WALKING IN THE LIGHT
1 John 1:5-10
I. Theological Foundation – Verse 5 “God is Light”
A. Purity
1. Light-Darkness / Good-Evil
2. In Scripture, sin, disobedience, immorality and evil are all characterized as darkness
B. Truth
1. Light exposes truth and error
2. 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”
Illustration: Coming to God is not like buying an IBM Personal Computer. When you see the ad in the Tribune that a computer store is having a sale on the IBM PC for under $2,000 that may sound very bright. It may sound like stumbling blocks are being removed and the way is opening to new goals of word processing to be achieved. It may sound like light has dawned. But when you go to the store and check it out you discover there is some darkness in it: that price doesn’t include any monitor -- there’s nothing but darkness until you have a screen with your computer!
II. Practical Application – Verses 6-7 “Walk in the Light”
A. Negative Implication (6)
1. Fellowship –
a. koinoônia
b. To share or have something in common
2. Walking in Darkness –
a. Matthew 6:23, “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!”
b. Luke 1:79, “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death…”
B. Positive Implication (7)
1. Walking in the Light –
a. Matthew 4:16, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up”
b. John 1:9-12, “that was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
2. Walking denotes a lifestyle; a habitual practice
3. 2 Practical Results from Walking in the Light
a. Fellowship with one another
b. Forgiveness of Sin
i. Habitual cleansing – cover sin
ii. Moral Prevention – conquer sin
III. Necessary Clarification – Verses 8-10 “Don’t claim to be without sin”
A. Claim of sinless ness is self-deception (8)
B. Claim of sinless ness is blasphemy (10)
C. Confession of Sin leads to more light (9)
In summary:
Verse 5: Foundation - God is light and in him is no darkness at all. His truth is bright and hopeful for all who come to him.
Verses 6-7: Application - Therefore, let us walk in the light of God so that we can enjoy his fellowship and experience the cleansing of Christ’s blood.
Verses 8-l0: Clarification - Nevertheless, do not presume to claim sinless ness as you walk in the light, but confess your sins to God.
