INTRODUCTION
TEXT: 1 John 1:5-10
John makes a couple of assumptions in his letter. One assumption is that the people who were reading it already had some idea of the concept of a “god” or universal power or deity that was commonly referenced as the “logos” (or the “Word”). The second assumption he makes is that his readers are aware that there was some sort of cosmic rift that happened between mankind and that universal “god”. To say it another way, the people knew that evil existed.
The New Testament calls that evil, sin. The false teachers in the church at Ephesus, however, were teaching people that they had no sin; they taught people that they had risen above the concept of sin, if they had ever had any to begin with. John said, that’s not possible. Not only is there sin, but if you claim you don’t have any, then either God is lying or you are–and there isn’t a third option.
Can you think of examples amongst your group of things that you would consider to be universally wrong? If someone didn’t believe in God, how would you convince them that something was universally wrong?
QUESTIONS
John uses the metaphor of light and darkness to describe the central message he is trying to convey about who God is, and what our relationship with him is like. Just like darkness and light are incompatible, so living in a way that is contrary to the light (living in darkness) is incompatible with a relationship with the source of the light (God). John is making both a claim, and an accusation: the claim is that there is a way of walking that is “in the light” and a way that is “in the darkness”; the accusation is that all of us, at some point, walked “in the darkness”.
Pastor Jeremy pointed out in the sermon that every person has some sort of moral code. We may not believe in universal right and wrong, or morality that is true for everyone, but we all believe that there are certain things that are “right” and certain things that are “wrong”–even if we can’t agree on what they are.
What are some examples of things that some people think are right and other people think are wrong? Who do you think should get to decide on those matters? Is it every person for himself? Do you think it’s coincidence that when we try to construct our own moral code of what is right and wrong, the “right” behaviors tend to reflect what we already do, and the “wrong” behaviors tend to reflect what we don’t do? Why is it that our desire is to make ourselves the standard bearer of morality?
John’s implicit teaching is that it’s “the light” that sets the standard for what it means to walk in the light; equally as important is the reality that none of us meet the standard. All of us participate in “walking in darkness” (sin). Our response to that reality is either to deny it and say we have no sin–which can only mean that God is lying about the existence of sin, or we our lying to ourselves–or, we can admit it.
Pastor Jeremy said there are three things we must do in response to John’s teaching that he lays out for us: Confess, Obey, and Love. All three are necessary if we are going reflect the light.
How does confession without obedience lead to tolerance? How does obedience without confession lead to self-righteousness? Why are both confession and obedience necessary for a truly loving community?
CONCLUSION
John’s implicit teaching is that it’s “the light” that sets the standard for what it means to walk in the light; equally as important is the reality that none of us meet the standard. All of us participate in “walking in darkness” (sin). Our response to that reality is either to deny it and say we have no sin–which can only mean that God is lying about the existence of sin, or we our lying to ourselves–or, we can admit it.
To do the former is simply to deceive ourselves. To do the latter–to confess our sin–is to receive the forgiveness of Jesus and move, once and for all, from darkness to light.
PRAYER
Take some time to pray that we would come to know Jesus better, so that as we grow closer to the light, our lives would reflect that reality. Pray that we would be known as a confessing community (so that the world knows there are no perfect people in the kingdom of God), as an obedient community (because we walk with the light) and a loving community (because fellowship is the outcome of confession and obedience).