Session 1: A Faith as Real As Him

Intro:Thank you everyone, I am really excited to be here with you this weekend. If you have a bible with you please turn to 1 John 1. We are going to be looking at all ten verses tonight. Before we get started, I want to tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Gabe Thomas, and first, let’s address the elephant in the room. I’m older than I look, ok. I’m not in high school as you may be thinking. I’m not one of the college students. I actually turned 31 last month. I am a youth pastor at a church in Forsyth, GA and I am the campus minister at the Gordon State BCM. BCM stands for Baptist Collegiate Ministry. IF you are a high schooler who is looking to go to college, ask your bible study leaders this weekend all about BCM. I am married to my wife Morgan, and I think we have a picture here. That is our two daughters Amelia is the oldest and she is three and Piper is the baby and she is four months. Morgan and I have been married for six and a half years. And we met at Georgia Southern where we were both students.

Before we start tongiht, I want you to think about why you are here. Some of you are here because you love Jesus and are walking with him. Some of you are here because your friends were coming. Some of you are here because it was better than being at home. Some of you probably aren’t really sure why you are here, you just know you needed to be. I say this, because why you are here probably reflects a lot about who you believe Jesus is. Not who you have been told He is, not who you feel like you are suppose to act like He is. But who you actually think He is. Some of you believe He is the Son of God, but some of you aren’t even sure. In fact, there may be some that if you were being honest, you would say that you aren’t even sure you believe He is who the Bible says He is. This is something real we are going to deal with tonight. The main idea of the text tonight is that

Since evidence shows Christ is real, the implications of his existence are real as well.

There are three main things we are going to be looking at tonight.

The reality of Christ, Mandated authenticity, The issue of sin.

I’m going to ask you to do what I always ask my students to do, will you please stand as we honor the reading of God’s Word.

1 John 1:1–2 ESV

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— 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—

1 John 1:3–4 ESV

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. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:5–6 ESV

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

1 John 1:7–8 ESV

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

1 John 1:9–10 ESV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

The Reality of Christ (Verses 1-4)

Exposition: The passage starts by claiming two things simultaneously. One, that Jesus has always existed, making Him God and that we can trust that this is true. We read this in verses one and two where John writes 1 John 1:1-2

1 John 1:1–2 ESV

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— 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—

Exposition: Let’s deal first with the idea that Jesus has always existed, which again, makes Him God, but that He came to earth. John starts off by saying that which was from the beginning. This matches the language John uses to start John’s gospel. Also known as the book of John. He starts that off by saying, John 1:1-3

John 1:1–3 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John makes clear in that passage something he is echoing here. That Jesus is God and we know this because he was present at creation and He was part of creation.

Explanation: This is no doubt a really hard concept to understand. How can we say we believe in one God but there are three different people, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, but still one God. It will never fully make sense, but the best explanation I can give is a triangle. You don’t look at a triangle and say it’s three different triangles because it has three points. We don’t say that only one of those points is actually a triangle. One Triangle has three points because that is just the way it is, and it’s the same way with God. We worship one God who exists simultaneously in three persons, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and that’s just the way it is.

1 John 1:1–2 ESV

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— 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—

Exposition: This means, that Jesus being the Son was God. And John leaves no doubt about that. John says that Jesus was the Word of Life and in Him is eternal life. But He also says that Jesus was made manifest, meaning He was revealed to them. They talked about how they saw and touched him, all meaning Jesus, though He was God came to earth. And John gives proof of this. He says they saw, touched and heard Jesus. Not just that they saw Jesus, but they saw that He has eternal life. How do they know this, because they saw Him die on a cross, and then they saw Him alive again. And listen if somebody dies, rises again, and you can see and touch the physical scars, but he also has a spiritual element where one minute he’s not there, and then He is. You know what, you would probably believe what He has to say.

Exposition: But John here is making clear by what He is saying in verses 1 and 2 that all the people had heard about Jesus from his disciples was true, and they could believe it because John saw it with his own eyes.

Explanation: And why is any of this important?

Verses 1-2

John makes it clear that two things are true about Christ.

He has existed for eternity, but came to earth

All the claims about this are true and John knows it because he and the other apostles saw it with their own eyes and touched him with their own hands. Most scholars believe that this letter was written between 80 and 95 ad. This means it was somewhere between 50 and 65 years since Christ had died and rose again. John would have probably been one of the only people left alive that had seen the risen Christ. In fact, many people who were Christians were probably Christians because their parents or grandparents had been Christians. Their parents or grandparents may have known somebody who saw the risen Christ, but maybe not. One commentary I read pointed out that persecution had begun to break out under the Roman emperor Domitian. Many of the Christians were probably wondering, how do I even know this is real?

