Intro

All of us have have varying sensitivities towards different kind of sins. 

Some of us are really bothered by thieves and others, not a big deal. 

Some of us are really bothered by violence while others of us, are desensitized by it and enjoy it. 

But no matter who you are, we are all bothered by hypocrisy. Phonies. Its universally hated. 

We are continuing our study in 1 John and it really focuses on helping us know who are really Christians and who’s just talking. 

How do you know your the real deal and not a phony in a world full of hypocrites? 

› Let’s jump into our passage,

God is Light and No Darkness

1 John 1:5 ESV

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

What is the message? 

God is light. 

Not physical light though. 

Throughout John’s letter, this idea of light overlaps with the idea of goodness, holiness,  life, truth and purity. Not one word perfectly gets at it. 

One notable way to think about light is how John 1 and 1 John 1 connect with Genesis 1. 

What does light bring forth in Genesis?

God spoke and there was light. And light was the beginning of LIFE. 

Light and life are intricately connected. 

So when you think about God is light, you think about the overflowing source of life!

So the message is that God is light! 

Yes, but not saying God is light just like you can say someone is good. 

I daresay that many of you would claim that I am good, I wouldn’t be qualified as a pastor if I wasn’t. 

But none of you would say Sam IS goodness itself. 

Nor would you say that I am good and there is no darkness in me. 

You only have to ask my wife or kids if that’s true. 

And yet, God is not like me. 

You can have the highest expectations about his character, his purity, his goodness and you would still fall short of the reality. 

No matter how much you searched his being and got to know him, you will never see any darkness! 

The Greek emphatically declares this truth with a double negative. Literally translated like this. 

GOD IS LIGHT AND DARKNESS IN HIM IS NOT, NOT AT ALL!

› The rest of this section until John repeats the phrase, “this is the message” in chapter 3. is now going to unpack all the overflows of this reality that God is light, most specifically in God’s children. 

›

› In other words, if God is light, what are tests that show us who’s actually walking in the light?   

Therefore God’s Children looks like...

• He’s going to give us three false claims by those who are deceived to believe they are in the light. 

• And then each one is followed up by a the sign for true children of the light. 

• The last sign will be covered next week in Chapter 2. 

On scholar calls these tests and says it like this. 

The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) Commentary

First, all the tests John offers are objective and observable, designed to reveal a person’s true intentions apart from verbal claims. Deeds are the test for words, and while words can be false John seems to believe that a person’s actions reveal his or her true nature.

Last week, pastor Ross talked about a group that had split the church at some level and had left. Likely, there were some who were still there holding on to those beliefs. 

So these false claims we will be examining, were made by professing Christians not secularist. 

› So let’s jump into our first claim, 

First False Claim: We have Fellowship w/ Him

1 John 1:6 ESV

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

IF we claim that we have fellowship with God. Remember, these people were confessing believers. They were claiming that they had fellowship with God, which is a strong word that implies that they know him intimately and are committed to him and his ways. 

And yet, they are walking in darkness!

Now let’s also remind ourselves what this word, “Walk” means. Because this is essential to get at what John is saying throughout this book. 

Remember in our Genesis series, we talked about how Enoch walked with God.

It has the idea of the way you live all of your life. It does not speak about a moment of but moments. The totality of your life. Walking with God does not mean perfection or sinlessness. But that the overall sense of your life is increasingly like Christ. 

But in this situation, they are not walking with God. They are walking in darkness. 

What does it mean that someone is walking in darkness? 

It seems intuitive enough but to be sure, let’s look at a text. 

› Read slow

John 3:19 ESV

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

So when Jesus came into the world, people loved darkness. Why? 

Because their works are evil. 

So this is obviously not physical darkness but meaning evil. 

So let’s put it all together in this situation. 

So there were these false Christians who were claiming that they had this close kind of intimate relationship with God, and yet, they walked in darkness. 

If that’s the case, then v. 6 says, “They are lying.” 

Why would they be lying? 

It’s like 

A room full of darkness and someone claims they have the light on and yet they are stumbling around and tripping over furniture. 

It’s nonsense!

Light and darkness are mutually exclusive!

When light comes, darkness flees!

Similarly, when goodness comes, evil flees. 

So it is with the person who claims they have fellowship with God and yet consistently walks in the darkness, they are a liar. 

