Well then, let's move on, shall we?
OK, let's move on.
John wrote to these believers, saying that he was telling them something which would give them the opportunity to be in fellowship with John, the same fellowship which John has with the Father and Son:
"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full" (1 Jn.1:3-4).
Then in the next verse John begins to specify what it is that these people must do in order that they "may have fellowship":
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 Jn.1:3-7).
John is telling these people that in order to enter into fellowship they must "walk in the light." Since they were not previously in fellowship then that means that they were not previously walking in the light, and therefore they were walking in darkness.
Paul tells us that unbelievers are those who are in darkness, not believers, and that light has NO fellowship with darkness.
Paul also tells the Christian not to have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness:
" And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Eph.5:11).
This demonstrates that a Christian can in fact have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. If the Christian has to be told not to have fellowship with these things of darkness then it follows that it is possible that they can indeed have fellowship with the things of darkness. And if a Christian can have fellowship with the works of darkness then it is certain that they can indeed have fellowship with darkness.
Besides, why would John tell these Christians the following if these words had nothing to do with their opportunity to have fellowship?:
"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 Jn.1:6-7).
Of course these words had everything to do with these believer's opportunity to come into fellowship, a fellowship which they did not then enjoy because they had been walking in darkness.
But according to you these Christians could not possibly "walk in darkness" or have "fellowship with darkness."
And what can you say about the following words here in bold?
"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 Jn.1:3-7).
Here John uses the word word "us""--"
the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
John is writing to Christians and he himself is a Christian so the word "us" must refer to Christians.
It is also a fact that the Greek word translated "cleanseth" is in the present tense. John is not referring to the time when these Christians were saved or else he would have said, "the blood of His Son
has cleansed us from all sin."
Instead he is speaking of the power of the blood to cleanse the Christian from sin, an idea that is foreign to your mistaken beliefs.
So John is saying that those who have already been saved are cleansed from all sin.
And then John tells the Christian just exactly what they must do in order to be cleansed and to be restored back to fellowship with the Lord Jesus:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn.1:9).
Here when Johnn uses the words "we" and "us" and "our" those words must refer to Christians. What John says here has nothing to do with salvation. As Christians we do not tell unbelievers that if they will confess their sins then the Lord will forgive those sins.
Instead, Christians understand that before a sinner can be saved he must first hear and believe the gospel. So 1 John 1:9 is not a message for unbelievers but instead it is for those who are already saved.
In His grace,
Jerry