Application: And if some of you were to be honest, you are asking the same question. How do I know any of this is real and not just something my parents have told me. Well, John writing this is pretty good evidence. You may ask, how do we even know John wrote this. We know this, because as my old seminary professor David Black points out, the early church was very particular about what texts they accepted and didn’t accept. They did not accept texts from people they did not know for sure were who they claimed to be or who they came from. They also made sure that person had a connection to the risen Christ. So we know John wrote this text, how do we know he wasn’t just making it up. For this reason, he had no incentive to do this.

Illustration: My grandfather died in May 2019, about a month and a half before his 91st birthday. He grew up when teachers were still allowed to spank children as a punishment. And I can tel by every reaction I just saw whose teachers’ lives would be easier if that were still a thing. But my grandfather’s name was John R. Thomas Jr. He had no middle name. One day when in school as a child, the teacher went around and asked what everyone’s middle name was. He said he did not have one. The teacher thought he was lying and she spanked him with a textbook. She asked him again, and he told her again that he did not have one. She spanked him again. This went on for a while. At some point the teacher should have known that he was telling the truth because he had nothing to gain from lying. It was the same thing for John. The Roman emperor was ramping up persecution of Christians. David Allen writes that John was probably the only living apostle at this point, because the other 11 had already all died for proclaiming the name of Jesus. John wasn’t going to gain anything by preaching this if it weren’t true. The only reason John and all the others who had lost their lives for proclaiming that they had seen the risen Christ, was if they had sen the risen Christ. There is tons of other evidence out there too. Young people, here me now, this isn’t just something that your parents told you. It is a verifiable fact that Jesus Christ did what the Bible said he did, and is who the Bible says He is.

Exposition: Not only did John say he believed it because he saw it, he wanted others to know it was true as well. He writes in verses three and four 1 John 1:3-4

1 John 1:3–4 ESV

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. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Exposition: John knew that if Jesus was God, which he knew to be true, if Jesus died on a cross and rose again, which John knew to be true, this has deep implications. It meant that when Jesus said sins were forgiven for those that believed, it was true. And despite the persecution, despite all the earthly trials it would bring, John wanted people to know that if they believed they could be part of the family of God, because that meant one had made fellowship with the Father, and with Jesus Christ The Son. And as John said in verse 4, the news of the gospel was so good, that it would complete the joy he had gained from his relationship with Christ to see others have a relationship with Christ.

Transition: Knowing that what the Bible says about Jesus is true, that he came from heaven, lived a perfect life, died on a cross for our sins and rose again granting eternal life to those who believe, this has implications for our life. The first is mandated authenticity.

Exposition: This mandated authenticity comes from the very nature of what Jesus did. Verse five reads 1 John 1:5

1 John 1:5 ESV

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.

Exposition: If God loved us enough to come to us in our sins and make a way for us to be saved, then He must be by very nature good. Only somebody who is good would love in that kind of way.

Application: This has meaning on our life for two reasons. The first, is that it means that even when life is not good, God is. Some of you come from hard situations and have been through some really hard things. Maybe at times you question if God is good or if he really loves you. A God who will send His Son into the world to die on a cross for your sins is indeed a good God. Trust in that. The second, is that he gets to make the rules. If God is good, Holy and Perfect. If He has the message of salvation, then what he commands us to do is right. He is the judge of morality, not us. If we are living contrary to the way He would have us to live, He is the one that is right, not us.

Exposition: That is why John says in verse 6 1 John 1:6 “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” Because God is light, we cannot live contrary to the way He calls us to live, and act like we are living in the light.

Application: The way I explain it to my students, is that we can be very good at playing the game. What I mean by that is, we come to church we sing the songs, we close our eyes during the prayer, and we act a certain way around our church friends. But then when we get with our friends at school or our sports teams or wherever, we act a different way. Our language is different, the things we talk about is different, the way we act is different. And one of the best ways we can tel if we are just playing the game, is because we keep our friends separate. We have church friends, we have school friends, and we don’t allow them to mix. But when we play the game we are being dishonest in three potential ways. The first, is that if we are hiding pockets of our life from God, or form the people we mentally associate with God, we lie. When we act as if we have given our lives to Christ, when we act like everything is good with Jesus, but we know that we have never turned our lives to Christ, we are lying to ourselves, and those around us that we hide the dark things from. When those who are believers in Jesus Christ play the game, they are also lying to those who they do the sinful things with. When you act like you have no guilt whatsoever about the things you are doing, but inside it is eating you alive, you are lying. You are allowing people to think something is ok, when deep down you know it’s not. All of this is living in darkness and it’s a lie because we are not practicing the truth.

Exposition: This is contrasted with what John says in verse 7 where we read 1 John 1:7

1 John 1:7 ESV

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.

Application: When we walk in obedience to Christ in the new life we were given, it leads to authentic relationship both with others and Christ. When we walk in the way that Christ has called us to walk, when we obey the commands of God, we don’t have to have this separate life which naturally causes us to keep secrets from people. We can have true relationship with others. We also can have true relationship with Jesus because when we go authentically in front of him to seek new life, and leave the old life behind, we can have new life. Our sins are forgiven. Young people, don’t play the game. I have played it at times in my life, and when I was your age, there were times i played it really well. Don’t do that. Don’t just be the person that the people you are around want you to be. Be authentic and live in the light.

