Who Is Your Advocate

God is Light & His Son Is Our Advocate

4.14.24 [1 John 1:5-2:2] River of Life (3rd Sunday of Easter)

Peace to you from our God who made light and is light. Amen.

Do you like to be in the dark? Most of us would say no, without much hesitation. We don’t like to be in the dark physically, conversationally, or emotionally. You may enjoy sitting in a room with the lights off, but even then I’ll bet you’re not really in the dark. You probably have a screen—or two!—glowing and radiating light. You might like to sleep in the dark, but you don’t like to live in the dark. Most of us would say we don’t like to be in the dark.

It’s not much fun to be in the dark conversationally either. We’ve all been there. Maybe it was an inside joke. You laugh along to get along but you don’t get it. It’s not as much fun as it could be. Or terms and ideas are being thrown out there and you have no idea what anyone is talking about or why. The worst is when secrets are being kept from you. It’s not much fun being in the dark conversationally.

We don’t like to be in a dark place emotionally, either. Maybe you’ve been there. Or someone close to you has. Being in a dark place emotionally or mentally makes everything harder. Simple tasks feel impossible. Little things, that at one time wouldn’t have caused you to skip a beat, stop you dead in your tracks when you’re in a dark place mentally or emotionally. When you’re in that kind of frame of mind, it feels no one understands, gets you, or even cares. No one wants to be in that dark place.

So when John writes that (1 Jn. 1:5) God is light and that we should walk in the light, we may instinctively think that that is right where we always want to be. And it should be. But it isn’t always where we want to be. Being in the light doesn’t just make it easier to see where you’re going—it also reveals where you’ve been.

Light has the power to expose hidden realities. The spotlight of an investigative journalist exposes what’s really going on in the shadows or behind locked doors. When you’re traveling, you may notice how dim the lights are in your hotel room. Bright lights have the power to lay bare all the junk that the housekeepers missed. In medical exams, dyes and scans filter light to help doctors diagnose what’s going on beneath the surface. What the light lays bare doesn’t always make us look or feel so great. Many times, we’d prefer the blissful ignorance of being in the dark!

But God won’t let us live in the dark spiritually. So the God who said let there be light has caused his light to shine in this world that is dark without him and lost without his truth. And when that light shines, when that truth is proclaimed, it doesn’t always make us look or feel so great.

The Bible uses this picture of darkness for sin many times. In Isaiah 9, the section of Scripture we read around Christmas about Jesus being the Prince of Peace and Mighty God, it begins with the reality check that people are living in darkness.

In Paul’s letters, he frequently warns his readers about the deeds of darkness—things like selfishness, debauchery, sexual immorality, foolish talk, drunkenness, dissension, jealousy, and all kinds of indecent behavior. The kind of sins that you feel better about doing when no one is looking. The kinds of behavior that develop in the dark. The kind of sin that festers in the shadows.

However, the deeds of darkness are not the kind of things that we are afraid of happening to us when we walk down a dark alley. It’s not murder. It’s not theft. It’s not physical or even sexual violence. The deeds of darkness are all things that give the sinner a rush of pleasure. Even though you would acknowledge it’s not a good thing to do, it makes you feel good. Darkness provides cover for these kinds of covert wickedness and sin. We may say we don’t like to be in the dark, but at times we are prone to wander.

As we wander, we like to downplay the danger. We think of these sins—lust, greed, pride, anger, jealousy—as minor infractions. Peccadilloes. They are our pet sins. Disobedient dust bunnies that we sweep under the couch, under the rug, into the closet and tell ourselves that we have them under control.

How mistaken we are! Have we forgotten God’s warning to Cain about his jealousy? (Gen. 4:7) Sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you. Do we think Paul was exaggerating when he said: (Eph. 4:26-27) ’Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Do not give the devil a foothold'? Or that Peter was crying wolf when he warns us: (1 Pt. 5:8) Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Sin is not a pet that you can coddle and keep under your control any more than a lion. As a cub, it may seem cute & cuddly—harmless even!—but it will always seek to destroy and devour you.

And the Devil loves to pounce in the dark. To accuse us.

