IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS

HIS LIGHT SHINES ON HIS OWN

I often find myself diving into many of the Apostle John’s writings from the Gospel, to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John and even Revelation in that I truly believe as a Christian John really conveys a continual and concentrated emphasis on LIGHT and LOVE and how Jesus was the very foundation of both of these attributes that our Lord himself stressed such importance over.

We have all heard the acronym WWJD used today or seen it on t-shirts, jewelry, posters, billboards and even Christian shows. For those who may be less familiar it simply stands for WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

Now I just used the Word simply because intellectually it really is a simple phrase and the foundation of its meaning is as well. WWJD, or What would Jesus do can be summed up in one word and that is LOVE. And while Jesus has called us to LOVE even our enemies for the purpose of this study we will be primarily speaking about Jesus as the light of the WORLD and his principals on our LOVE for our brother’s and sisters which I will provide definition as from the biblical sense used in John’s 3 Epistles!

So adding to LOVE, we as conveyed in 1 John 1:5-10 are reminded that it was declared tomus that Jesus is the LIGHT! And where LIGHT dwells there is no darkness. Yet, why and again based on the context of the verses in Chapter 1 John is talking to believers, do we say we have fellowship with God yet still walk in so much darkness? Now while not the primary focus my determination he is talking to believers is based on his reference to walking in fellowship with God which a non believer would not I’ll say typically do!

So back to the main point here and that being that he promises that is 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. Sounds simple enough and it for lack of a better word packs an awesome perk in that he promises to purify all our sins!

So then, is the reason that so many Christian’s either regularly or more frequent than not walk in darkness? Now we are not talking about the occasional slip up but rather the ongoing darkness of repeated sin, hatred for other believers which Jesus compares to Murder and here’s a big one… such selfishness? And keep in mind, if you are not showing LOVE you fall into the same bucket as hatred for there is no middle ground in God’s absolutes of Love and Hate!

No, you may have more in common with some than others and perhaps there may be behaviors you are less impressed with but LOVE in the sense that God is talking about is LOVE that tells us to put the needs of others before ourselves. Often we think we have to be flat out angry with someone to be accused of hatred but in truth if we are not Loving them like Jesus we are missing the mark and that is what sin is.

Now this one may catch you by surprise but do you know that in the scenario’s I just described John tells us in verse 10... “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”

WOW or should I say POW! Now listen to the verse...it is saying that we called God a liar and by his WORD not being in us it means Christ is not in us nor are we doing WHAT JESUS WOULD DO!

And it doesn’t end there…. As John goes on to say in 1 John Chapter 2 verse 4 that… “Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person.”

That is twice that he has called our bluff and accused us of being liars when we do not live as Jesus commanded us and have any and I mean that in CAPITAL letters discord against a brother or sister in Christ!

Now I would hope that by now those listening today during the live broadcast on the archive should be getting the general theme of things here. On that assumption let’s wrap up by reading 1 John 1:5-10 and 1 John 2:3-11 together and as I mentioned I will have some footnotes and ad hoc comments as we go through to help bring the importance of John’s Words to even a greater level of light so that you and myself included can do a better job at responding in a way that fits the acronym WWJD!

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

1 John 2:3-11

Love and Hatred for Fellow Believers

3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him:

6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.

2:9 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15, 17; 4:20; 5:16.

10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.

11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.