Tough Read

John's first epistle is perhaps the hardest book in the Bible for me to read. Oh, there are difficult books. Wading through Leviticus isn't easy. Psalms is pretty easy, but very long. Hebrews takes some effort. But in terms of the "rake in the face" effect, 1 John is the toughest for me. You know the "rake in the face" effect. You're walking peacefully along, no worries, and then you step on that hidden rake in the grass that whacks you in the face. That, for me, is 1 John.

The epistle is full of "ifs". An "if" is a conditional statement. "If this, then that." There is a sense in which the book is a test. "If" you pass the test, you're in. If not ... well, you don't want to fail this test. But part of what makes this book so difficult to read is the apparent benevolence for which it is written.

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13).

It doesn't get much better than that. John wrote this letter to believers so they would have assurance that eternal life was theirs. How nice! And then you begin to read by what measure John helps Christians be assured.

If you walk in the light (1 John 1:7).
If you confess your sins (1 John 1:9).
If you keep His commandments (1 John 2:3).
If you do not love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15).
If you do not practice sin (1 John 3:9).
If you have the world's goods and help your brother (1 John 3:17).

This is just a sampling. It is very "works" oriented. And the standard is very demanding. Now, none of this suggests that salvation is achieved by works, but it is quite clear that those who are born of God are radically altered, a change that is clearly reflected in how they live their lives. John flies in the face of the popular belief that one can come to Christ, be saved, and come away unchanged. It just doesn't work that way for John.

This epistle is a hard read. One needs to be careful when reading it. There are two probable errors of extremes. One extreme is to toss it, basically. "Oh, John's not saying anything of the kind. If you read it that way, you're reading it wrong." There's just no avoiding it. John is using the works of the person in question as an indicator of whether or not they actually have a functioning relationship with God. That ought to be a sobering thought in everyone's life. John's epistle should be hard to swallow, because the way is narrow.The other error is to take it to the other extreme. It's possible to overreach with this book. It's possible to demand perfection and perfection only. That is also a mistake. Be careful not to read that into 1 John, because it's simply not there.

I recommend the book with care. But I admit it's hard for me to read. I haven't arrived at perfection, and I'd like to. Not in this life, I suspect, but it would be nice -- the sooner the better.