Walk in the Light (2)

Walking in the Light

I preached a message last week about a widow woman in the days of Elisha who was in serious trouble who called out to the prophet for help. He told her to take what she had (a small jar of oil), ask her neighbors for their empty jars, and begin pouring from the little jar into the empty jars. A miracle happened and she filled up all of the empty jars until she was able to pay all her debts and have some for the days to come. If you heard that message, I hope that it inspired you to have hope and faith. I also hope that you were inspired to step out in faith this year and that you are preparing your ‘empty jars’ to receive what God has for you!

I plan to make my notes available to those of you who didn’t get a chance to be with us last week so that you will get a chance to be inspired as well.

This morning I want to begin a new series but really it is in the same spirit of preparing and gathering empty jars to receive what God has for us. The series is called “Walking in the Light” and comes from a verse in one of the letters of John:

1 John 1:7 NIV

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.

This verse directs us to be ‘walking in the light’ which brings up some valid questions. “What does it look like to be ‘walking in the light’?” What does God want of me? What does God want of us? Probably every Christian has asked these very questions. They are asked in times of anguish, during crisis and decision making and, implicitly and explicitly, on a day-to-day basis. What does God require of those who want to offer their sincere allegiance and devotion? [1]

This letter of John helps answer this question and we will use it as well as other passages over the next several weeks to learn how to walk in the light. We will consider:

- The cost of following Jesus

- Followers and Fishermen

- Knowing and doing

- Workers with Him

- Forgiveness

We also have some special speakers coming in the next 2 months. Mel Rogers is a friend and former classmate of Mark Akers and now works with Global Initiative (Jan 30th). And Evangelist Jordan Williams will be with us on Feb 13th. So, you don’t want to miss a single service!

God is Light

Right from the start I need to prepare you for a bit more of a ‘teachy’ than a ‘preachy’ message this morning. The apostle John may have been a fisherman but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he was also a theologian. In his first letter he writes this:

1 John 1:5 NIV

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

Let’s talk about the description of God as light. We’ve been binge watching the show “Alone”. The seasons we’ve seen were filmed at Vancouver Island where it is basically a rainforest with little sun. When the sun does come out the participants take advantage of its warmth, encouragement, and health benefits. In 2020 when I got Covid, I took full advantage of sitting in the sun to enjoy the natural benefits of vitamin D. We love the sun!

When the Bible speaks about light it generally uses 3 different themes.

First, light … characterizes God’s self-manifestation (Ex 3:1–6; 13:21–22; Ps 104:4). The psalmist pictures God clothed in garments of light (Ps 104:2; compare 1 Tim 6:16), an appropriate symbol for the One who is pure, righteous and holy. Second, God’s revelation through the spoken and written word gives light. That word offers moral guidance and direction for living in accordance with God’s will. Often quoted in this connection are verses from the Psalms: “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” …. Just as light shows people where to walk when it is dark, so God shows the way in which human beings are to walk: “in your light we see light” (Ps 36:9). Third, light symbolizes God’s salvation.The psalmist celebrates God who is “my light and my salvation” (27:1; 18:28), and light is a favorite image of the prophet Isaiah to depict God’s saving activity on behalf of the people of God (9:1; 58:8, 10; 60:1, 19–20). [2]

He manifests Himself to us! He reveals Himself to us through the spoken and written word! And He provides salvation for us! It is no wonder that we feel warmed by Him.

“God is light” – this statement is profound. Perhaps it is something worth considering over the next week as we RECALIBRATE. Understanding that God is light frames the points that John is about to make, so let’s begin to explore the next statements.

Light Exposes Sin

I like to watch “Boat fails” on YouTube. It shows videos of people trying to launch or load boats. Sometimes they forget to put the truck brakes on, and the truck and trailer roll down into the water. Other times they try to put one foot on the dock and the other foot on the boat. It often results in an uncomfortable split and a splash into the water. It is impossible to exist for long with one foot in the boat and the other on the dock. The spiritual ‘splits’ are equally impossible!

Unfortunately, because of sin, man is often drawn to darkness. Consider these thoughts:

‘If God made man in his own image,’ it is said, ‘then man has returned the compliment.’ That is the root of most of our problems. All sin is in essence an attack upon the character of God. We are not willing to believe that the living God really is as the Scriptures reveal him to us... So we reject God’s revelation and construct a substitute more in accordance with our likes and needs. This is the heart of human rebellion; we will not let God be God in our own lives. We would rather have our idols. We are like the character in one of G. B. Shaw’s plays, whom the playwright describes as ‘a self-made man who worships his creator’. You see the symptoms every time someone says, ‘But I like to think of God as …’. Usually what follows is a picture of a benevolent, (good-humored figure), whose main purpose is to satisfy the whims of his creatures; or some other distortion of the God revealed to us in the Scriptures.[3]

It is important for us to understand our Christian walk as the Bible teaches it, not as we imagine it! One of the things that happens in the light is that sin gets exposed. To ‘walk in the Light’ we need to understand the truth about sin. John mentions three false claims which were current in his day, and which are still prevalent in our own.[4]

These false claims are

- Sin does not matter – vs 6-7

- Denial of the sinful nature – vs 8

- Denying sinful actions – vs 10

Light and Darkness: Debunking the Lie that ‘Sin Doesn’t Matter’

The next point that John makes is just common sense, we all know it. Light and darkness don’t mix. One will overcome the other.

