Practice Truth
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1 John 1:5-10
1 John 1:5-10
Pray
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
In this opening verse John gives a testimony as to why he is writing this letter.
Who is John?
John was one of the chosen 12 disciples called directly by Jesus.
John was the brother of James and the son of Zebedee. (Luke 5:10)
John was a fisherman.
Jesus called John to follow Him at the sea of Galilee. (Matthew 4:21)
John was one of the three disciples who witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus. (Matthew 17:1)
John sat under the cross as Jesus suffered. (John 19:27)
John was a disciple of Jesus.
He was called to follow.
He walked with Jesus.
John witnessed the miracles performed by Jesus on this earth.
John saw the death of our Messiah on the cross.
But he also walked with Jesus after the resurrection.
John became a pillar of the early church.
John was a martyr because of his faith in Jesus.
John is not a random person in the Bible.
The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
These verses tell us why John gives his testimony.
Life appeared.
Jesus appeared as the way of Life.
John declares that he is a witness of this truth.
John testifies to the validity of the truth in the message of salvation in Jesus.
Jesus is the only way to be in fellowship with God is through the reconciliation offered through Jesus.
We write this to make our joy complete.
Is your joy made complete in the sharing of the Gospel?
This should be something that motivates us in our Christian walk.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
What is the source of the message?
Jesus
The Word of God.
This must be the source of the message and the source of definitions.
We must be tethered to the Word.
Tied to the source of truth.
If we stray form the source we are led into darkness.
God is light.
God is the only source of truth.
In Him there is no darkness.
No confusion.
No discontent.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
How can we have fellowship yet still walk in darkness?
What do you think?
John gives us the answer, we lie.
If we claim to be in fellowship with God yet we choose to walk in darkness, we lie.
This verse reveals free will.
Even in faith, we retain the capacity of choice.
We can allow the old self to influence our thought, actions and behaviors.
This is the battle we endure.
We are free in Jesus.
Yet we endure the struggles of a life
SO don’t be a liar.
We will sin.
We will make mistakes.
When this happens, repent.
Call out to Jesus and ask His forgiveness.
Call out to Jesus and ask Him to help you overcome.
Second half of verse 6: we lie and do not live out the truth.
NASB says practice instead of live out.
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If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
We do not practice the truth.
Why do we practice something?
To get better.
To become familiar.
To cause the thing we are practicing to become a part of our daily lives.
What is the result if we do not practice something?
We forget.
John is declaring to us that practicing faith is imperative
We must practice faith.
We must practice walking in the Light.
We must practice being a person of truth.
How do we practice faith?
Be accountable.
Do not lie.
Be accountable of your faith.
Turn to James 1
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.
Do not be like the one who looks into a mirror and when looking away immediately forgets.
This is something that we often read but neglect to apply.
We know what the Bible says, but we neglect to live it out.
Don’t forget.
Don’t forget who Jesus is.
Don’t forget the depth from which you have been delivered because of Jesus.
Don’t forget that it is only because of Him that we can find peace with God.
Be accountable of your faith.
You are responsible for remembering to practice living in faith.
There are people who say all the right things when they are in polite company.
But the moment
We all make mistakes.
No one will ever be perfect.
But we must look upon the mirror of our faith and choose to act according to the person that God has designed us to be.
Not he person the world wants us to be.
When we fail be accountable.
When we fail ask God to help us be the image in the mirror.
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, purifies us from all sin.
Walk in the Light.
Walking in light cleanses us from sin.
Walking in the Light exposes sin.
It exposes the things we try to hide in the darkness.
This will equip us to be accountable.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Can we claim to be without sin?
Is this possible?
YEs.
We all can fall victim to this deception.
When we ignore conviction of the Holy Spirit.
When we ignore accountability.
When we blame others for difficulties.
When we avoid taking responsibility of our personal walk of faith.
We can deceive ourselves claiming that we do not need correction.
This verse addresses humility.
We must be humble.
We must recognize that we cannot do it alone.
We will always need Jesus.
We will always need the presence of the Holy Spirit to help us.
We will always need to humble ourselves to His authority.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
When we take account of our faith, the Lord will expose things that we try to hide in the dark.
When exposed, we can confess these sins.
Confession, bringing the things in the dark to the Light helps us walk in righteousness.
This helps us follow the leading of our Messiah.
In confession, we can be confident that Jesus will forgive.
We do not need to fear judgement in our repentance.
Jesus is faithful to forgive.
Benediction: James 4:7-10
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
