The last Sunday morning in January we studied 1 John 1:5-10. The title of the sermon was “Light.” The essence of the message was this: God is light & His children walk in light. When John says that God is light, he is not saying, “God is an illuminating figure, and His very being emanates brightness.” He is actually making a definitive statement about the spiritual essence of God and the attributes that accompany Him. John is saying, “God is the essence & source of truth & holiness.” We walked through the various passages from Genesis to Revelation that made that point clear. The most powerful truth we saw is that the full manifestation of divine light is found in the person of Jesus. The Savior said of Himself, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” And the Apostle Paul followed that self-declaration up with this glorious statement: “It is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Wow! If you want to know and experience true spiritual light, look no further than Jesus Christ.
Once we got a good handle on the fact that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all,” we studied the truths that result from that message. I want to communicate them briefly to you here in hopes that you will be encouraged and exhorted in the faith:
- Public profession without personal practice is nothing but propaganda. “If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” If you say that you that you are a Christian, but your life is marked by spiritual darkness (wrong thinking, wrong desires, wrong words, wrong actions), then you are living a lie. A claim of inner enlightenment without the demonstration of outward holiness is a false message.
- Personal practice proves the genuineness of your public profession. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” A Gospel-life should accompany a Gospel-profession. Walking in the light essentially means to live according to Gospel truth and demonstrating God’s holy character. If you love the Gospel and live in such a way that demonstrates your allegiance to it, then you enjoy spiritual fellowship with God & others. And you experience the cleansing power of Christ’s blood.
- Self-Righteousness produces Self-Deception & reveals Spiritual-Emptiness. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” I can’t think of a more self-righteous act than to say, “I have no sin. I am not a sinner.” But millions of people will try to convince you that this is the case through tactics like rationalization, blame-shifting, justification of sin, and even renaming sin. As believers in Jesus we need to humble ourselves before God and others and admit our sins.
- Confession of sin brings divine forgiveness & personal purity. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession is to say the same thing. When you confess your sins, you are saying the same thing about your sin that God says about it. To “confess” your sin in the truest sense involves despising the sin, being grieved by it, and judging it. That is what it means to confess your sin. And when you do that, God is loyal to His promises in Scripture to forgive the sins of those who repent and believe in the Lord Jesus. And He is righteous in that act, as well. In forgiving our sins God acts in full moral consistency with His character in view of the cross. God in Christ paid the just penalty for our sins against Him. He can righteously forgive those who run to Him in faith because Jesus paid the debt. If you want a picture of God’s faithfulness and righteousness to forgive sins, look no further than the Cross.
- Human Pride attacks God’s Credibility, which proves spiritual emptiness. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” God has said, “You are sinful. You need a Savior. Your condition is so terrible that I must send My Son to rescue you.” And if you deny your sin you have said, “No, I’m really not that bad. I’m ok. I’m good. Don’t worry about me.” In this scenario, one of the two parties is lying. Either you are lying about your condition, or God is lying about your condition. Which one is it? To say that you’ve never sinned is to contradict the consistent witness of divine revelation and all of human experience.
As believers we must first recognize that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. And second we must walk in the light as He is in the light. Part of walking in the light is confessing our sin and turning to Him for forgiveness and cleansing. This is what it means to be a Christian. And it is a marvelous experience of the grace of the Gospel.
by Ryan Limbaugh