1 John 1:5-7 - LIGHT WORKS

1 JOHN 1:5-7

LIGHT WORKS!

Real Christianity #3

LIGHT WORKS!

Charles Colson and several other Christian leaders once met with President Borja of Ecuador to discuss Prison Fellowship International's ministry in Ecuadorian penitentiaries. They had no sooner been seated in luxurious leather chairs when the President interrupted the conversation with the story of his own imprisonment years before being elected to the presidency.

He had been involved in the struggle for democracy in Ecuador. The military cracked down, and he was arrested. Without trial, they threw him into a cold dungeon with no light and no window. For three days he endured the solitary fear and darkness that can drive a person mad.

Just when the situation seemed unbearable, the huge steel door opened, and someone crept into the darkness. Borja heard the person working on something in the opposite corner. Then the figure crept out, closed the door, and disappeared.

Minutes later the room suddenly blazed with light. Someone, perhaps taking his life into his hands, had connected electricity to the broken light fixture. "From that moment," explained President Borja, "my imprisonment had meaning because at least I could see." Ronald W. Nikkel in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching (Baker), from the editors of Leadership. Bible Illustrator 3.0

LIGHT WORKS!

Debby Boone said, “Every morning for two years I battled with my son Jordan to get him up for school. Everything changed when he left his window shades up at night. In the morning, the light filtered in and quickly awakened on him. The presence of light solved our problem completely.”

Debby Boone, Today's Christian Woman, "Heart to Heart.", Bible Illustrator 3.0

LIGHT WORKS!

Genesis 1:1-3 - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

LIGHT WORKS!

Light is effective!

Light is a necessity!

It brings illumination so men can see. It brings warmth so man can survive and crops can grow.

It exposes dirt so man can clean it up.

We return this morning to our study of 1 John.

The theme of 1 John is being real or Real Christianity.

As we will see this morning, you can’t have real Christianity without light. Light works.

The last time we studied 1 John together we saw that in order to be real Christians, those which are not phony or shallow, we must be people who bond or have fellowship.

John wrote 1 John so his readers would bond together or have fellowship with God and with each other.

1 John 1:3-4 - That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

According to 1 John 1:3-4, there is a three-fold bonding that is to take place:

BONDING WITH THE FATHER

BONDING WITH THE SON

BONDING WITH THE SAINTS

In 1 John 1:5-7 John leaves his introduction and gets down to the meat of Real Christianity. He begins by showing us that light works!

1 John 1:5-7 - This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

We have a very simple outline for this passage this morning:

FACT

FICTION

FELLOWSHIP

FORGIVENESS

FACT

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

John begins with a very important fact about the nature of God. This fact he learned from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is a fact that is essential for you to grasp if you are going to have an accurate understanding of Christianity. God is light.

This is a truth that is found in the Old Testament.

Psalm 27:1 - The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Psalm 36:9 - For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Psalm 104:1-2 - Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. [2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Referring to the Lord Jesus Isaiah 49:6 says,

I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

J. Vernon McGee pointed out, "When John says that God is light, he is revealing many facets about the person of God."

He goes on to list a few which I want to share with you.

J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee,Volume 5, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983), p. 760

First, light speaks of the glory, the radiance, the beauty, and the wonders of God.

Psalm 19: 1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Light speaks of His glory, whether it be from the stars on a clear evening, the sun at sunrise or sunset, or the moon in quarters, halves, or full!

Light also speaks of God seeing what's going on. Light reveals so you can see. God is light, so God can see everything.

Proverbs 15:3 - The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Louis Sperry Chafer used to say, "Secret sin down here is open scandal in Heaven."

Light further speaks of guidance. We use the expression and sing the song, "I SAW THE LIGHT." God delights in giving guidance to man especially in times of difficulty.

Psalm 32:8 - I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Light also reminds us of the purity and holiness of God. Pure light has no impurities. God's light tolerates no impurities, and He is holy, that is set apart from sin.

1 Samuel 2:2 - There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

In this world the quality of light varies.

We say it's light out when it's foggy.

We say it's light out, even when there are some clouds blocking the sun.

We look outside and say it's light out, even though it's raining or snowing.

There might be a little darkness mixed in with the light.

In a couple of rooms of our home we have light fixtures that take two or more bulbs. If one burns out, we still have light, but a limited amount. There is a degree of darkness.

God's light contains no darkness. Of course the darkness that God does not have is the darkness of sin. There is no sin in God. There are no failures in God. There are no limitations in God.

This light is so brilliant, that talking about the future, eternal state Revelation 21:23 says: And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

FACT - This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

FICTION

1 John 1:6 - If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

If there is one thing most of us don’t like, it’s a hypocrite.