To spiritually blackmail us by saying that God would not love us if he knew what we’ve done. Satan wants to see us stay in the darkness. That is what Jesus warns us about the darkness of sin.

In his parables, Jesus repeatedly calls hell as a place of darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Darkness is a place of devastation and despair that God designed for the devil, not us.

John warns us that we cannot walk in the path of darkness and claim to be one with God. To walk in darkness is like being trapped in the quicksand of our sins and relying on yourself. That is the real danger. Claiming to be without sin most frequently disguises itself as claiming to be not so bad. Have things under control. Not be hurting anyone. If we think our sins are not so bad, under our control, or not hurting anyone (1 Jn. 1:8) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We make Jesus out to be a liar. God’s Word never speaks of pet sins, transgressions that are under control, or iniquities that aren’t hurting anyone. Sin is destructive. Sin is deadly. Sin is darkness.

And God wants us to walk in the light. So he sends light to expose the deeds of darkness. Even when it makes us uncomfortable. Even when it embarrasses us. Because it is better for us to feel foolish and be forgiven than it is for us to blissfully ignorant of the dangers of the darkness of our sin. When we sin, God sends his light.

That’s what God did for David. David began to walk down a path of darkness. It began in the dark of the night. He saw a beautiful woman who was not his wife and yet he desired her. He used the authority that the Lord had blessed him with to do what the Lord detested. Then when he found out that she was with child, David went further into the darkness. He tried to deceive her husband, Uriah, and make him think that the child was his own. When that didn’t work, David sent orders with Uriah that led to his slaughter. Then David took Bathsheba into his palace as his wife and publicly portrayed himself as the kind of royal and thoughtful hero who takes care of the families of his mighty warriors.

David was walking in darkness and deceiving himself. The truth was not in him. He was making God out to be a liar. And it destroyed him. His hidden (Ps. 38:4) guilt overwhelmed him, like a burden too heavy to bear. So God sent a light bearer to expose David’s sin.

God’s servant Nathan came to King David and told a clever story about an incredibly selfish man and an innocent and beloved lamb. It riled David up. He demanded the perpetrator pay in blood.

Then Nathan exposed David as the incredibly selfish sinner.

David’s spirit was broken by this powerful light. He confessed his sin. And the Lord forgave him. Not because David was really sorry. Not because he bring Uriah back to life. But because David had an Advocate. Not Nathan, but Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Jesus is the Light. In him there is not even a hint of darkness.

Like the prophet Nathan, Jesus came into this world of darkness and laid bare all kinds of sin. He exposed our idolatry, our pride, our anger, our lust, our jealousy—all the hidden, pet sins that we thought we had under control. Jesus’ selfless life exposes each of us to be incredibly selfish sinners. Then Jesus told us that he came to be the innocent and beloved Lamb of God who would shed his lifeblood to purify us from all our unrighteousness and sin. Jesus was faithful to the Law, faithful to faithless people, faithful even to the point of death. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. And the whole world’s.

Jesus died in our place so that God might live out the truth. Our Holy and Righteous God must be just. Sin has to be paid for. But our Holy and Righteous God is also good, merciful, and compassionate. He gave up his Son over to death so that we might be justified. So that through his sacrifice Jesus might eliminate the debt of our sins and declare us forgiven. And that is what we are. Forgiven.

We who, by nature, were living in darkness have seen a great light. God has made his light shine in our hearts. He has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness. We are now children of the light, so let us walk in the light confidently. What does that look like? Walking in the light means recognizing the dangers of darkness in all its forms. Walking in the light means refusing to accept sin’s darkness in any form or in any area of life. Walking in the light means following Jesus and imitating him.

And whenever we fall short of that glorious goal, we have a great and gracious gift. We have a transcendent Advocate. He is the Righteous One, totally devoted to the truth. So he is honest with us. He calls us out of the darkness of sin. He calls us to repentance. He calls us to confess our sins, not make promises that we can’t keep. And then he keeps his promise to us, forgiving our sins. Jesus is the transcendent Advocate who fiercely defends us against the wicked accusations of the prince of darkness. The Deceiver, the Devil, will not have the final say. God does. God is Light and light always drives out darkness, so that we, his forgiven people, his dear children may walk in the light the rest of our lives. Amen.