1 John 1:5-2:2

^5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ^6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by 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, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

^8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ^9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ^10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

  My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ^2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Why does sin have such a powerful attraction for us? Why are we drawn to sin like a mosquito is drawn to a bug-zapper? We know we’re gonna get zapped, but we fly toward sin anyway? Another way of asking the same questions is this: Why do we love the darkness when all along what we really need is the light?

I have told you before about the internet filter that I use called Covenant Eyes. This software program monitors every single page I visit on the web, prominently flags all questionable pages and then sends the report to two of my accountability partners. I serve as accountability partner to two other pastors and this past week I received an email from one pastor who was trying to explain why he received a high score on his Covenant Eyes report. Here is what he wrote. “Just to let you know – none of the embarrassingly-titled sites from June 6 were visited.” In other words, what he was trying to say is that some questionable internet sites with embarrassing names appeared on his accountability report, but he did not actually go to those sites. He went to those sites but he didn’t actually go those sites. Doesn’t this sound a little bit like Bill Clinton claiming he smoked marijuana but didn’t inhale? How do you go to a site but not go to the site? I wrote him back and told him that he was too late; that I had already filed an ethics complaint with EFCA headquarters and his disciplinary tribunal would be contacting him soon. The pastor in question happens to be the associate pastor at my former church named Dwight. Now Dwight immediately knew I was joking with him because the same thing has happened to me. Sometimes a pop-up advertisement will appear on our reports as a site that we visited. I thought it was especially funny, because if you know this pastor, he has to be the least likely person to struggle with pornography. I would almost go so far as to say that he probably doesn’t even need an internet filter. My point is that this man is a good example of a Christian who really wants to walk in the light to the degree that he is willing to stay accountable to me, even though I trust him as much as any other Christian I know. Furthermore, anyone who walks in the light knows well the strength of the darkness of sin. Dwight hates the darkness so he strives to walk in the light.

In this passage, John describes three different kinds of people who are caught in the darkness of sin, but they are not even aware of the struggle. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. Let’s take apart this first phrase. This person is claiming to have fellowship with God. Do you recognize the key word from last weeks’ message? The key word is “fellowship”. And what is the Greek word for fellowship? It is koinonia. Koinonia is not cozy fellowship. Koinonia s not Christian conversation while singing Kumbaya around a warm campfire and drinking good coffee. It is much deeper and more important than that. Last week we described the three levels of koinonia. The first type is foundational and it is the koinonia among the Father, Son and Spirit. The second type of koinonia happens at salvation when an unbeliever is brought into fellowship with the Father, Son and Spirit. We said that original sin is the absence of koinonia and salvation is the restoration of koinonia.

Finally, the third type of koinonia is between and among fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. But what this illustration did not include is the fact that this circle of true koinonia is surrounded by the darkness of sin. This is what is meant in verse five: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. Light and darkness are contrasted in the same sense that good and evil are contrasted. God is all goodness. There is no darkness at all in God. There is not even a whiff of evil in his character or his presence. Therefore, to be in fellowship with God means that we are abiding and living in his goodness and light.

All by itself this is great comfort for the believer. We need to be reminded again and again of the perfect goodness of God. What happens when you experience a trial in your life? We start to ask questions, don’t we? Why is this happening to me? How long will this last, Lord? These questions can be honest questions that may or may not have an answer. But it is too easy to move from these honest questions to questions that begin to doubt the goodness of God. Instead of merely asking, “Why are you doing this to me God?” we begin to think, “If God were really a good God, he would not let me suffer like this.” In an instant we can move from honest questions to serious doubts, and the thing we are doubting is the fundamental goodness of God. It’s at times like these when we need to hear the words: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all. God does not just dwell in light, he is light. God does not just possess goodness, he is goodness. God is not just a part of truth, he is truth. His very nature is light, goodness and truth and this eliminates the possibility of even a single speck of evil in his character. If you are facing a challenging time right now, I encourage you to meditate on this verse—you might even put it into the form of a prayer. “Lord, you are light, and I know that in you there is no darkness at all. Father, you are perfectly good and you will never do evil to me. I am sorry for doubting your goodness and love.”