A hypocrite talks one way and acts another.

A hypocrite is a phony. He’s inconsistent.

And I have news for you. God, being holy, hates hypocrisy more than we do.

Job 27:8 - For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

To have fellowship with God is to have something in common. It is a sharing. It is a partnership. It is bonding!

To have fellowship with God includes prayer and abiding in Christ.

If we claim to have fellowship with God, and habitually walk in a life pattern of sin, we are lying, and not practicing truth. We are not talking occasional sin, but sin patterns here.

There are those who profess Christ, but who never really trusted him. The pattern of their life is darkness.

There are Christians who have backslidden after having changed, who show too much of this pattern of darkness.

You come to church. If anyone asks you if you are a Christian, especially within the church setting, you will answer “yes”. If you say you are a Christian, you are implying that you have fellowship with God and Christ.

But how much of what you do outside the church is inconsistent with your Christian profession?

You say you are Christian, but do you lie consistently to get yourself out of trouble or to get someone else in trouble?

You say that you are a Christian, but do you steal by taking things that don’t belong to you or by goofing off on the job?

You say that you are a Christian, but is there an idol in your life, that is more important to you than God. Is there something or someone you worship and serve more than God?

You say that you are a Christian, but is your life a pattern of immoral thoughts and or practices?

You say that you are a Christian, but are you in bondage to worry, doubt, and/or fear?

Again, we are not talking occasional sins as much as we are talking habitual sins.

How much of your life is a lie, is fiction, because you are walking in darkness and not doing the truth?

FACT - This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

FICTION

1 John 1:6 - If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

FELLOWSHIP

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,

I love this verse because it is a verse of hope.

God has a better plan for me and you than a life pattern of sin and hypocrisy.

If you are truly a Christian,

If you have acknowledged your sin before God

If you have admitted that you have no righteousness to save yourself

If you have trusted that Jesus Christ died for your sins so that you can have eternal life

If you have put your total faith in Christ as Savior

If, as a result, God has changed your life, you have already come to God’s light!

John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 20:31 - But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

If you have come into God’s light through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are to walk in that light.

To walk implies a habit, a pattern, a way of life.

When a person walks in God’s light, he is walking with God. As he walks in God’s light, he can now see the areas of darkness in his life that need to be dealt with. He is open to God exposing his sin, confessing it, and forsaking it.

Psalm 139:23-24 - Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: [24] And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

So, how do I go about walking in the light?

I believe we walk in the light when we walk in the power or control of the Holy Spirit who indwells us.

Ephesians 5:9 - (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

Goodness, righteousness and truth are all indications that we are walking in light and not darkness when we under the control of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 - This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Fulfilling the lust of the flesh is certainly walking in darkness. Being controlled by the Holy Spirit is certainly walking in light.

Galatians 5:22-24 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

[24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Walking in the Spirit means recognizing the fact that we are crucified with Christ. We must accept the fact that when Christ died on Calvary, we died with Him. We died to sin there so we need no longer serve sin. We have put to death the flesh with the affections and lusts.

So how do we walk in the Spirit? To walk in the Spirit is synonymous with being filled with the Spirit.

We are filled with the Spirit when we confess all known sin.

We are filled with the Spirit when we ask God to fill us with His Spirit.

Luke 11:13 - If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

We are filled with the Spirit as we believe that God has answered our prayers.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

When we are filled with the Spirit, we are walking in the Spirit, under his control.

When we are walking in the Spirit we are walking in the light.

And, according to our text, when we are walking in the light we have fellowship one with another. Who are we having fellowship with here? We are having fellowship with God!

Verse 6 refers to having fellowship with God, it makes sense that verse 7 does also!

When we are basking in God’s light through God’s Holy Spirit, we have communion, we are bonding with, we have fellowship with God!

FELLOWSHIP

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,

FORGIVENESS

Vs. 7 - and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Light exposes sin.

As we walk in the light, the light will show us our sin.

God will make them clear to us as we walk in the light of His Spirit.

We will not be free from sin until we get to Heaven.

However, we will identify sin.

As we confess that sin to God, the blood of the Lord Jesus will keep on cleansing us from all sin.

THE BLOOD THAT JESUS SHED FOR ME

'WAY BACK ON CALVARY,

THE BLOOD THAT GIVES ME STRENGTH

FROM DAY TO DAY-

IT WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER

IT REACHES TO THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN;

IT FLOWS TO THE LOWEST VALLEY.

THE BLOOD THAT GIVES ME STRENGTH

FROM DAY TO DAY-

IT WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER.

We have forgiveness when we walk in the light.

LIGHT WORKS!

FACT - This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

FICTION - If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

FELLOWSHIP - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,

FORGIVENESS - and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.