Travel about 150 miles south of Albuquerque and you will enter Truth or Consequences. For the tenth anniversary of the popular show Truth or Consequences, in 1950, Ralph Edwards, offered any town in America the opportunity to be the site of the show’s April Fool’s Day birthday broadcast bash. On one condition. That the town changed its name to Truth or Consequences. Citizens of Hot Springs, New Mexico, voted in favor of the honor. Apparently, the publicity breathed new life into the town’s tourist trade. Edwards poured a lot of his money into the place–helping with the schools, the hospital and others.
The New York Times, in 1996, ran an article in which they raised questions about what it means to live in a place with the name Truth or Consequences.
What implications did this sudden switch in identity have on the town and its inhabitants?
Do the good neighbors of Truth or Consequences now live under the shadow of its name?
Do the children grow up trembling at even the thought of telling a lie? Or do they?
Does anyone ever think about the meaning of the words?
John raises a very similar question: Do we take seriously the nature of our sin and its negative effect upon our lives?
Karl Menninger, the famous psychiatrist of the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, KS, wrote a book which focuses sharply on the concept of sin, Whatever Became of Sin? He said we have been playing a word game with sin, replacing it with words like crime, delinquency, sick, etc. One of the unique contributions of Menninger was that he called for a review of the biblical concept of sin–one to include guilt, individual responsibility, accountability, and even punishment.
If that sounds strange to you, let me remind you the writer of I John did not dismiss the idea of sin. Immediately after the prologue, John deals with the issue of sin. Why? Because he knew how sin destroys a person’s relationship with God. Furthermore, when intimacy with God is gone, so too is fellowship with other Christians!
Some false teachers in the church were claiming they were in fellowship with God; however, they had sin in their lives. Others were teaching that one could live above sin. They were not taking seriously the problem of sin, particularly at the point of understanding their own sin. Wha5 would John say to our churches? Unhappiness, transference, talking about “them”, church hoping may be driven by sin that is sub-conscience awareness.
Lewis Smedes, Mere Morality, (p. 2) said we are facing a moral crisis. He contends that it is more than the fact people are doing wrong things–something that has been occurring since the Fall in Eden. The crisis is the loss of a shared understanding of what is right. Worse, it is a crisis of doubt as to whether there is anything called morally right or wrong at all.
I John 1:5-2:2
I believe the Bible teaches us that the root of the problem is not in knowledge, or the lack of it, but it is at the very nature of who we are. People sin,
Romans 3: 9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.
10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know."
18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God...
Christians, in any age or given situation, run the risk of entering a moral crisis simply because the great usurper of joy and godliness blinds them to the reality of sin and its consequences.
John made three positive statements to refute the errors of the false teachers. They become principles by which believers’ joy will be made complete. They are keys for enjoying intimacy with God and the fellowship of each other.
I. TRUE BELIEVERS WALK IN THE LIGHT AND NOT DARKNESS
“If we walk in the light . . . we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 Jn. 1:7)
John introduced the idea of fellowship in the prologue; now, he sheds a little light on the subject (no pun intended). He had come to understand a critical piece related to the idea of fellowship: The source of fellowship is Jesus and the nature of God always determines the kind of fellowship we experience.
The apostles learned that a peculiar characteristic of Jesus was the manner in which He walked in the light of God. John tells us that “God is Light” (1:5), “He is righteous” (2:29), and “God is love” (4:8). Scripture draws our attention to aspects of John’s words.
First, God is light. What does it mean to say God is light?
It is the nature of God to disclose and fully reveal Himself
God’s essential nature is moral perfection—a standard for all of humanity.
God’s essential nature is unutterable majesty and splendor
God is pure and He is true, this is what John means when he says God is light.
I Chronicles 16: 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
25 For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
27 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place.
28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,
29 ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come before him; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
Second, believers are to “walk” in the light. The verb “walk” (pe??pat??, peripateó {per-ee-pat-eh'-o}) is a Hebraism which depicts the totality of one’s life-style–every attitude, word, decision, every facet of living. Believers are challenged to put every dimension of their lives under the cleansing Light.
JULY 12, 2012 | POSTED BY WAYNE SHELTON, PHD
Are We Living in an Era of Moral Crisis or Moral Progress?
Albany Medical College
But upon further reflection, the failed efforts of what McIntyre called the Enlightenment Project was in fact a quasi-religious attempt to use secular reason to replace religion as a source of moral authority. Most significantly, the period was also the pivotal time during which the conceptual and philosophical understanding of modern democratic systems was emerging and all individuals were being viewed at autonomous moral agents. That is, for the first time in human history, human beings qua citizens, could be seen as having the right to act and live according to their own conscience instead of being bound to the authority of moral authority embedded within a closed society.
This means that believers cannot be indifferent to morality. The Gnostics wanted to insist they could maintain a relationship with God while treating righteous living with an air of indifference. They wanted to emphasize the good of the spirit and dissociate from the body because it was perceived as evil.
We are not to simply point to the light or idolize it. We are to walk according to the moral and sovereign will of God.
Matthew 5: 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Why is it important for us to walk in the Light?
II. TRUE BELIEVERS REALIZE THAT EMPOWERMENT FOR JOYFUL LIVING INVOLVES HONEST CONFESSION
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I Jn. 1:9)
Light reveals the dark areas of life. The truth reveals the ignorance of the Gnostics. They denied the fact of sin and could not see it because they denied the realness of Jesus. They did not walk in the light of truth.
