No Other Rival

Title- No Other Rival

Passage- John 1:1-10

Attention-

It's almost time to elect a president of the United States. Every four years we go through this little exercise called a national election. And even though every four years we tell one another that the election is about issues; about the economy and about foreign policy and about defense and about the welfare of the people … even though every four years we say it’s about issues; we still fall into the same trap.

The trap we fall into is getting off on all the peripheral issues. We use our precious time and energy focusing on little things, personal things, that may not amount to a whole lot. But somehow our attention is riveted on them,

Who avoided the draft many years ago, and how did he do it?

Let’s see his tax returns

Whose wife is more wifely?

But we seem to focus on all these side issues and personalities. If you are a presidential candidate, nothing is safe, nothing is sacred; nothing escapes the public's attention. I don't know that it matters now.

Of all the rivalries in history none is as contentious as the rivalry between the republican and the democrats

And rivalries tend to start dealing with the issues and then getting caught up with peripheral issues

Like in sports

You could get tied down with the facts of the win loss records or player stats but at some point you start to hear about peripheral issues

Where the tam is located

Who’s fans are better

Rivalries often end up being about peripheral issues.

When it comes to what John has written in these first 10 verses there is to be no rivalry between Jesus and anything

Introduction-

This study of 1 John so far has brought us to the understanding that everything in our lives is to be founded on the person and work of Jesus Christ

-That this is the message given to the apostles by inspiration of the Holy Spirit

-And that God is our source for everything in life

Main truth- Anything that rivals for our love of the Savior will lead us down the path of darkness.

Transition #1-

What is being taught? (Explain the passage and draw out the 1st century truth)

Lets pick it back up in verse 5

What is the message? That Jesus died and rose again for our sins

“God is light and in him is no darkness at all”....He needed to die and rise again because God is perfect and we are not

God is light and in him is no darkness…but in us is darkness and we need that darkness driven out by faith in Jesus Christ person and work in order to have fellowship with God

That is the message

John is going to make a couple declarations about God and then apply those declarations to what some in this church were trying to teach.

Before we get into this, our works cannot save us, our behavior does not make us holy…our actions only display what Christ is doing in our hearts

What John is saying here could be twisted to support a legalistic position

The idea that my salvation and my righteousness are based on my works

That is found no where in the Bible

My salvation and my righteousness is found, as John has already stated, in the person and work of Jesus Christ

If we add anything to that work for salvation or righteousness it is not a true gospel

But at the same time John get into the subject of walking…which in the Bible can be a phrase to refer to our behavior…or our works

Verse 6...If we say that we have fellowship with him, if we have professed to having placed our faith in the person and work of Jesus

“And walk in darkness”....but do not live like it

“we lie”....we may have a union with Christ but not fellowship with him

Like a marriage when there is conflict. You are still married but you may not be living like you are

“and do not the truth”…the truth is inside there somewhere but it’s not taken root and produced anything yet.

Verse 7....“But if we walk in the light”…if our walk and our talk match

“We have fellowship one with another”...That will produce unity of the believers

“And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”…

This is all based on the blood of Jesus…noting else

Verses 8-10 John will refute a common statements made by his opponents

“We have no sin” and “We have not sinned”

Verse 8-

I believe that verses 6 & 7 are referring to believers

Those who for various reasons are not walking the talk

But here in verses 8-10 I believe John is writing about unbelieving false teachers

If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves

You cannot believe this and the gospel

This message is counter to the Gospel

This is deceit…just like Satan did in the Garden with Adam and Eve

“And the truth is not in us”…contrasted to “do not do the truth” these individuals do not have and never did have an understanding of the truth that resulted in faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ

John inserts this often quoted verse…verse 9

When we set aside ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sin and we humble ourselves and accept Jesus’ sacrifice God WILL forgive our sins

And he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness

But its founded on an understanding of our need and Jesus’ sufficient sacrifice

Verse 10- He then goes back to their claim...”we have not sinned”

That claim is in direct opposition to the truths of the Gospel and declare God a liar and is proof that the truths of the Gospel have not taken root in us

Confession does not bring about new salvation or a new justification but a restoration of the fellowship John wrote about

Transition #2-

How do we understand this in our context? (Bridge 1st century truth to today)

This passage has so much to do with John’s previous theme…fellowship

Whether it’s the fellowship that is initiated at salvation or whether its the ongoing fellowship

And there are those today that would claim that they don’t need Christ because they don’t think they are sinners

But I don’t think that is who John is referring to here

I think he is referring to those I would call spiritual elitists

Some may use the phrase legalist

In the most basic sense it refers to someone who adds to the person and work of Christ for either their salvation or righteousness

I would add to that those who elevate themselves above another because of their supposed good works

This is a false gospel

Transition #3-

How do we live this out in our context? (Application of the biblical truth to us personally)

God’s Word is to be the foundation of the believers life and the foundation of the church

As soon as we walk in anything other that the truths of God’s Word we are walking in darkness

When we elevate our opinions or our preferences over another person we start walking in darkness

When a church takes the name Baptist out of their name and they become less of a church…we begin to walk in darkness

When that other believer reads a “modern perversion” and we don’t…we begin to walk in darkness

When the holiness of the church is determined by its dress standard…we begin to walk in darkness

We cannot build this church on any of these foundations

Spiritual elitism leads to death

Death of the spiritual life and the death of the church

If we say anything but the person and work of Jesus Christ we are deceiving ourselves and walking in darkness

We need Christ and Christ alone

He can have no other rivals

Closing song-

489- All Your Anxiety