Guarding Our Testimony

1 John 1:5–10 NASB95

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 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. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous 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.

INTRO: If I were to bring you up here with me and ask you to share the Gospel, would you be prepared to do so?

Actually, let me pry a little bit- if I were to ask you not only to share the Gospel, but also to share (your testimony) how you are living in light of the Gospel, how would you do with that?

As I observe the church at large in the context of our culture, I fear that the testimony of many professing Christians is weak. What I mean is that there seems to be a breaking down in our witness to the world which portrays the church as hypocritical at best, heretical at worst.

Our testimony is a declaration of our witness. For Christians, this is when we speak of our life’s experience in light of the truth of God. It’s your first-hand account of how God transformed you, bringing you from death to life through Christ.

Our testimony always begins with God. WHO God is and WHAT He’s done. If you are writing your testimony, John shows us a great way to begin. Let’s look at verse 5 (READ)

What does it mean that God is light? Well, let’s look back to John’s Gospel:

John 1:5 NASB95

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 3:19–20 NASB95

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

God is perfectly holy and righteous. John says there is no darkness in him at all, which is to say that there is no hint of sin in Him. This draws a distinct line between God and sinful man. If this is true, then our testimony might look something like this:

There was a point in my life when I came to understand that God, our creator who stands outside of time and space, is perfectly righteous. I learned that His character demands perfection in order to draw near to Him. It was evident when I examined God’s law, that I am sinful and thus have no right to be in fellowship with Him (What fellowship has light with darkness? - 2 Cor. 6:14). Examples of this sinfulness include pride, deceit, and envy. I had broken God’s law.

BUT GOD, saw fit to make a way for me to know Him and to draw near to Him. He did this by humbling Himself and becoming a man, living a perfect life and then giving His life as a ransom for mine. Through the shed blood of Jesus, God has offered forgiveness and cleansing of my sins if I would surrender my will to His.

Because of this, I now live in agreement with God, filled with His Holy Spirit who gives understanding and equipped with His perfect law which guides me in every sphere of life. My life looks different today because I live in joyful gratitude and willing submission to the God of the Bible. I am His.

The great danger, however, is that we can lose sight of God’s holiness and begin on a slippery slope towards complacency or apathy. Thus, we must guard our testimony to ensure we have solid footing, for we exist to glorify God through our lives;

How can we proclaim a ‘good news’ that has not changed us?

So our message today is just that: Guarding Our Testimony. In our time together, I hope to demonstrate the dangers of the slippery slope of Christian apathy and offer 3 defenses by which we can prevent such in our own lives.

If you picked up a bulletin, you will find a sermon-guide inside to follow along, take notes, and use for reflection later this week. Let’s learn together.

The first danger that John points out is:

The Danger of Facade (6-7)

Do you know what a facade is? It’s literally a “false front” or a mask. This is when we play a role, looking like we are one thing in order to deceive others.

ILL: This is what we see in movies and television. Actors put on costumes and even personalities in order to play a role that fits the show.

How does this happen in the church? Well let’s read v. 6 (READ)

John is straight to the point, if we say (testify) that we have fellowship with God- i.e. that we are a Christian- one grafted into the family of God, a redeemed believer in whom Christ abides - if we say that, but we walk (or live) in darkness (sin), then we lie.

If you tell people that you are a Christian, but you are living right now in known or deliberate sin- something clearly taught as sin such as fornication (sex outside of marriage), sexual perversions, gossip, drunkenness, dishonesty, dishonoring your parents, etc., you are putting up a facade.

Facades are dangerous because in doing so, you are only deceiving those in the church - those who Christ has called to help build you up. You aren’t fooling your co-workers or neighbors. You aren’t fooling your kids or your spouse.

Let me share this: In a survey taken last year- conducted in a 2-mile radius of LRBC, over 70% of people said that the people who go to church do not act like Jesus.

WARNING: If our testimony is not congruent with our actions, we are trying to fool others.

Why would we do that? Maybe we are trying to earn favor with people, maybe we don’t want to disappoint our family...

Look, you might very well fool me or the deacons, but we are not the ones who will stand in judgment of you. The church body is supposed to lift one another up- bear each others burdens, and spur one another to good works!

But don’t just take my word, listen to Jesus’ words in:

John 8:12 NASB95

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 12:46 NASB95

“I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

So, if you’ve stepped on this slippery slope, there’s hope. Let’s look at v. 7 (READ)

John says the way to guard against this is to REPENT! Stop trying to build a facade and let Christ build His church. Don’t put on perfume to cover up your stink, go to the Father and He will make you clean!!

Remember, He began a good work in you! Stop trying to impress others, instead lean in to Christ. Look, as you walk in His LIGHT, you will have fellowship with other believers AND the confidence that your sins have are washed away through the blood of Jesus Christ!