1 John 1:6 NIV

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

What facts do we need to remember? First, sin has absolutely no power over Christians (Romans 6:6–7)! Because of our real union with Christ in his death and resurrection, we have a new power to say no to temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13) and yes to righteous living (Romans 6:11–14). Second, our old selfish, sinful nature—coupled with our inability to grasp our new identity as children of a holy God—leaves us vulnerable to temptation. As fallen (yet redeemed) people living in a fallen world, we will always struggle with sin but are equipped to overcome it.

So, how do we ‘walk in the light’? Look at this image.

Characteristics of our circles:

- These two circles share nothing in common. They do not overlap at all. God has no fellowship with darkness, for God is pure light. God is wholly righteous.

- To walk in the light means to shape one’s whole being, all one’s actions, decisions, thoughts and beliefs by the standard of the God who is light.

- It does not mean to be perfect, as God is perfect, for the author’s statements about human sinfulness (1:8, 10) do not allow such an interpretation.

- Rather, to walk in the light means to live continually guided by and committed to the God who is light.

- To understand the boundary of the circle of God’s light, we do well to focus on the center, not on the edges.[5]

Light and Darkness: Debunking the Lie that ‘Denies the Sinful Nature’

1 John 1:8 NIV

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

This passage touches on one of the great mysteries of the Christian faith: the fact that although Christians are cleansed from sin, they still sin. This can be seem very complicated but I want to try to make it as simple as possible for us today. First, we all live in a spiritual time where the Kingdom of God has come and is still yet to come. As a result, we believe in miraculous healings and see them but not everyone is healed, and we all die. However, we will all be healed and receive our heavenly bodies one day.

Down the centuries there have been groups in the church who have believed and taught that it is possible for a Christian to live without sin. By this they do not mean simply enjoying the victory of faith through union with Christ, which Romans 6 teaches. Rather they believe that the old sinful nature is so subdued as to be eradicated and as a consequence they teach that life can be lived on a totally higher plane.[6]

Personally, I have met two types of people. One group believes the flesh can do whatever it wants if the spirit (heart) loves God. The second group believes that at salvation the problem of sin is completely removed. They say, “If you are truly saved you will not want to gossip, cheat, struggle with pride or willfulness, on and on.” John calls these people ‘deceived’. The following quote describes my experience and what I believe the Bible teaches:

People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated. —D. A. Carson, For the Love of God(Crossway, 1999)[7]

People that I have talked with who believe this teaching are all well-meaning and sincere Christians. I believe that at a deeper level they don’t really believe what they are saying. They know that they have sin issues that need the purifying work of the Holy Spirit just like you and I do.

1 John 1:7 NIV

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.

Light and Darkness: Debunking the Lie that ‘Denies the Sinful Actions’

1 John 1:10 NIV

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Denying sinful actions is really the outward demonstration of an internal problem. To deny these is the grossest kind of darkness. Yet it happens all the time in our culture, and it infects our church life too. We no longer call sin ‘sin’. Adultery becomes ‘having an affair’. Theft is ‘helping myself to the perks’. Selfishness is ‘standing up for my rights’. The last thing we human beings will admit is that we sin.[8]

Last year I taught a series called “Confronting the Sins that We Tolerate”. The other sins include those commonly tolerated among Christians too—the favourite sins of greed, jealousy, envy, malice, bitterness and a critical or unforgiving spirit. They are all equally attacks on the character of God to whom we are all finally responsible. Before him, we all stand guilty. If we deny that these things are sin, we are actually calling God a liar.[9]

I heard a story about a young man who went off to college. He had never done laundry before so when he went to the laundromat, he figured life would be easier if he just threw the entire dirty clothes bag into the washer. Moments later, a loud thump, thump, thump, thump echoed through the Laundromat. A pretty young woman approached him with a grin. “I watched you load your washer. I think the clothes would get cleaner if you took them out of the bag.”

You know, the confession, “Dear God, please forgive me for all the sins I’ve committed today”—is about as effective as this young man’s first attempt at washing clothes. Each sin needs individual attention.[10]When we do, we are the better for it.

Conclusion

How do we wrap this up? Walking in the Light means that sin is going to be exposed and that this is natural. We simply need to walk in the grace of God. Notice these passages:

1 John 1:7 NIV

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.

1 John 1:9 NIV

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

Maybe you are unnecessarily carrying sins that you need to confess to God. The promises are here in these verses. God is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us. Do so today.

[1]Thompson, M. M. (1992). 1–3 John (1 Jn 1:5). InterVarsity Press. [2]Thompson, M. M. (1992). 1–3 John. InterVarsity Press. [3]Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God(p. 26). InterVarsity Press. [4]Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God(p. 29). InterVarsity Press. [5]Thompson, M. M. (1992). 1–3 John. InterVarsity Press. [6]Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God(pp. 34–35). InterVarsity Press. [7]Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (p. 131). Zondervan Publishing House. [8]Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God(p. 37). InterVarsity Press. [9]Jackman, D. (1988). The message of John’s letters: living in the love of God(p. 38). InterVarsity Press. [10]Larson, C. B., & Ten Elshof, P. (2008). 1001 illustrations that connect (pp. 87–88). Zondervan Publishing House.