And not just a liar, John says, “they do not practice the truth”

Practice the truth? 

What does that mean!

I thought truth is something you know or believe. 

Yes. 

And yet, the Biblical understanding of truth is not just something to be believed but something to do. 

How?

Well because these truths are of such significance that if you were to actually believe in them, they would radically shape the way you live. 

So, it is impossible, hear me, IMPOSSIBLE to actually believe in these truths and not put them to practice progressively over time. 

Jesus said this plainly, 

John 8:12 ESV

12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Hear that absolute language, “they will not WALK in darkness.” 

And later on Jesus says. 

John 12:46 ESV

46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Jesus came to bring light to the world and so that we may not remain in darkness. 

How can we say we know Jesus when we continue to walk in darkness. 

Either Jesus is a liar, a failure, of we don’t actually believe in Him. 

› Now we transition to the counter-sign of a real Christian,

First Sign of Walking in the Light

Fellowship with the Family

1 John 1:7 (ESV)

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

The exact opposite. 

They are not walking in the darkness. Characterized by darkness. 

But characterized by walking in the light. 

He now gives us ways we know that we are walking in the light. 

This is surprising. Look at v. 7. 

“We have fellowship with ONE ANOTHER.” 

You would think that he would state that you would have fellowship with God. 

But that is actually assumed. 

This is building off of v. 7. 

1 John 1:3 ESV

3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Remember, the Trinity. God has a community within himself. No other being like him. 

And this eternal loving community opens up to us to join their fellowship. 

And when this happens, we enjoy rich fellowship with each other. 

It is a natural overflow of encountering the radical love of God. 

So if you have fellowship with God, THEN you have fellowship with one another. Other fellow children of the light. 

So the first sign of those who walk in the light is that they have close fellowship with other Christians. PERIOD!

There is no such thing as solo Christianity. 

Or, I love Jesus but hate the church. 

Or I am spiritual, not religious so I don’t have fellowship with others. 

Those who have fellowship with Jesus love being around others who are in fellowship with Jesus. 

Do you love the fellowship of the saints? 

Do you love being around others walking in the light? Or are your best friends in the darkness? 

Do you get along more with the children of darkness? 

Don’t misunderstand me, you ought to have friends who are not Christians. We love unbelievers. We are called to not retreat from them but pursue them. But something is deeply wrong if your closest affinities, your most delightful companions don’t walk in the light. That demonstrates something about you. 

PAUSE

› Now moving to the next part of v. 7. What is a glorious result of walking in this kind of fellowship with God and His people. 

Cleansing from ALL Sin

1 John 1:7 (ESV)

7b and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Wow!

The blood of Jesus, HIS Son cleanses us from ALL sin!

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross not only forgives us of our sins but it cleanses us. 

Sin not only has consequences to our relationship with God. 

But it has a polluting effect on us. 

Maybe you know what this feels like.

I remember when I used to be addicted to porn as a younger man, I would feel so dirty that I would take a shower and ask God for forgiveness in the shower. 

I intuitively sensed something happened deeper than I knew. A shame. A dirtiness stained my soul. 

Some of you feel that way today. 

And you don’t have to. 

The truth is that when we have fellowship with God and with others, there is a cleansing effect from not just some sins. 

Or the understandable ones. 

 BUT ALL SINS!

That is how powerful the blood of Jesus is. 

This is what theologians call, EXPIATION. 

The removal of our guilt and shame. 

So it’s like you never did that sin!

And that is one of the incredible results of walking in the light. It has a cleansing power to it. The more we walk with God, the more His light shines in our darkness and transforms the most stubborn and dark areas of our heart. 

› But don’t misunderstand John, he is not saying you will not sin. 

Walking with God, does not mean perfection. 

This passage teaches us that Christians walk in the light. That is their character. That is their norm. And yet, they also sin! John does not have some pie in the sky, perfect picture of the christian life. 

› Let’s see v.8. 

Second False Claim: We have no Sin

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Throughout history, there have been professing Christians who believe that they had attained a level of sinlessness. The original context here is not the secular person (though that can happen and this passage is relevant) but there is a kind of pseudo-christianity that believes Christians can arrive, today, in the now. And because of Christ, they are now sinless. 

There is an amusing story of the famous preacher, Charles Spurgeon. He attended a conference for pastors and one preacher pronounced himself sinlessly perfect. 