We gotta move on- the next danger John points out is:

The Danger of Fantasy (8-9)

If a facade is a fake front to fool others, fantasy is like Virtual Reality goggles intended to deceive yourself.

Look with me at v. 8 (READ)

This is tantamount to looking at our lives and saying, I’m good. I don’t do anything wrong, so I have no need for a Savior. God is impressed with how good I am and I’ll enter into heaven on my own merits.

Lying to ourselves is easier than I think we’d like to admit. It can take a couple forms when we see it so, let me explain how that might look if our foot is on that slippery slope.

We minimize our sins so that we do not see them as problematic.

This is a common mindset in many, I believe. They think, “I haven’t killed anyone or even been in jail, so yeah, I’m good.” Why would God send me to hell? I’m a nice guy - I respect others, pay my bills...

Remember what I said earlier- we cannot have fellowship with God unless we are perfect according to God’s Law.

When we minimize our sins, we lose the magnitude of the cross that was required because of our sins! (DANGER!!).

We magnify our own righteousness.

This is where we attempt to elevate ourselves… It’s like the Pharisees who looked down upon others and equated their works to be holiness. Jesus condemned them because their motives were impure. Jesus said to them, “wash the inside of the bowl...”

The danger of fantasy is that at some point it becomes that we can no longer distinguish between reality and fiction. We can immerse ourselves in our own lies for so long that we are blind to truth, or as Johns says, “The truth is not in us.”

But there’s hope- look at v. 9 (READ)

The word “confess” might also be translated “agree with God about” our sins… this means that the answer to the slippery slope of apathy is to put our life in the LIGHT of Jesus so we can see just how ugly and awful our sinfulness truly is.

Only when we see God’s holiness can we see the truth of our sins. (Isaiah 6)

Our sins are so heinous that Jesus had to be beaten and nailed to an old Roman cross in order to offer a pardon to me! There is none good, no not one! So, it is when you and I hold the light of God’s Word up and agree with God - He alone is the standard of righteousness, THEN we can receive the cleansing. THEN we can truly understand the gift God has given and live in humble gratitude!

So far, we’ve looked that the danger of facade and the danger of fantasy. As we track the slippery slope of apathy, the last danger we will examine is:

The Danger of Finger-Pointing (10)

A facade deceives others, a fantasy deceives ourselves, and finger-pointing accuses God of deception.

Look at v. 10 with me (READ)

I know that none of you would ever look up at God, point your finger and verbally call Him a liar. But John says if we refuse to acknowledge our sin, then that is the same thing.

Scripture says that we are sinners and we need a Savior.

Romans 3:23 NASB95

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

False teachers say we are not sinners and we need no Savior. WHO do we believe?

Well, the reality is that it’s usually not so conspicuous. Allow me to explain:

This would be where we look at God’s Word, see a command and then refuse to believe that this command is for us.

We say things like, “the bible is old and outdated… surely Jesus would affirm same-sex marriages because it’s loving! Or God surely was not talking about sex between people who are consenting adults…”

Hey, is this not what Adam and Eve did? God surely wouldn’t want us to miss out on this fruit! He must not have meant what He said!

How is it that people want to say that they are Christian, but then disagree with God’s moral commands? Why do we read a passage and proclaim something so bold as “God changed his mind about that..” Folks, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. If He’s a god who’s gonna just change his mind about what’s right and wrong, then we’re all doomed!

So, how does this happen?

I believe this is where we weigh our feelings or the popular opinion in culture higher than God’s Word when determining what is good and what is not.

That’s why John says, “His word is not in you” In other words, you’ve gone away from the authority of God and His Word. You are following a different king… Jesus is not really your Lord.

If this is you, it’s not wonder you are apathetic about church or the Bible- It’s no wonder you choose other things over God’s Word - You’re like the seed that was choked out by the weeds in the parable of the soils!

But If that is you… if that’s your child or your neighbor, friends their is only one hope and His name is Jesus. RUN to the Gospel of Jesus Christ! BEG HIM to show you the truth, to bring conviction upon your soul! Cry out to him on behalf of your children to open their blinded eyes! Speak the HOPE of Christ over your neighbors that they may see His glory and turn to Him!

Folks, if we lose sight of God’s holiness; The splendor of His glory and the majesty of His name, we will soon find ourselves on this slippery slope to apathy. Let us guard our testimony by walking in the Light- in fellowship with God and one another as we grow in Christ.

[PRAY]

Discuss: Which of these danger zones are present in your life?

Discuss: What would motivate someone to lie about their character or faith?

Discuss: How would you describe God’s holiness and why is that important?