'Fess Up When You Mess Up!

Text:

Title: Fess Up When You Mess Up

This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin. If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.

Introduction:

Growing up in Terrell, we lived and grew up in a few different places.

305 Runnels

Catherine Street

Washington Heights Apartments

In the country - Rt. 3 Box 299-A

305 Runnels

But while we lived in Washington Heights, my brother Keith, and I were playing outside throwing rocks in the apartments. No windows were broken from rock throwing; however, I sat down on a window, and guess what? It broke! I did not tell my mama! I messed up big time! The next day, after school and we were getting ready to in the house, mama asked me did that happen? I said, “Yes ma’am.” Then she said, “So you didn’t tell me.” Ok, go upstairs…and you know the rest of the story!

One of the most dangerous heresies of the first two centuries of the church was Gnosticism. Its central teaching was that spirit is entirely good and matter is entirely evil. From this unbiblical dualism flowed five important errors:

1. The human body, which is matter, is therefore evil. It is to be contrasted with God, who is wholly spirit and therefore good.

2. Salvation is the escape from the body, achieved not by faith in Christ but by special knowledge (the Greek word for “knowledge” is gnosis, hence Gnosticism).

3. Christ’s true humanity was denied in two ways: (1) Some said that Christ only seemed to have a body, a view called Docetism, from the Greek dokeo (“to seem”), and (2) others said that the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left him before he died, a view called Cerinthianism, after its most prominent spokesman, Cerinthus. This view is the background of much of 1 John (see 1:1; 2:22; 4:2–3 and notes).

4. Since the body was considered evil, it was to be treated harshly. This ascetic form of Gnosticism is the background of part of the letter to the Colossians (see , and notes).

5. Paradoxically, this dualism also led to licentiousness. The reasoning was that, since matter—and not the breaking of God’s law ()—was considered evil, breaking his law was of no moral consequence.

Consequently, John wrote this letter with two basic purposes in mind: (1) to expose false teachers (see 2:26 and note) and (2) to give believers assurance of salvation (see 5:13 and note). In keeping with his intention to combat Gnostic teachers, John specifically struck at their total lack of morality (3:8–10); and by giving eyewitness testimony to the incarnation, he sought to confirm his readers’ belief in the incarnate Christ (1:3). Success in this would give the writer joy (1:4).

John also wrote to help readers avoid the pitfalls of sin, yet find forgiveness when they stumbled.

He wrote to protect believers from false teachers.

I. We are guilty. (5-7)

5 - Darkness had crept in among the readers whom John addressed.

This was due to the heresy of gnosticism that was mentioned earlier.

6 - To walk (i.e. - to live, to conduct my life) in darkness was to persist in sin.

7 - To walk in light is to live consistent with God's commandments and character.

8 - We are fooling ourselves if we say that we have no sin...

II. We have an option and an opportunity. (9a)

If...a particle showing a statement is conditional) – if, referring to a condition extending to its "spin-off" possibilities – i.e. that happen if the condition is actualized or is valid.

Confess - to speak the same, to agree, to come to same conclusion...literally, to view/see SIN as God views/sees sin!

Fess up...owning up to...coming clean...

III. We have hope. (9b)

faithful = reliable

just = righteous, impartial, fair - GOD IS FAIR!!

forgive = send away, release...

cleanse = make pure ("clean", literally, spiritually or ceremonially), removing all admixture (intermingling of filth)

Conclusion

(Illustration: how Christ washes away sin -- using water, iodine, and bleach)