To illustrate: To be in the presence of a person who has impeccable grammar makes one who is deficient in grammar become painfully aware of their grammar. I was asked to preach at the First Baptist Church of Pineville, Louisiana. It was a church full of very educated and professional people, to include professors from Louisiana College. That Monday, while speaking with Dr. Lynn, President of LC, he affirmed the message but shared how I had pronounced a word incorrectly. I learned a lot from him; however, it was intimidating to speak when he was in the audience.
Here is the dilemma many Christians face. They feel good about the process in eradicating the big sins from their life. Yet, they lose the ability to acknowledge/see the little ones. It’s like having miniature fiberglass splinters. They are so small it is impossible to see them–you can feel the pain, but you can’t see what’s causing it. Only when you put your finger under the right kind of light; can you see where to put the tweezers.
How does a believer become deceived, cover up their sins, and walk in darkness?
Tell lies to others (:6)
Lies to self (:8)
Attempting to lie to God (:10)
Look at the consequences:
Lies about fellowship (:6)
Lies about nature (:8) “I could never do that...”
Lies about actions (:10)
Sin has a deadly way of spreading. The negative person described in this passage is a phony who is living a dishonest life.
The result of a dishonest life:
Person loses the word–Stops doing the truth (:6)
Person loses fellowship with God and His people (:6,7)
Person loses his character (2:4)
What is the remedy? Honesty. Honesty with self, God and others.
John would remind us that darkness and light do not coexist.
A group of people were talking about one of their leaders.
First Person: “I really don’t feel at ease with him. I believe he is a good man all right–but something seems to stand between us.”
Second Person: “Yes, I think I know what you mean. I used to have that same problem with him, but now I don’t have it anymore. We now have a great relationship.”
First Person: “What did he do to make things better?”
Second Person: “He didn’t do anything, I did the changing.”
First Person: “You did the changing?”
Second Person: “Yes, I decided to be open and honest about things, the way he is. You see, there isn’t one stain of hypocrisy in his life, and there was so much pretending in my life that we just didn’t make it together. He and I both knew I was a phony. Since I’ve started to live an honest Christian life, everything is better.”
That is what John is talking about. The prescription for a joy filled life is this: Be honest, with God, yourself and others.
Lying Denial Honesty Truthfulness
Resistant Compliance Engagement
For years, stretching back to Adam and Eve, people have ignored, justified, whitewashed sin; however, these approaches only result in self-deception. They, as well as each of us, fail to see sin for what it is. What about us? Rather than looking at others, let us look deep into God’s mirror. What is it that God wants us to see?
III. TRUE BELIEVERS STRIVE FOR THE IDEAL OF KINGDOM LIVING
“I write this to you so that you will not sin.” (I Jn. 2:1)
Do we often settle for less than the best? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus sets before Christians a great challenge:
Matthew 5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
This text, when laid alongside I John, raises some interesting questions
First, what does it mean for our righteousness to surpass that of the moralizing Jewish leaders? I believe Matt. 5:20 and I John are talking about the same thing. Neither text is talking about nit-picky legalism. Both are talking about fellowship issues. The Pharisees missed it at the point of grace and mercy in relationship to loving people. John has already set fellowship, ???????a, a?, ?, koinonia, as one of the major emphases for writing.
Nit-picky legalism promotes the kind of sin Jesus condemned. Why? Because it focuses more on performance and less on our relationship to God. Religious legalism, under the umbrella of extreme liberalism and extreme fundamentalism leads to a lonely spirituality that will manifest itself in a “rebound and keep moving” sect. For many Christians it means:
Make a pit stop at the Calvary filling station and dump all your trash there,
quickly fill up the tank with high octane Holy Spirit fuel,
pay at the pump with your Father’s credit card, and
then, get out of there as fast as you can, and get on down the road where you can drive like the devil.
Why not stop, get out and stay a while? Embrace God our Father? Let him give us a good diagnosis and cleanse us?
Sin in I John 1:7 is singular. Is this a reference to our sinful nature? Perhaps. Is this a reference to the sin of broken fellowship? Yes! For that is the nature of sin–it destroys fellowship with God and within the Christian community.
Second, why does Scripture hold before us the ideal. You have heard the adage, “If you don’t aim at something, you’ll never hit anything.” God says you and I can have an intimate relationship with him. Furthermore, he says we can have koinonia, fellowship within the Christian community.
Third, how can we keep from sinning? How is it possible for us to find intimacy with God and joy by relating to our church family? Scripture says it starts with us honestly confessing our sins to God.
• Confess simply means to say the same thing as another–such as with God.
• I need to agree with God when my actions and thoughts are against God’s ways
• I need to agree with God in having Jesus’ atoning death take care of my sins
• I need to agree with God that my actions and attitudes need to change.
John believes we can reach for the ideal because we have an “advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Can you think of any better reason to confess our sin than the assurance that Jesus Christ has already dealt with our sin. When I consider this, it makes me want to be true and honest before God every day. It makes me ponder the possibility of growing in relationship to other believers, instead of avoiding koinonia.
CONCLUSION
The overarching theme of I John is fellowship. Fellowship, koinonia, means to have in common. God knows we are not perfect. That is why he died for us.
Jan and I have been married 49 years; we got married the evening of July 27, 1971. We have a very open relationship. I am honest with her about my struggles as a man and as a minister. We can have a marvelous fellowship in spite of me. Yet, when I hide from her who and what I am or dealing with, our fellowship is diminished. The thing I really appreciate about her–really love about her–is that she always accepts me fully. Each year she has a better understanding of who I am. I am convinced that genuine fellowship in marriage is not based upon two absolutely holy people, but two people who are deeply honest with each other.
Do you have an honest relationship with God? Does the struggle of pretending wear you down? Are you willing to agree with God concerning your life? What do you need to get back on track and aim for the ideal? What is it that may stand between you and someone else?
