1 John 1:6

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. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.

When the world claims a divine spark and a sinless self, John insists that God is light — and that only the humble who confess their sin walk in it.

What Most People Believe About God

Research conducted in December 2017 by Pew Research found that 80% of Americans believe in God or some higher power. That's significant: eight out of ten people you interact with — neighbors, co-workers, family, friends — agree there is a God or some transcendent force. The same study found that 97% of those people believe that God loves all people regardless of their faults and accepts every one of them.

That is the general consensus in our nation. Ask people what God is like, and they will describe an omni-benevolent, all-loving force that magnanimously overlooks every bad thing we've ever done and accepts everyone. He is good, He rejects nobody, and He will bring us all into some kind of afterlife. The majority believe there is some form of heaven waiting after this life.

The Word They Don't Want to Hear

But when people are presented with what the Bible calls sin, and with the biblical descriptions of death, judgment, and hell, many of those same people give you a strange look. This passage uses the word "sin" repeatedly — have sinned, have not sinned, if anyone sins — over and over.

People will nod that they believe in God and that He is good and accepts all. But transition into the discussion of sin and the judgment of God, and the nodding slows. Sin, as the Bible describes it, is lawlessness, wickedness, evil — anything against the nature and command of God. Most secular-minded people will agree that sin is something other people do. But say to a person, "You are a sinner," and they will be personally offended, even if you add, "I'm a sinner too." Yeah, those other people are sinners — but not me. Most people view themselves as good, and as the kind of person God would want to be around and actually has a connection with.

An Ancient Error, Not a New One

Many people we interact with will say they have a connection with God and that they have God within them. You hear talk of the "divine spark," that every human being has it. The way they describe it sounds more like the Star Wars universe than the Bible — we all have the force within us.

This thinking is not new. When you go back to ancient texts like 1 John, you find this way of thinking was pervasive 2,000 years ago. John wrote near the end of the first century, ministering in Asia Minor — today the southwestern coast of Turkey, in the city of Ephesus — to challenge this very mindset. And it was not just the vibe of the outside culture; it was coming into the church. So John writes to confront this false view of God and false view of ourselves.

Three "If We Say" Statements

John directly addresses three false claims of the false teachers, found in 1 John 1:6, 1:8, and 1:10. When he opens with "if we say," many teachers, myself included, believe he is quoting the things actually being said in his day.

In verse 6, "if we say we have fellowship with Him." John was preaching the gospel — that we are all disconnected from God because of sin and can be reconciled — and people objected, "No, we're all connected to God; we all have the divine spark." That very phrase originated in the second century in Asia Minor among the people we call the Gnostics. In verse 8, "if we say we have no sin." And in verse 10, "if we say that we have not sinned" — we have no sin because we are actually very good people.

Sound familiar? Ask someone today, "If you died, do you think you'd go to heaven?" and they'll say, "Yeah, I hope so — because I'm a pretty good person." John was dealing with the same thinking, which means words written 2,000 years ago still have application today. This Gnostic worldview — we all have a divine spark, we are all connected to God, there is no such thing as sin — became the major conflict of the church's second century.

John Appeals to Authority

John responds wisely. There were two conflicting messages: one said we have no sin and are always in fellowship with God; the other, John's gospel, said we have all sinned, are separated from God, and need to be reconciled. What do you do with two conflicting messages? John appeals to authority.

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. (1 John 1:5)

This is not a message John made up. It came from Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God. The implication is: where did your message come from? Just because a message sounds good and feels good does not mean it is good.

John is not alone in this. Paul says in Galatians 1 that the gospel "is not of men. Neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came by revelation." He says it again in 1 Corinthians 11:23, "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you," and in 1 Corinthians 15:3, "I delivered to you that which I also received," and in Ephesians 3:3, that the mystery was made known to him by revelation. The apostles did not gather in a writing meeting and decide what would "sell." This is a revealed message from God.