Transition: As the end of verse seven suggests sin must also be dealt with. We need to be authentic, but part of that is dealing with the sin that needs to be dealt with.

Sin that has to be dealt with (Verses 8-10)

Exposition: Verse 8 reads 1 John 1:8

1 John 1:8 ESV

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

Exposition: We have all sinned. Sin has been a problem since Adam and Eve ate the apple in the garden. Somebody saying they don’t have sin is like being in a preschool and one of the kids saying he or she doesn’t pick his or her nose. Ok, we all know that’s not true. Sin is common, but that does not mean it isn’t a big problem. Our sin separates us from God. When we are in our sins, we have no hope of having fellowship with God. We have no hope of heaven. And there’s nothing we can do to make the sin go away. To ignore sin is to ignore what the Bible says about the consequences of sin. Sin has to be dealt with. But how, how can it be dealt with. John tells us that as well. He writes in verse 9

1 John 1:9 ESV

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

Exposition: John says that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins. There is hope for the forgiveness of sins. There is hope that we don’t have to be in our sins forever. There is hope that we can have our sins forgiven. There is hope that we can have our eternity secure. But what does John say.

Application: Does John say that if your parents are Christians, he is faithful and just to forgive our from sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. No, that’s not what he says. Does he say that if you go to church your whole life that he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse. No, that’s not what he says. He says that if you confess our sins. In order for us to be forgiven of our sins, we have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for our sins and rose again. But we must also confess our sins before him. We must go and admit that we are sinners and that we are in need of his grace. Young people, there is no such thing as being a Christian one’s entire life. There is no such thing as being born a Christian. We do not get citizenship into heaven because we are born into a christian family. No, you must be willing to go and confess your sin before God. You must seek the forgiveness of sins. If you do this, He will forgive you. Even the dark secret sins you have regretted your whole life. Even the sinful things that you don’t think you can forgive yourself for. He will forgive those things, if only you will go before Him and confess them. To ignore our sin is not to just reject God’s offer of salvation, but it is saying we don’t believe what God says about sin in His Word.

Exposition: John writes in verse 10, 1 John 1:10 God has told us that Jesus came and died for our sins so that we forgiven. When we ignore our sin, when we say we are good because we do more good things than bad things, we are saying that what God has told us isn’t true. I don’t care how credible you think you are, God is more. To not seek forgiveness for sins is to reject the offer that Christ left the glory of heaven and died on a cross for. It’s to say that we are going to take our eternity in our own hands because we don’t believe what God is saying. Young people, do not be too arrogant or scared to accept your sins and place them in front of a God who took on the punishment you deserved so you could be forgiven. There is nothing you can ever do to get rid of your sin or make yourself right before God. But there is a God who is waiting to do that, if you would just confess your sins.

1 John 1:10 ESV

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

Are you ready to jump onto the blob?

Conclusion: A few years ago I had my first and only opportunity, and it will be my only opportunity to jump onto a blob. If you don’t know what a blob is, it is this trampoline type thing that you find in a lake. How it works is that you jump from a dock that is probably about ten feet tall, maybe a little bit more. One person jumps from the dock and lands on the blob and crawls over to the other side. Then the person behind them jumps off the dock, and when they land on the blob, the force flings the person on the other side up and into the water. I got in line and waited my turn. What I forgot was that as I have gotten older, I do not like heights. In my head, I knew what to do. I knew how it worked, but when I got to the top, I couldn’t make myself jump. I had all the knowledge of what to do. I had seen others do it, but all of that didn’t mean anything until I personally was able to jump. Maybe that’s where you are. Maybe you have never taken the leap that it requires to make your faith your own. Maybe you have never been sure that Jesus was who the Bible says he is, so you haven’t jumped. Maybe you have been so content to watch your friends and family live out their faith and you have content to live through them, but you have never experienced it yourself. OR maybe you have never gone before God and confessed your sin. Maybe you have never taken the leap because you have a sin that you are holding onto that you can’t bring yourself to let go of. Or maybe you are afraid to confess it to God because you don’t want to admit the sin to Him. Remember, when we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive. If something is keeping you from taking the jump and making your faith your own, don’t let it get in the way. Eventually, I realized that I couldn’t stand still, I had to make a decision. And I jumped. I’ll never do it again, but I did jump. Don’t keep standing still, but jump. I want every head bowed and eye closed. If tonight you are ready for the first time to make the jump and place your faith in Jesus, please raise your hand. Thank you. If you realize you have been playing the game and you are ready to live in the light, please raise your hand. After we pray and we begin to worship again, if you are somebody who raised your hand I want you to go find your leader and ask them to pray with you. Let’s pray.