If…

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. (1 John 1:5–2:2)

God is light, and he invites us out of the shadows of self-deception into the light where there is forgiveness, cleansing, and fullness of joy.

What Most People Believe About God

Research conducted by the Pew Research group found in December of 2017 that 80% of Americans believe in God or some higher power. That's significant—8 out of 10 people you interact with, whether neighbors, co-workers, family, or friends, will agree there is a God or some transcendent being. The same study found that 97% of those people believe that God loves all people regardless of their faults and accepts them all.

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

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 look at you with a strange expression. The passage we're studying brings up this word again and again—sin. People will nod in agreement about a good God, then slow down considerably once you transition to sin and judgment.

"I Am Not a Sinner"

Sin, as the Bible describes it, is lawlessness, wickedness, evil—anything against the nature and command of God. Most secularly minded people will agree that sin is something other people do. But if you say to a person, "You are a sinner," they will be personally offended, even if you add, "I'm a sinner too." Sin is fine to talk about—for those other people, but not me. Most people view themselves as good people, and not only good, but the kind of person God would want to be connected with.

Many will say they have a connection with God, that they have God within them. You hear talk of the "divine spark" that every human has, and the way they describe it sounds more like the Star Wars universe than the Bible—the force is in all of 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. In fact, the phrase "divine spark" originated in the second century in Asia Minor, from a group we call the Gnostics.

John Confronts the False Teachers

John wrote near the end of the first century to challenge this mindset, ministering in Asia Minor—today's southwestern coastal Turkey, in the city of Ephesus. This worldview was not only in the culture; it was beginning to come into the church. So John writes to challenge a false view of God and a false view of ourselves.

In this section John directly addresses three false claims of the false teachers, each introduced by "if we say": in verse 6, "if we say that we have fellowship with him"; in verse 8, "if we say that we have no sin"; and in verse 10, "if we say that we have not sinned." John was preaching the gospel—that we are disconnected from God because of sin and need to be reconciled to him—and they objected: "I'm not a sinner, and I'm already connected to God."

This helps us see that words written 2,000 years ago still apply today, because we will interact with people who hold the exact same worldview: I'm connected to God, I don't have sin, because I have not sinned—I'm a good person. By the second century AD this Gnostic worldview had become the major conflict the church fought against.

A Wise Appeal to Authority

John does something wise. There were two conflicting messages: one said we have no sin, we're already in fellowship with God; the other was the gospel John preached. 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." This is not a message John invented—it came from Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God. The implication is clear: 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. Many New Testament writers do the same. They did not sit down in a writing meeting and brainstorm a story. It was a message revealed to them. Paul says in Galatians 1 that the gospel "is not of men... but it came by revelation." In 1 Corinthians 11:23, "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you." Again in 1 Corinthians 15:3, and in Ephesians 3:3, "he made known to me the mystery... by revelation." This is a revealed message: God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

The claim of a divine spark within everyone is a pantheistic view—God is in everything, he is everything. It's the philosophy of Star Wars, but it was the view of that ancient day too. And it conflicts with what was revealed.

Walk Must Match Profession

The implication of "God is light" is found in verse 6: if we say we have fellowship with him and at the same time walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. These metaphors deal with what is pure, holy, good, and true (light) and what is immoral, wicked, evil, and sinful (darkness).

Point one: those who talk of their connection to God must walk in accordance with their profession. The false teachers proclaimed themselves connected to God. This is why America is called a Christian nation—many say they're connected to the God of the Bible. But does your life align with that profession? John's assessment of the people of his day was that their lives did not match their words. They were still involved in the practices of the day.

Asia Minor was a seat of pagan worship. They worshiped Diana, chiefly through temple prostitution, and Bacchus through drunkenness—sexuality and drunkenness. Sound familiar? We may not have the same temples, but we have the same things. These people claimed to be connected to God while still attached to idols, and that attitude was coming into the church: "It's okay, you have God within you, so eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die." There was a pervasive Epicureanism in the day.

It is relatively easy to say with our lips that we follow God. It takes very little commitment. But the sad reality is that there may be those among the apparently connected whose words do not match their lives.

"I Never Knew You"

Jesus speaks of this in the Sermon on the Mount, in one of his most striking words. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father" (Matthew 7:21). The words and the walk must align. Then the heavy verse: "Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness'" (Matthew 7:22-23).

There were those in John's day who spoke of fellowship with God but walked in darkness; their actions betrayed their words. So what is the answer? Verse 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."

Come, Let Us Walk in the Light

More than 2,700 years ago, Isaiah prophesied to Israel. They had the temple in Jerusalem and offered offerings, kept Passover and Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles—and at the same time worshiped through sexual immorality and offered their children as sacrifices to Molech. Isaiah said these two things don't go together. "Come, let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:5). They professed to follow God, but there was a major disconnect.

What happens when we walk in the light? We have fellowship with one another. God created us in his original creation to be in communion with him and with one another. "It is not good that man should be alone." We are the most technologically connected people of any time, and yet we're seeing a rapid rise of loneliness. It is not good for man to be alone.