God Is Light — Walk Accordingly

What is the message? God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. The objection — "but we all have a divine spark, that light is in everything" — is a pantheistic view, the very philosophy of Star Wars, and it was already the view in that day too.

The implication is verse 6: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and at the same time we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." Light is what is pure, holy, good, true, and right; darkness is what is immoral, wicked, evil, fallen, and sinful. If we claim communion with God while walking in wickedness, something is in conflict — we lie and do not practice the truth.

Point one: those who talk of their connection to God must walk in accordance with their profession. The false teachers proclaimed connection to God and appeared by their profession to be Christians. This is why America is called a "Christian nation" — so many say they are connected to God. But does the life align with the profession?

When the Walk Betrays the Words

John's assessment of the people of his day was that there was an issue: they claimed connection to God, but their lives didn't show it because they were still involved in all the practices of their culture. Asia Minor was the seat of the worship of Diana, chiefly through temple prostitution, and of Bacchus, worshiped through drunkenness. Sexuality and drunkenness — sound familiar? We may not have the same temples or images, but we have the same things.

These people said they were connected to God, but they were also connected to idols. This Epicurean "eat, drink, and be merry" mindset had come into the church. It is relatively easy to say with our lips that we follow God; it takes very little commitment. But there may be those apparently connected to God whose words do not match their life.

Jesus speaks of this in the Sermon on the Mount:

Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father... Many will say to Me in that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name... and done many wonders in Your name?" and I will declare to them, "I never knew you; you who practice lawlessness, depart from Me." (Matthew 7:21-23)

Our talk and our walk must align. In John's day there were those who spoke of fellowship with God yet walked in darkness — their actions betrayed their words.

The Answer: Walk in the Light

What is the answer? "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" (1 John 1:7).

More than 2,700 years ago, the people of Israel went to the temple in Jerusalem, offered their sacrifices, and kept Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles — while at the same time worshiping elsewhere through sexual immorality and sacrificing their children to Molech. Isaiah confronted this disconnect: "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:5). Come out of the shadows.

The same call stands today. If you say with your mouth that you follow Jesus but continue living an immoral lifestyle, the call is, "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord." And as we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another. God created us for communion with Him and with each other — "it is not good that man should be alone." We are the most technologically connected people in history, yet loneliness is rising rapidly, because sin in Genesis 3 split us apart. We try to restore connection through countless social and sinful means, but true fellowship is found only in the light. And there the blood of Jesus Christ deals with our problem — it cleanses us from all sin.

Self-Righteousness Is Self-Deception

Immediately the objection of John's day rises: "What is this whole sin thing?" Verse 8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Sin? What sin? I'm not a sinner — those other people are.

Point two: those who boast of their own righteousness are self-deceived. In Luke 18, Jesus told a story to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Two men went up to the temple to pray — a Pharisee and a tax collector. In that day, tax collectors were lumped together with prostitutes and drunkards as the most wicked of sinners.

The Pharisee stood and prayed, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, adulterers, or even this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give of myself to the poor." The tax collector stood far off, beat his chest, and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus declared, "This man went home justified, rather than the other."

The sinful tax collector was walking in the light — he saw his need clearly. The religious Pharisee was walking in darkness — he could not see his sin because of his religion. Jesus had come not for the well but for the sick. Justification is God dealing with a man's sin. The Pharisee was no less a sinner; he simply could not see it. Church attendance does not save you. The things you give up will not make you holy. The money you give cannot buy you a place with God.

Confess and Be Cleansed

What do we do? "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). I love this verse.

Point three: those who come to the light and confess their unrighteousness are forgiven and cleansed. Something in our fallen nature wants to put on masks to hide our brokenness, and the adversary loves nothing more than to tempt us to think that hiding is enough. As Jesus said, men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil, and they don't want to come to the light lest their deeds be exposed.

But if we step into the light, we are given fellowship with one another and cleansing by the blood of Jesus, who is the propitiation for our sin. When we confess — bringing it out into the open before God — His response to the humble heart is forgiving grace and cleansing sanctification.

