1 John 1:5-10, 5:2-5

Opening:

Introduction of the Text:

It has been a rough several weeks.

Often, as Christians, we can be cast down and discouraged.

In our war with sin, we can feel it is impossible to win.

We just finished the commands in Ephesians.

We may be feeling weighed down and downcast.

Let’s now go to a comforting passage and remember the truth of confession and forgiveness.

Reading of the Text:

1 John 1:5-10.

And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

Behold, the Word of God. Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Transition:

Explanation of 1 John.

Written by John, the beloved apostle.

Addressing several central themes.

1. Certainty of faith and salvation.

2. False teachers.

John is addressing the early Gnostics. They denied the physical incarnation of Christ. They downplayed the importance of the physical. They did not care if they physically sinned. Often, heresy comes into the church in this way, “I want to sin, but the Bible won’t let me.” All that mattered is the Spiritual. They denied even being sinners. They taught a form of earthly perfectionism.

Transition:

The Message:

This message is from God.

This message is announced by the Apostles in Scripture.

God is Light.

1 John 1:5 And this is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Other References To God Being Light:

1 Timothy 6:15-16 “...He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.”

James 1:17 “17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

Psalm 136:7 “7 To Him who made the great lights, For His lovingkindness is everlasting:”

Psalm 104:2 “2 Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.”

Daniel 7:9 “9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.”

John 1:1-5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

John 8:12 “12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.””

John 9:5 “5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.””

John 12:35-36 “35 So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.”

Revelation 22:5 “5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.”

Light is Synonymous with:

Life: God is the author of Life.

Righteousness: God is perfectly Righteous.

Holiness: God is completely set apart and Holy.

Truth: In God there is no variation or change or falsehood.

In Him is No Darkness at All.

Darkness is synonymous with:

Death:

Sinfulness:

Evil:

Lies:

Five If Statements:

1 John 1:6-10, 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

1. If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in darkness, we lie.

v. 6, If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;

2. If we walk in the Light, as He Himself is in the Light, we have...

v. 7, but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Isaiah 2:5 “5 Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

a. Fellowship with One Another.

b. Cleansing of our sins.

Where else is there forgiveness other than walking in the way of Christ? there is only forgiveness when you are walking with Christ. Every other path is filled with condemnation. In the footsteps of Christ, forgiveness flows to us.

3. If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and lack the truth.

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

4. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us.

v. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

a. Confession.

Proverbs 28:13 “13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”

Psalm 32:5 “5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.”

Leviticus 26:40,42 “40 ‘If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me—” “42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.”

Psalm 51:1-4 “1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.”

b. Faithful.

c. Righteous.

d. Forgiveness.

e. Cleansing from all sin.

5. If we say we have not sinned, we blaspheme and are not saved.

v. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

Argumentation:

Three Negative “If” statements; Two Positive “If” statements.

Three Negative:

v. 6, 8, 10.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth;

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

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

If we claim lack of sin, we are...

1. Not practicing the truth.

2. Deceiving ourselves and lack the truth in us.

3. Blaspheming and lack the Word in us.

Two Positives:

v. 7, 9

7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

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

If we walk in the light and confess our sins we have...

1. Fellowship with one another or Unity.

Unity is not built on false teaching, but on the confession of sin and forgiveness from Christ.

2. forgiveness and cleansing.

Summary:

A Mark of a False Christians is Covering of Sin and a Lack of Spiritual Fruit.

A Mark of a True Christians is Making Confession of Sin and Displaying Spiritual Fruit.

When we stumble and fail, we confess our sin and receive forgiveness and complete cleansing.

John’s closing encouragement:

1 John 5:2-5 “2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Focus on only the commandments of God being un-burdensome.

His commandments are not burdensome.

Q. How can the commands of God not be burdensome?

A. The Children of Light will love the path of the Light and hate the path of darkness.

Psalm 1:1-2 “1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.”

For Christians, we have been born again. We have been given a new nature. As we stumble and fall and sin, we confess our sins. We bring them to Christ. As we do this, we are day by day being transformed into the image of Christ. As this happens, we begin to love the commands of God. They become beautiful and lovely in our eyes. We begin to desire to obey Christ.

Are you struggling with sin? Do you find yourself stumbling and falling? Take heart! Confess your sins, receive the bottomless forgiveness of Christ. As you do this, you will find that your heart begins to love the light. You begin to love the commands of God. You begin to find the path of Christ to be light and un-burdensome.

Confess, be forgiven, walk in the light, repeat.

Application:

Be Comforted in Forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This passage has brought such comfort to my soul. Men may condemn us. Men may hold our sin over our heads and refuse to forgive us. Men may manipulate things and attempt to destroy you. But we have a faithful God. If we confess our sins, He is faithful. He will be faithful. He will not abandon us. He will forgive us. We have a promise from God that we will be forgiven.

We can come to God and say, “I have sinned. This is what I did, or This is what I did not do.” And we can feel the forgiveness of sins wash over us like a shower. It pours over us and we are clean. When we fail, we can be made new. When we fall short, we can be forgiven. We can feel the arms of Christ coming and lifting us up from our shortcomings and teaching us to walk in the Light. We can feel the commands of God become sweet to us. We can feel our souls hunger more and more for the light of Christ. We begin to long to walk in the path of righteousness. And if we are to fall once again into sin, we have the covenant promise of God, that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This is the beauty of the Christian life. If I have one hope and prayer, it is that you make confession a daily part of your life.

Make Confession a Daily Part of Your Life.

1. Pray and specifically confess where you have sinned.

2. Pray and ask God to specifically cleanse you from those sins.

3. Pray and ask God to give you strength to avoid those specific sins in the future.

4. Pray and ask God to help you love His commands.

5. Pray and ask God to help you walk in the Light as He is in the Light.

Live in the Comfort and Blessing of the Light of Life.

When we confess before God and receive complete and total forgiveness from God, who then can condemn us? Who can hold sin over our heads when the God of the universe has given us absolute forgiveness and has cleansed us.

Alas and Did My Savior Bleed:

by Isaac Watts 1707

1

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?   And did my Sovereign die? Would He devote that sacred head   For such a worm as I?

At the cross, at the cross where   I first saw the light, And the burden of my heart rolled away, It was there by faith I received my sight,   And now I am happy all the day!

2

Was it for sins that I had done   He groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity! grace unknown!   And love beyond degree!

3

Well might the sun in darkness hide,   And shut His glories in, When Christ, the mighty Maker, died   For man, His creature’s sin.

4

Thus might I hide my blushing face   While His dear cross appears. Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,   And melt mine eyes to tears.

5

But drops of grief can ne’er repay   The debt of love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away,   ’Tis all that I can do.

Prayer:

Closing Doxology:

Closing Benediction:

Matthew 6:9-13, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.