Sin
1st John 1:5-7
Jeff Hughes
I. Introduction
a. By way of introduction, let’s briefly go over what we studied last time.
b. First, we looked at an introduction to the epistle; we learned that the apostle John wrote it about 85 to 90 AD in Ephesus, as he was the pastor of the church there. We also learned of John’s special relationship to Jesus, he was one of the three who saw the Lord transfigured, and the only apostle to be present to the Lord’s crucifixion. It was at the Lord’s crucifixion that John was given the care of Mary, the Lord’s mother. It was also an interesting footnote that the apostle John was the only one not martyred for the faith.
c. Next, we looked at an overview of the epistle. Why did John write the epistle? To combat the doctrine of Gnosticism that was sweeping through the church, late in the first century.
d. The meat of the study was found in the text of verses 1-4.
e. In verse 1, John re-iterates himself in a overview of the Gospel of John, he describes Christ as “that from the beginning”, “which we have handled”, “our eyes have seen”, and “the Word of life”. John’s gospel describes, among other things, Christ’s deity, and His earthly ministry.
f. In verse 2, we looked a John’s witness of Christ’s ministry, and of the eternal nature of Jesus.
g. In verse 3, we looked at the fellowship of believers, and how we are set apart if we are true followers of Christ Jesus. We also examined the implications of fellowshipping with those who don’t share our beliefs.
h. Finally, to wrap up our review, in verse 4 we see the first reason given by John for writing the epistle – that your joy may be full.
i. Moving on, tonight, we are going to look at verses 5-7, and take a look at the topic of Sin.
II. Illustration –
a. Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one preacher said, "Our people come to us and pour out their hears, confess certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul." In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to liking to smoke cigars and the third one confessed to liking to play cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, "Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?" Finally he answered, "It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here."
III. Study
a. First, let’s read the passage as a whole.
b. 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to 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 practice the truth. 7 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.
c. The Message – God’s Sinless Perfection 1 John 1:5
i. First half – “This is the message which we have heard and declare to you”
1. Message – Greek word epangaleeah – which means promise or announcement. Used 53 times in the Bible, 52 times it is translated as promise, only here is it translated as message. In fact, after some study, I found that some of the earlier translations translate it as promise. Most often, it is used to describe God’s promises to Israel, concerning the Messiah, Jesus. What is the message or promise that Jesus brought? That if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life.
2. Which we have heard – Again here, John reminds the readers that he was an eyewitness to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. We covered this last time in verse 3 of this chapter.
3. We declare to you – John wants to make this message that he has received from Christ known to all. He’s following the Great Commission, Acts 2:38.
ii. Second half – “that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
1. Light – Greek word Phos. We get our English word Phosphorus from this.
2. John declares that God is light. Light by definition has no darkness. Darkness is defined as the absence of light.
3. Practical – I have had people come up to me in the past, and indeed I have felt this way too, that God is far away from me. My question is this? Who moved? Since God is light, and has no sin, the obvious answer is that we have. Most often I have found that unconfessed sin is what is hampering my communication with God. What do you guys think?
d. The Lie – Walking in Darkness
i. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
ii. Fellowship - Greek Koinonia, which we looked at last week. It means having a common interest, a relation, or sharing.
iii. But, if we “Walk in Darkness” – because God is light, and has no darkness at all (verse 5), we are lying if we say we have that fellowship or koinonia with God. Because, by definition, darkness is the absence of light.
iv. By saying “walks in darkness”, John is talking about perpetually being in darkness, a lifestyle of darkness, like each one of us had before Christ came into our heart. But he’s not talking about an occasional stumble. Once we accept Christ, He is in our hearts; the light is inside of us.
v. If we fall out of fellowship, and become distant from God, it is not Him that moved. He didn’t dim His light. We stepped away. He is still waiting for you to return to your first love, that fellowship with Him in the light.
e. The Truth – Walking in the Light
i. 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.
ii. If we will walk with God - fellowship with Him in our lives, and walk after His ways - then we will have fellowship with one another.
iii. We will also enjoy the continual cleansing of Jesus; because we continually sin and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and even though we have been cleansed, our "feet" need cleaning (John 13:10).
iv. This continual cleansing is ours by the blood of Jesus; not His literal blood, but His literal death in our place, and the literal wrath of the Father He endured on our behalf - His blood paid for all our sins - past, present, and future.
IV. Conclusion
a. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:13 to 13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
b. So, why do many choose the dim, broad way to destruction?
i. First of all, we have a sin nature, Jeremiah 17:9 tells us “the heart is a deceitful above all things, desperately wicked.”
ii. But, we also get another answer from Jesus in Matthew Chapter 7. Jesus continues in verse 15, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
iii. This is why John wrote the epistle we are studying, and we talked about it last week. He wrote it to combat these false teachers that were creeping into the church.
c. I’ll close with the words of Joshua in Deuteronomy Chapter 30. Starting with verse 15 and continuing to the end of the chapter.
d. 15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
