15. Walking in the Lie vs Walking in the Truth p5

In verse 9 we saw the blessing of confession of our sin. We saw the blessing that Gos is to us generally and the blessing that God is to us specifically.

This morning we will finish the last of the three conditional statements that John sets forth for the test of true fellowship with God and other believers. The only other time the phrase “If we say” is used in the NT is when the Pharisees were weighing the consequences of how they would answer Jesus question to them as John’s baptism, whether it was from man or God. Admitting it was from God wasn’t an option becasue Jesus would have said ‘Why didn’t you believe him’ and saying it was from man wasn’t a good option becasue the people held John as a prophet and they feared for their lives. So these conditonal statements are unique and they set a steadfast fence around true fellowship with God and one another, a true profession of faith and truly walking in the light as opposed to walking in the darkness.

Today we find the Lord at work seperating the sheep from the goats. The distinctions between false and true churches are becoming more clear daily. These false Christian pastors and the false gatherings that embrace them, for I refuse to call them churches, are openly promoting anti-Christ doctrines and practices.

1Jn 1:5-2:6  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.  (6)  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (7)  But if we walk in the light, as he 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 we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  (9)  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10)  If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1Jn 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.  (2)  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.  (3)  And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.  (4)  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,  (5)  but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:  (6)  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

There are three points this morning. 1) A false assumption 2) a false accusation 3) a true assessment

First some general observations.

Verse 10 stands in contrast to verses 6 and 8. How so? Because they have the contrasting verses of 7 and 9. John is giving corrective action in those verses. He is saying If you say you have fellowship with God while walking in sin you lie and do not practice the truth but the correction is if you walk in the light as he is in light we have fellowship with one another and the bllod of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin. If you say you have no sin, you are decieving yourself and the truth is not in you. The correction is if we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Verse 10 has no corresponding correction. It is the devastating conclusion to the progression. There is another progression with these texts. Each of these verses carries with it a deepening deceptionV6 is we lie to others in our professing to have fellowship with God while walking in darkness. V8 we lie and ourselves to say we have not the condition of sin v10. We make God a liar to ourselves and are a false witness to others when we say we have not the action of sin. Verse 8 is the denial of our sinful nature and verse 10 is the denial of the activity of sin.

The first point:

1. A False Assumption

This verb in this phrase is a present active indicative meaning that it is a completed action with ongoing consequences. The Greek word for no is the strongest form of no. The text is saying that at no time sin has, is, or will be committed. We can take this in two ways. Either it is saying there never was, is, or ever will be a breach of God’s law or that all sinful activity is not sin in direct contradiction to the word of God. As to the first way this can be taken; we have stated many times before we have been set free from the dominion of sin in and through Christ’s shed blood.

Rom 6:7-8  For one who has died has been set free from sin.  (8)  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

But believers are still sinners. Romans 7:14-25 Paul, the apostle, struggled with sin – The good that I want to do I do not do the evil that I hate I do. Who will save me from this body of sin and death.

Every command given in the Bible is a reminder that we are still sinners or else there would never need to be a command given.

As to the second sense this can be taken; a denial or refutation of God’s stated order and commands. Consider this for a minute and then think about what we are seeing in our society today. God defines two genders biologically, male and female, there are those that claim to know God that say no. There are more than that and those that may physically be one gender can affirm they are another and it is not sin. God defines marriage between one male and one female and there are those who profess to know God that say no. Marriage can be between any gender, men and men, women and women.

Furthermore, they have redefined sin to not mean sin. Adultery is minimized to having an affair, drunkeness, drugs, and pornography are addictions rather than sin. This not to say there is no such thing as addiction. But it doesn’t change the fact that sin is sin. Selfishness is ‘standing up for my rights”. The humanistic, godless philosophies western Christianity has embraced have come home to roost, having matured to a fruit that is a stench in the nostrils of God.

2. A False Accusation – make God a liar

The Greek word tranlated as make appears to be a Greek do all word. It is translated many different ways.But it raises an important question. Is it possible to make God a liar or to prove Him one. The answer is quite simply no. The implication of this phrase then is an accusation that God is a liar. There is a vast gulf between the accusation and the proof.

Num 23:19  God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Let’s compare:

1Jn 5:10  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.

Notice that John says that making God a liar is associated with not believing in Jesus which is clearly a description of a non-believer. In other words the unbeliever is the one who calls God a liar! In 1John 5:10 he makes God a liar by not believing in the "Word of life", in Whom alone is eternal life! Here in 1John 1:10 he calls God a liar by not believing His Word about his sinful state!

John Calvin in his commentary on 1 John says this “John goes still further, saying that those who claim purity for themselves blaspheme God. We see that he everywhere represents the whole human race as guilty of sin. Whoever tries to escape this charge, then, carries on war with God and accuses Him of falsehood, as though He condemned people who did not deserve it.”

