Sermon: Walking in the Light

12/13/09 Walking in the Light
1 John 1:5-10 – This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

• In Him is absolutely NO darkness
• He’s not hiding
• Not even one small shadow is found in Him
• 1 John 1:6-8: truth
• Verse 9: Faithful, just
• God wishes to be seen and known by men
• He makes the way clear

The Light of God is frequently found as a metaphor for the life or salvation that He imparts: Psalm 36:9, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”
• We all want to be saved
Psalm 27:1, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”
• Psalm 49:6
• Isaiah 60:19
• 1 John 1:1: says they didn’t make it up, but knew it, saw it, touched it
• John was an eye witness, companion of Jesus to pass on What God was like
• Something real, positive, not perfection
• John is not saying that we are perfect in our behavior
• One cannot be perfect (1 John 1:8-10)
• We tend to sin (verse 10)
 It was passed onto us through Adam through behavior
 We sin every day
The theme of this passage is that “walking in the light will have positive meaning for the life and conduct of the believer”. “Walking in the Light” means “believing and doing the gospel.” It does not mean “perfection”.
• There are certain sins we don’t commit, we are not tempted to them, but we do commit others
• We say we have no sin, then we make God out to be a liar
• It does mean a life lived primarily around the gospel teachings
• That is what is expected of us
• Conformity to the Will of God who is The Light
• What is in the should comes out in the body
• The life of practical godliness is expected of us
• All truth is moral truth
• We are called to walk in the light, to make steady progress in the life of conformity to the revealed will of God, who is the Light

If we are walking in the LIGHT:
I. We will have fellowship with God
• You cannot fellowship with someone you don’t know
• If God is hidden, always trying to find Him, then cant have fellowship
• John 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice” (Jesus says)
• Is it possible to hear the voice of God? Absolutely!
• Spirit reminds us of all those things
• We have HIS word (voice) & His Spirit comes from the inspiration illumination of Scripture
• We have others that God speaks through
• We have fellowship with someone we know
• He loves us and wants to share Himself with us
• We’re His children and He loves us
• John 12:46: we don’t have to be perfect
• Spend our lives in awareness of our obligation to Him
• Consciously seeking all the time that personal relationship with God
• Praying regularly, dropped quickly
• Discipline: Have a habitual practice of prayer
• Bible Study: God’s will to focus in our life
• Need regular corporate worship
• God is not relegated in the shadowy boundaries, He’s out there but not in the center if we don’t pray!
• 1 John 2:15: people who habitually pattern their live and values after the values of the world walk in darkness
• 1 John 2:21 -
• 1 John 3:4 – breaking God’s laws
• 1 John 4:20 – filled with hatred for others
• Difficult to have fellowship with God when walking outside those boundaries and on the periphery of life

II. We will have fellowship with other Believers
• Fellowship: sharing in common
• 1 John 3:23:
 Don’t have to like every one, but have to love them
• 1 John 4:7 – love one another because Love comes from God
• 1 John 4:11 – love one another
• Fellowship: test of reality of truth; no belief can be fully Christian if it separates one man from another
• Christianity draws us closer to people and God, brings enrichment and encouragement
• In Christ’s time of darkest hour, he needed encouragement
• He drew around His disciples in Gethsemane

III. We will confess our sins
• If we say the same word about our sins that God says, we’ll be forgiven
• Our sins will be revealed and we’ll be more aware of our need to fix them
• To confess is to talk in the Light without any deception
• Confession is not some kind of act we have to go through to deny ourselves or abuse ourselves
• Confession is simply saying the same that about sin that God does
• Not an act we have to go through its saying about sin that God says
• Admit to God what He already knows
• God is Light, He doesn’t want us to hide
• He wants us to confess when we sin, and admit it

IV. We will be confident of forgiveness
• We’re required to admit our sins, we’re not condemned to bear them on our shoulders
• 1 John 2:8:
• If we confess, He’s faithful and just to forgive
• To send away our sins (in reference to guilt)
• Psalm 103:12
• Isaiah 43:25
• Acquits sin for the sake of Christ
• He is as righteous and just when he forgives us as He is when He condemns someone
• He is faithful (Isaiah 44:22)
• Micah 7:18-19:
• Constant justification
• Sins daily confessed, sins daily forgiven
• Blood of Christ cleanses us of ALL sins
• Ephesians 1:7
• Hebrews 10:23
• When we confess, God is involved and forgives us

William Barclay, “A man’s own character will necessarily be determined by the character of the god whom he worships.”

Walking in the light means that our daily conduct is consistent with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
Walking in the light means caring about others on a consistent basis
Walking in the light means confessing our sins regularly and living positively in light of God’s continual forgiveness

Challenge:
• Pray everyday
 Pray Psalms each day
• Do one good deed for someone in need
• Confess sin daily and specifically
• Accept God’s forgiveness as soon as you confess it
 He removes them as far as the east is from the west
 Puts them at the depths of the sea
 Don’t carry them on your shoulders
Dr Phil Lineberger