Flight Paths

John does not mince his words.  If how a person behaves contradicts what he says, he is a liar.  To claim to know God and have fellowship with God while we walk in the darkness of disobedience is to lie (1 John 1:6; 2:4).  To claim to possess the Father while denying the deity of the Son is to lie (2:22-23).  To claim to love God while hating our brothers is also to lie.  There are the three black lies of the letter:  moral, doctrinal, and social.  We may insist that we are Christian, but habitual sin, denial of Christ or selfish hatred would expose us as liars.  Only holiness, faith and love can prove the truth of our claim to know, possess and love God.

L A Mott, Jr., Thinking Through John's Epistles