Read 1 John 1
Light and
darkness—a contrast that we don’t know as well as we once did. How many places can you go where there is
absolutely no light. There is always
some ambient light it seems. It may be
some plant or rock that absorbs light energy in the day and has something of a
glow at night.
It might be
that night light in the hallway that never gets turned off. It could be some luminous strips designed to
guide you safely out of a building or for some other function when the power
fails.
If you wake
up in the middle of the night, you can probably see well enough to get to the
bathroom because it’s not totally dark.
Coming from light into darkness leaves you blind for a while until your
eyes adjust.
But with
John the apostle, his words intend a stark contrast. There is light and there is darkness. Light permeates darkness. Darkness cannot permeate the light. And so, John reminds his readers that the
Light came into the world. God incarnate
was known to him and others and they testify to his life.
But if they
or we continue in darkness, we do not have fellowship with God or
each other. We can’t claim to be
people of the light and live in darkness.
We can’t claim to know God but live as a friend of the world.
If our words
say one thing and our life says another, we lie. The truth is not in us. We want to be people of God but we become
liars. Our lives are full of dissonance.
But if we
walk—if we live—in the light, and John would bring analogy into this metaphor
saying as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another. The blood of Jesus has made that atoning
sacrifice for us and we get to enjoy this thing called fellowship.
John doesn’t
use the word here, but we must repent.
We first must turn away from the darkness of the world. We must leave behind the old ways, old
thinking, and outside-in motivators. Do
you remember Psalm
15 where we talked about the
truth that comes from the heart?
Living in
the light is an inside-out process.
Think of David
who cried
out to the Lord in psalm to create in him a clean heart. David wanted to live in the light, to walk in
the Lord’s ways not because he was a great rule-follower but because God had
made him clean once again.
David needed
and knew he needed what the blood of goats and bulls could not give him.
Do we not
know this experience? Do we not know
this thing that John called walking in the light? I am not asking if you have been sin-free
since you professed
Jesus as Lord. I am asking do you
know what it is to walk in the light?
I think that
we all have a taste of it. It’s good but
still we struggle. Still we sin.
We say that
we sin, to which I say good. I’m not
saying sin is good. I am saying that we
know we sin and we confess that we have sinned.
That’s the good part. We don’t
fake it. We have sinned. We confess.
If we
claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him
out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
The truth is
not in us. We have been talking about
truth for several weeks but when we claim that we have not sinned, the truth is
not in us.
We have been
made right with God. We live in the
light and yet we let darkness in where darkness can’t come. We have dissonance that can only be resolved
by confession.
We know that
we are to live in the light as he is in the light and yet, we let the world
creep in. So, what do we do? We confess.
Do we upset
God when we confess to him time and again?
Do we wear out his patience?
What? This guy again! Didn’t we just go through this?
I think God
would be upset with us if we stopped confessing, if we stopping trying to live
in the light, if we gave in to the darkness.
We know that
we fall short and we know that God is faithful and just to forgive. His faithfulness continues through all
generations. His faithfulness continues.
It’s as if
he knew that he made us from dust and blew spirit into us to make as a living
soul, that we are a unique creature among all creatures, made in his image but
subject to human frailty, much of which comes from having this thing not labeled
in the Bible, but that we come to call free will.
God knew
that we would need forgiveness. Our sin
is no surprise to him.
We need to
understand that this dark world is still trying to find its way where it
doesn’t belong. In him there is no
darkness, but we still wrestle with living up to the righteousness that we have
been given.
So, today, I
challenge you to self-examination and confession. That’s not exactly accurate. I challenge you to examination by the Holy
Spirit and God’s holy Word—both are within you—and to confession. Self-examination is subject our own biases
and there is a whole bunch of that going around these days.
Let the Holy
Spirit and God’s word do their work.
I challenge
you to understand the power of confession.
God will push back the darkness.
God will purify us. We can walk
in fellowship with one another once again.
The battle
of God over everything that opposes him—wickedness is won. God wins!
God has won. We wrestle with
darkness and falsehood and when we lose a skirmish, we must understand that God
has already won the battle for us.
We are
called to confess so we can get back to living in fellowship with one another.
For those
who seek him, for those who profess Jesus is Lord, God is not going to run out
of light or out of grace; so let’s confess our sins and receive the purifying
power of God’s love.
Let’s confess
and walk in the light.
I could stop
right there, say amen, and we could go eat.
But I want to challenge you a little more. Do not be afraid to be a light in the
darkness. Do not be afraid to be people
of love in a world of indifference. Do
not be afraid to stand in stark contrast to a dark world.
Do not be
afraid to share the good news in a world that doesn’t want to hear it. Be so bold as to invade a godless world with
light and with love.
We are to let
our light shine in the darkness. We
don’t hide it and we don’t let it go out.
When we confess, our light is still shining. Do not be afraid to confess. God is faithful and just to forgive. Our light which comes from living in his
light keeps shining.
Do you know
what the penumbra is? It’s that
partially dark and partially light area around a shadow. Seldom is there a perfect distinction between
light and shadow. You might call it a
gray area.
Why is this
important? We are talking light and
darkness. If our light does not shine in
the darkness, we won’t have this penumbra.
If we do not live in the light, how can we witness to those in the darkness?
Most of our
ministry reaches those in this area.
They are not consumed by evil but do not seek good. They live in a state of apathy or are
ambivalent about just about everything.
This is our mission field, but to work this field, we must walk in the
light. We must let our light shine in
the darkness.
Paul noted
that he became all things to all people so that some might be saved. The toughest word in this sentence for me is
“some.” That some might be saved.
We might not
reach everyone, but some might be saved.
I don’t think that we reach very many if we don’t walk in the light,
confess when we stray, live in fellowship, and let our light shine before
humanity.
I conclude
with John’s words as he prefaced what God’s Spirit had inspired him to say what
we have discussed this morning.
We
proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have
fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son,
Jesus Christ. We write this to make our
joy complete
Let us live
in the light, enjoy fellowship with each other, trust in God’s faithfulness as
we confess, and know joy even in the midst of a dark world.
Amen.