Here, brethren, is where the metal metal meets the meat. False professors shake their fists in the face of God because they are not the masters of their own destiny but they are ever before the face of the righteous almighty Creator of the world and they hate that the Judge of all the world will do right.

Rightly did Paul warn the Ephesian church. Act 20:28-30  Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.  (29)  I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock;  (30)  and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.

There is a movement called Revoice, which has gained some popularity in some reformed circles. To quote from an article on monergism.com Dear PCA, Don’t Let Revoice Fool You: A Response to Revoice’s Frequently Asked Questions, Part 2 by Dr. Jared Moore. He lays out the vision/vision statement of the movement.

Revoice’s mission is “to support and encourage gay, lesbian, bisexual, and other same-sex attracted Christians—as well as those who love them—so that all in the Church might be empowered to live in gospel unity while observing the historic Christian doctrine of marriage and sexuality.” [1] The latter part of this statement about gospel unity, like their FAQ, sounds like something faithful Christians can affirm; however, if we look closer at the language they use and compare it with the writings of their leaders, we will see that their theology is neither biblical nor Reformed.

In their Frequently Asked Questions the Revoice movement writes:

"How does God bring about change and sanctification in the lives of Christians attracted to their own sex?

For much of recent evangelical history, Christians’ perception of God’s transforming and sanctifying work in those attracted to their own sex has focused on orientation change, that is, how God is or is not turning them from experiencing sexual attraction toward the same sex to experiencing sexual desire for the opposite sex. This was often the church’s public perception of the work of ex-gay ministries like Exodus International, for example. We believe God can do anything that he pleases, yet we also believe that it is important to recognize how God typically works. While it seems clear that some people experience a degree of spontaneous fluidity in their orientation, none of the methods of pursuing a change in orientation which we know of, whether psychological or spiritual, have proven effective. Thus, while there is nothing wrong with desiring or praying for such a transformation, we instead want to highlight the sorts of change and sanctification which do seem to be part of how God regularly works in the lives of gay/same-sex-attracted believers who surrender their sexuality to Him. We believe it is better and wiser for gay/same-sex attracted Christians—and for the churches that support them—to focus on these kinds of change, rather than fixing hope on possible, but relatively unlikely changes in a way that tends to produce discouragement and despair

So here it is clear they are not interested in real transformation or repentance but acceptance of identifying as a LGTBQ Christian.

1Co 6:8-11  But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!  (9)  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  (10)  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Not are some of you but were some of you.

They want to normalize sin. Rather than take every though captive to the obedience of Christ they’d rather preserve current thought and desires of same sex attraction. It is the equivalent of putting the stamp of approval on a heterosexual male or female lust and desire for others of the opposite sex. We are to repent and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Not only do false professors accuse God of lying calling sin sin but the also accuse Him of lying about sin’s remedy. The shed blood of Jesus Christ. You see if there is no sin, there is no need for a remedy. There is no need for the Spirit to renew and regernerate, there is no need for grace or mercy, or the free gift of faith. There is no need for the Spirit’s indwelling.

3. A True Assessment – and His Word is not in us

You will notice there is a difference here. In verse 6 ‘does not practice the truth’ And verse 8’ the truth is not in us but in verse 10 he uses word. Logos, which not so coincidentally is the same word John uses in 1 John 1:1 and John 1:1. But before we pursue this let us look at the phrase as a whole.

He uses the same negative in this phrase as he does in the first phrase. “If we say we have not sinned”. The meaning is in the most absolute negative terms. John is saying if you say you have never sinned in the past, sinned in the present or will sin in the future you absolutely do not have His word in you. You have not had the first of the operations of the Holy Spirit at work in you because it is through the Spirit that comes the knowledge of sin for it is His work to convict the world concerning sin. There are some commentators that would assert that John is not referencing the incarnate word but rather the word of truth, the word of God but looking at the context it is difficult to exclude that he does indeed mean Jesus.

1Jn 1:1-2  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—  (2)  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

Are you walking darkness while professing to a relationship with God you lie and do not practice the true but if you walk in the light as He is in the light as we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all our sin. Are you saying you have no sin? Then you are deceiving yourself with the worst kind of lie and the truth is not in you. But if you confess your sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Are you saying you have’nt sinned, you are accusing God of lying, lying about what is righteous and holy and also lying about sin’s remedy and His Word is not in you.

Christian, beware that you do not find yourself in such a place of denial. Do not be a blasphemer declaring as righteous that which God has called sin. But be encouraged if you are seeking to walk with the Lord, if you mourn and repent of your sins know that he is both faithful and righteous to forgive you and that His word, the Spirit of Christ truly dwells in you.