Pride That Hardens

The hard-hearted, proud Pharisee objects, "But I'm good. I'm not like those other people." Verse 10: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."

Point four: pride hardens our hearts and hinders His forgiving grace. Those who have truly encountered Christ have a humble assessment of themselves. The quickest test of whether someone has had a genuine encounter with the God of the Bible is to call them a sinner. The one who truly knows God will say, "You're right — and thank God for His grace." The one who hasn't will say, "I'm not a sinner; those people are." Be careful — they may get upset — but it is an instant litmus test.

We make God a liar because His Word says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. One outcome of reading the Scriptures and walking with other believers is realizing how wicked we really are. It's frightening, because it's easy to point at others who do atrocious things and ask, "How dare they?" while failing to see how much of that same wickedness is resident in our own hearts.

Written for Your Joy

This is a heavy text, but it was not written to shame or browbeat us. Look back at verse 4: "And these things we write to you, that your joy may be full." People say ignorance is bliss, but that's not true. To walk in darkness, unaware of your own sinfulness, may feel fine — but it is like walking on the 15 freeway in ignorance with a semi coming. It is appointed for all to die once, and then comes judgment.

We will all stand before God. In that moment, church attendance will not save us; the things we gave up will not save us; the money we gave will not save us; being "pretty good people" compared to others will not save us. John wants us to experience fullness of joy — not the momentary bliss of ignorance, but forever, because "in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11).

Our Advocate and Propitiation

Look at 2:1: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Why does He get to advocate for us? Verse 2: "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for those of the whole world."

Point five: the humble receive grace and atonement for their sin. Atonement is an old-covenant word. Under the law of Moses, when you sinned you brought an animal sacrifice that could never fully take away sin — an insufficient payment, like paying only the minimum on a credit card bill you'll be paying forever. But Jesus paid it all. He is the propitiation, the full payment for our sin.

John's goal is to call us to repentant humility — out of self-deceived, self-righteous, self-important blindness where we think everything is fine because we have a connection with God and haven't done anything as bad as those other people — and into the grace of Christ Jesus.

Set Free to Walk in Righteousness

When we receive the grace of Christ, that grace begins to work in us. Paul writes that His grace "teaches us to deny ungodliness" and to walk in righteousness (Titus 2). God desires that no sin would be continually practiced in our lives. How is that possible? "He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Him." Once His righteousness is imputed to our account, He gives us the ability by His grace to walk in righteousness, setting us free from slavery to sin to be slaves of righteousness.

Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey... And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness... But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6)

The proof of our freedom in Christ is that we no longer walk as slaves to sin. The amazing thing is that after walking in the light with God for two, five, or ten years — His Word a light to our path — a person can look back and see, "I'm no longer walking in those things I once practiced, that dominated my life and brought such shame, guilt, and fear." God's grace sets us free. That is why this message is called gospel — good news.

Closing Prayer

God, I thank You today that even though our fallen nature is so fearful to step into the light because we're afraid we'll be exposed for what we really are, Jesus, You want us to come into the light because You want to bring healing, forgiveness, grace, and cleansing sanctification. So God, I pray that if in any way our lives are living in the shadows today, Your light would shine into our hearts, that You would enlighten us, and that we would come before You and bring our fallenness, our sin, like the tax collector in the temple, and say, "God, be merciful to us; we're sinners. Forgive us." Lord, help us to rejoice in Your forgiving grace today. We praise You, Jesus.

It may be that you recognize your need for God's forgiveness today — areas of your life where there is sin, things you've been doing, thinking, or looking at that are in conflict with the nature and command of God — and you want to bring it into the light and confess it to receive His forgiveness. We just read 1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." If that's you, pray this with me:

Dear Jesus, I know I need Your grace. Be merciful to me, I am a sinner. Would You come into my life and forgive me by Your grace, and help me to follow You in righteousness. In Jesus' name, Amen.