What causes the disconnection? Genesis 3 says sin entered the world through us, splitting us apart from one another. We try to restore that connection through social engagements and sinful practices, but there is only one place where we experience true fellowship—as we walk in the light. And there we also experience that the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Boasting in Our Own Righteousness

Hearing this, the false teachers object: "What sin?" Verse 8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." That was the ruling philosophy of the day. Point two: those who boast of their own righteousness are self-deceived.

In Luke 18, Jesus, constantly accosted by religious leaders who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, told a story. Two men went up to the temple to pray—a Pharisee and a tax collector. In that day tax collectors were lumped in with prostitutes and drunkards as the most wicked. The Pharisee stood and prayed, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give to the poor." But the tax collector stood far off, beat his chest, and said, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this man went home justified that day, not 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 his religion blinded him. Light has come into the world in the man Jesus Christ, to reveal who we really are and to expose our need.

What Then Do We Do?

Here we stand at the temple, the gathering place of God's people, and at least two kinds of people come. Some trust in themselves: "I'm so thankful I'm not like all those other people." Others, in the light of God, realize their brokenness and say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." One goes home justified.

Church attendance doesn't save you. The things you give up won't make you holy. The money you give won't buy you a place with God. So what do we do? Verse 9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Point three: those who come to the light and confess their unrighteousness are forgiven and clean.

There is something in our fallen nature that wants to put up masks to hide our brokenness, and our adversary the devil loves to tempt us to think that hiding is enough. Jesus said men love darkness rather than light, lest their deeds be exposed. But if we step into the light, we are given the opportunity to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, who is the propitiation for our sin. When we confess our sin—bringing it into the open before God—his response to the humble heart is forgiving grace and cleansing sanctification.

Pride Hardens the Heart

But the proud Pharisee objects: "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 way to find out if a person has truly encountered the God of the Bible is to call them a sinner. If they have, they'll say, "You're right—and thank God for his grace." If they haven't, they'll say, "I'm not a sinner; those people are sinners. I'm a good person." (Do this carefully—they may get upset!) It is an instant litmus test of whether someone knows their true nature.

One outcome of reading Scripture, knowing God, and spending time with other believers is that you begin to realize just how wicked you really are—and it's frightening. It's easy to point the finger at people who have done atrocious acts, but we don't recognize how much of that same wickedness resides in our own hearts. If we say we have not sinned, we make God a liar, because his Word says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Written That Your Joy May Be Full

This is a heavy text, but we need to back up. It was not written to shame or browbeat us. Look at verse 4: "And these things we write to you that your joy may be full." There's a saying, "ignorance is bliss," but it's not true. You might walk in darkness, unaware of your sinfulness, feeling fine—but if you're walking in ignorance on the freeway, a semi is coming. It is appointed for all people to die once, and then comes judgment. We will all stand before God one day, and in that moment church attendance, the things we gave up, the money we gave, and our comparison to "not as good" people will not save us.

John says, "I want you to experience fullness of joy"—and not just momentarily, but forever. "In his presence is fullness of joy... and pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). That is far better than the momentary bliss of not realizing your sinfulness.

We Have an Advocate

Chapter 2, verse 1: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin." God wants us to walk in holiness. "And if anyone sins"—which you will, because we are fallen—"we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous," the one who goes before God on our behalf. How can he advocate for us? Verse 2: "And he himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours 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 given through Moses, when you sinned you atoned by bringing an animal sacrifice—which could never fully take away sin. It's an insufficient payment, like paying the minimum on a credit card bill: you'll pay forever. But Jesus paid it all. He is the propitiation, the atonement, the full payment for our sin.

Set Free to Walk in Righteousness

John's goal is to call us to repentant humility, away from self-deceived, self-righteous, self-important blindness—where we think everything's okay because "I've got a connection with God and haven't done anything as bad as those other people." He calls us to experience the grace of Christ Jesus.

When we receive that grace, it begins to work in us. As Paul writes to Titus, "his grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and to walk in righteousness" (Titus 2). How is a life without sin possible? "He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus." His righteousness is imputed to our account, and then by his grace he gives us the ability to walk in righteousness, having set us free from slavery to sin to become slaves of righteousness.

Paul wrote in Romans 6:15-23: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not... Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness... For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness... but now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and in the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The proof of our freedom in Christ is that we no longer walk as slaves to sin. The amazing thing is that after a person walks in the light with God and lets his Word be a light to their path, after two, five, or ten years they look back and see they are no longer walking in the things that once dominated their lives and brought shame, guilt, and fear. God's grace sets us free. That's why this message is called the 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 of being exposed for who 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 and our sin like the tax collector in the temple and say, "God, be merciful to us—we're sinners. Forgive us." And Lord, help us to rejoice in your forgiving grace today. We praise you, Jesus.

If you recognize your need for God's forgiveness today—if you see areas of your life in conflict with the nature and command of God—you can bring it into the light and confess it now to receive his forgiveness. Pray 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. Let's praise the Lord who forgives.