the Savior's return. His return in glory.

The beginning of the letter echoes the beginning of the Gospel written by John, which in turn recalls the beginning of the book of Genesis. At first glance, there is also a difference: there the foundations of the world's order are narrated, while here John reminds us that he is a witness of what he is writing about. But his witness is not reduced merely to a formal confirmation of facts. It consists in proclaiming that John knows the essence of what he saw: the coming into the world of the Source of life. The purpose of the letter is precisely that people may have fellowship with Him and with one another, not secular socializing or the bustle of "hangouts," but an inexpressibly mysterious union with God and with brothers who have also entered into union with Him and with one another.

The criterion of the authenticity of such union should be the qualitative changes taking place in people, and not only formal membership in the brotherhood. But is there not a contradiction in saying that those who walk in the light cannot remain in darkness, if no one can claim to have no sin?

No, because it is only thanks to the light that one can see one's own sinful darkness. Having seen it, one should not hide back in the darkness, but on the contrary, go boldly with repentance toward the light that delivers from sin.

Why does the apostle consider that the denial of man of his sinfulness is a false witness on Jesus? Of course, one could say that it is, first of all, about the sense of the earthly ministry of the Savior, Who said directly that the world lies in evil and that He came to deliver him it from this evil. Hardly in such a context our assertions of our own sinlessness will sound even a little convincing; they will become rather the witness of our thoughtlessness or arrogance.

Maybe and something else: John could answer in his message those of his coreligionists, who were (perhaps, quite sincerely) persuaded that having entrusted their fate to Christ, they had freed themselves just like that from the power of this sin, which prevented them from living formerly a righteous life. Knowing that sin and the Kingdom are incompatible and being assured that the Kingdom became an integral part of their life, they completely calmed down for their own sinfulness: it seemed to them that they are now not under the power of sin by definition.

The apostle, as seen, dispels their errors on his own account. But the main thing is all the same, probably, somewhere else: the denial by man of his own sinfulness makes very absurd the coming of the Savior into the world. Isaiah of Babylon already said that the Messiah is not going to suffer for His own sins, but for the sins of the people, to whom He will come. And the cleansing of the people from sin will become one of the essential tasks being before Him.

Jesus Himself spoke in particular about the salvation of the sinners from their sin, without cleansing of which one can not enter the Kingdom. But here is, it turns out now that were found in the Church people questioning this mission of the Savior. It is not surprising that John gives them a severe rebuke: for, not wishing to accept the proposed salvation, they not only did not go to Christ, but also misled the others on the path. John understood perfectly that it is about very important things, not to be treated so lightly.