The Epistles of St John Author:Frederick Denison Maurice Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTUKE III. LIGHT AND DARKNESS: SIN AND PURIFICATION. 1 Joiim I. 6—10. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do... more » not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, see have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. You will remember the words which immediately precede these. ' This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darJcness at all.' I have spoken of that message already, but I must speak of it again, as all the rest of this chapter depends upon it. I can quite imagine a person saying, —' Light! Darkness ! — What exactly does he ' mean by these expressions ? They are figurative. What ' is the literal force of them?' Now I am very glad to hear questions of this kind, and 1 will answer them as well as I can; but I must tell you why I do not expect that I shall ever be able to answer them as those who propose them may desire that I should. I have explained to you already that the student of morals does not want letters first and chiefly. He wants a Life, He wants letters only as they assist him to the know LIFE AND LETTERS. 35 ledge of a Life. Well, then, if I am bidden to find a literal meaning for these phrases, ' Light' and ' Darkness,' I must consider what I am about. They certainly are very living expressions. They belong to the life of us all. Every man who cannot read or write has to do with them, and know...« less