So the next day, Spurgeon came up behind him at breakfast and poured a pitcher of milk all over him. 

The preacher’s sinless perfection disappeared. 

And we see this thinking in our passage. 

These false Christians are saying, “I have fellowship with God, I don’t have sin.”

Then you are deceived and truth is not in you. 

And note that its not that you are deceived by the devil, though I am sure he is playing a role. 

Who’s doing the deceiving? 

“Ourselves!”

And self-deception is one of the most dangerous traps. 

Why?

Because the person who is self-deceived doesn’t know they are!

They are tricked!

WOE to the one in here who is self-deceived!

This is why I am usually receptive to people when they bring correction to me.

No matter how ridiculous it may initially seem to me. 

( And believe me, I get corrected a lot. )

I know this passage and many others that show that I do have sin. 

And it’s easy to be self-deceived. 

Which means that if a brother or sister brings to my attention a sin in my life (even if they do it poorly) its likely there is something there!

Some of you may say, “Well Sam, what about that one time I brought such and such to you...”

I said, I am usually receptive. 

I still can self-deceive myself. 

God help me!

This is an important lesson for all people, including Christians. We can self-deceive ourselves that we don’t have sin. 

We would rarely claim such a thing but functionally we believe we are pretty decent people. 

“We’re not perfect” we claim. 

We don’t really sin, we just have mistakes. We have understandable reasons why we do what we do or feel what we feel. 

But others, THEY sin!

We are deeply bothered by others sins but not our own. 

We can confess everyone’s sins but our own. 

This happens so often in the counseling session with a marriage in trouble. Both claim they have no sin and it’s their circumstances (namely, the other spouse) that is the problem. 

› I would encourage you to ask if you are self-deceiving yourself. Because if you are, only God truly knows and only God can truly help. 

› We are now going to jump to v. 10, because it is parallel with verse 8, then come back to v. 9. 

Third False Claim 

1 John 1:10 ESV

10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Sounds just like v. 8. 

1 John 1:8 ESV

8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

In vv. 8 and 10, both are claiming that they have not sinned or have no sin. 

In v. 8 they are deceiving themselves. 

In v. 10, they are making God a liar with that claim. 

Why would claiming you have no sin, make God a liar? 

Well because the Word says you have sin. And to make such a claim is either saying that God is a liar or you are a liar. 

So the next time you claim you have no sin, you need to conclude that either God is a liar or you are deceiving yourself. 

› Let’s continue to see these parallels. 

V. 8 it says, THEN the truth is not in us. 

v. 10 says, THE the Word is not in us. 

The only people who claim such sinlessness are those who do have have God’s Word in them. 

For if you knew of God’s Word then your conscious would be rightly informed and you would know how often you sin, either actively or passively. 

Or outwardly or inwardly. 

It’s amazing, that my biggest heroes in the faith my mentors, are so aware of their sin. 

They speak much of themselves as sinners and even more about how great a savior Jesus is. 

And yet, the consistent pattern is that with unbelievers or immature believers, they speak little of their sin and even little of the savior. 

How can this be? 

Why are the more mature talking about their sin more? 

And the less mature talk about their sins less? 

Well this whole passage is focusing on those who walk in the light.

What does light do? 

It exposes. 

The more light, the more dirt. 

Even cheap motel rooms can look clean with low lighting. 

But if you crank  up the light, you can be horrified by how much dirt and grime is really there. 

So it is with having fellowship with light. 

The closer you get to the Sun, the more the light exposes our hearts.

And as you walk in the light, the light transforms you and increasingly eradicates the darkness. 

And the more you walk in the light, the more you obey harder things. Loving people when it feels impossible to love. 

Serving when you aren’t thanked. 

Pouring into someone, only to see them betray you. 

And when you follow Jesus in loving, your heart is exposed with how self-righteous we are still. How proud and entitled we still are. 

That is why the mature are most dialed in with their sin. 

• They have the Word of Truth in them regularly, which exposes and transforms. 

• They are obeying Jesus in the hardest of relationships. 

• They are walking in close fellowship with other Christians walking in the light, which exposes and transforms. 

PAUSE 

› But if you sin, and we all do, there is hope. 

› Listen to one of the most precious promises in all of God’s Word, one that I have quoted over myself thousands of times. 

Second Sign of those in the light: Confessors

1 John 1:9 ESV

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

What does it mean to confess?

We are acknowledging to God our sin. 

We do it specifically.

Not generally. 

And we do it sincerely. 

The greatest consequence of our sin is not our guilt or shame. But that we hurt the one we love most!

We are grieved that we sinned against God and hurt him. 

This coming Wednesday, during our ash Wednesday service, I am going to do more practical teaching on how to confess and repent well. 

THEN WHAT happens when we confess? 

Then God is faithful!

And not just faithful, JUST!

To do what?

Forgive us and cleanse us!

How is God faithful and just to forgive us? 

That sounds wrong. 

If you understand how the world ought to work, it should say, “God is faithful and just to punish us of our sins and destroy us for our unrighteousness!” 

But that is not what the Word says. 

So how do we make sense of this seeming miscarriage of justice and twisted sense of faithfulness? 

All of us have sinned and still sin. This much is clear from this Text as well as our own personal experience. 

Our sin deserves death, it deserves punishment. 

On the cross, Jesus volunteers to take Christian’s penalty.

He pays our debts with his death. 

And thus, there’s nothing left. 

The bill is paid in full. 

If I were to pay for your meal at a restaurant, it would be wrong, indeed impossible for you to try to pay again!

You don’t have to beg God for forgiveness! Ask enough before God is like… Okay okay. I’ll let this one go. 

God IS faithful and just to forgive because, it is unjust for someone to pay a fine that has already been paid. 

If God were not to forgive you of your sin, then Jesus died in vain!

And God would be unjust!

God has mercy on us all the time. 

But this passage is showing us that God also is being just and faithful when he forgives us. 

So when you ask for forgiveness, you can appeal to his character that is full of faithfulness and justice.

PAUSE

Relational Forgiveness

If you think hard enough, you may wonder. 

Why do we have to ask for forgiveness if you’re already a Christian? I already asked once.  

I thought Jesus died for our sins.

We are not asking Jesus to die for us again. 

Or for our debt to be paid again. 

The debt has already been paid but when we sin, we are hurting our relationship with God. 

So we are asking for relational forgiveness. 

Not to get him to love us. 

Or accept us. 

He already does all that. 

And so forgiveness is needed to restore our communion with God. 

Penalty Box

Some of you are beating yourself up, wallowing in your shame not believing God can or should forgive you, then you are making Jesus’ death be for nothing! 

Trust in God’s Word. 

Not based on how bad you feel. 

Or how long you punish yourself. 

God said he would do it and it was his idea. He put it here so that he can extend forgiveness to you!

It takes time to believe this Word. 

Sometimes we ask for forgiveness and yet we still feel dirty. As we grow in Christ, the more our conviction grows that this word is true and truly cleanses us from all sin. Memorize this passage. Ask God to help you believe it. Declare it over yourself. Claim it over your shame! 

Immerse yourself in real fellowship in the church and let your brothers and sisters declare these truths over you, remind you that you are forgiven and clean!

That is one of the reasons why we have DNA groups. 

Hidden Sin

Some of you have been hiding sin. You have been walking in the darkness. That is not what you have been called to. 

Did Jesus die for nothing? 

Come back into the light and bring even the darkest of sins to the light. And let the Lord restore you to himself. 

Hinderance to community

In fact, when people have hidden sin, it is one of the biggest strains on relationships. 

When people leave the church or start to miss the gatherings, there is usually, not alway, but usually a high correlation with hidden sin. Shame. Because darkness makes you want to avoid light. 

If you have been avoiding the church, come back in the light!

First-timers

Some of you need to repent truly for the first time. Turn from your control and surrender to God. Receive Jesus as YOUR savior and be forgiven of all your sins for the first time. IF that’s you, today is the day! If you realize you are living a deceived life, today is the day!

Come pray with me!

Conclusion

I can’t tell you how many people I meet in the church who are carrying great shame and hidden sin. 

What if we became, not a PERFECT church, but a church that walked in the light as he is the light. 

Confessed our sin much and proclaimed our great savior even more. 

We would be a shame-free church. 

Free to love others. Open ourselves to others. 

Christians, let us walk in the light. And walking in the light is having fellowship with each other and consistent confessing of our sins.  

And what happens when we do that? 

The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all righteousness and God forgives us all our sin.