Now we return to verse six. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. Can you see all of the people walking in darkness? You can’t see them because they don’t want to be seen. As Jesus said in John chapter three: Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. In a very real sense, you can’t see the people walking in darkness because they don’t want to be seen. They hate the light and they love the darkness. When I think of darkness, I think about the plaque of darkness upon the Egyptians. Exodus describes this darkness as a “darkness that could be felt.” Isn’t that a good description—“a darkness that could be felt.” It was a darkness that was heavy and penetrating—something that could literally be felt and experienced. On our recent vacation we stopped in Kentucky at Mammoth Cave, which is the longest cave in the world. When we were about 300 feet below the surface, our tour guide gathered us together and explained that she was going to turn off all of the lights so that we could all experience utter darkness—the absence of all light. She flipped the switch and sure enough, it was so dark you could almost feel it. But then Kellyn held up her hands, and even in that pitch darkness, we could see her ten fingernails because she had put glow-in-the-dark nail polish on them!

When you see understand the distinction between light and darkness you can begin to understand the audacious claim in verse six. There are countless numbers of people who live in the darkness and don’t want to be exposed by the light, but at the same time they make the amazing claim that they are living in the light—that they have fellowship with God. Can you see how this is an utter impossibility? Paul said it so well in 2 Corinthians 6: “what fellowship can light have with darkness?” How can darkness have koinonia with the light? It is not possible.

Yet how many people claim to have a relationship with God? A better question would be to ask how many people don’t claim to have a relationship with God? Nearly everyone believes that the have some kind of relationship with God, and chief among them are politicians. I didn’t see it, but last Monday night on CNN, a Christian organization tat claims to be evangelical, held a faith forum with three Democratic presidential candidates. The Washington Post described it as an “unprecedented forum" in which "the three leading Democratic presidential candidates described how faith influences both their politics and their personal lives.” I like what one comedian said about the faith forum. "CNN gave the Democratic candidates an hour to talk about God. Wonder what they did with the other 58 minutes." Democrats and Republicans alike want the American people to know that they have a relationship with God. Recently, Congressman Pete Stark was the first congressman in U.S. history to publicly admit that he is an atheist. All politicians know that faith in God will get you votes and usually a lack of faith will cost you votes.

The cover of this month’s Christianity Today features author and speaker Donald Miller, whose most popular book is called “Blue Like Jazz”. Here is a rather disturbing quote from the article.

A 40-something woman approaches Miller with two plastic grocery bags filled with copies of his books. “I've already bought Blue Like Jazz 13 times," she gushes. "But I gotta have all these to give to people. I'm a Jesus girl, but I also like to go out and do tequila shots with my friends. This is a book I can give to those friends.”[1]

I don’t claim to know this woman’s heart, but her outward actions don’t seem to show that she knows that Jesus is light.

A review of this book from a trusted source sheds much light.

“As an evangelistic tract Blue Like Jazz is too narrow. Jesus is presented as a nice fellow who meets one at the campfire and swaps stories. He’s a listener, a friend, accepting, warm, kind, and gentle. And Jesus is all these things. But the meta-narrative of the Bible, also reminds us that Jesus is terrible. He is the judge, the king, the warrior, the avenger (Rev. 19:2). The good news is not merely that Jesus wants to listen to your story, but rather that he wants to save you from his just wrath.”[2]

As this reviewer stated, these people who claim to be in koinonia with the Lord yet continually walk in darkness do not understand what Paul said in Romans chapter one: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” If a person is walking in darkness, it means that the wrath of God is about to be poured out upon them. We cannot and must not ever downplay the eternal seriousness of this matter. John said such a person is lying. Then, if you follow the progression in

the next few verses, such a denial of sin begins to deceive a person. In other words, if you deny your sin for long enough you being to believe your own lie. The final point in this downward spiral is to call God a liar. Can you see why it can be so difficult for the average person to be converted? They deny their own sin to the point of calling God a liar, yet they claim to have a relationship with God, but meanwhile, the wrath of God is about to descend upon them! How do you ever reach such a person? I can tell you this: we cannot reach them by telling them that Jesus is cool and Christianity is blue, you know, blue like Jazz. We don’t have to get people to like Jesus because everyone already likes Jesus. They think he is wonderful. They think he is a great teacher. They think he is a great example of following the golden rule. Instead, we must proclaim the truth to them and then ask the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sin. What power could ever break through their hard-heartedness and self-deception? Only a miraculous work of God can do this. What such a person needs is a miraculous work of conversion.

This is precisely what John describes in 2:2 when he said that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. How many have the word “propitiation” in verse two? The NIV translates one word as “sacrifice of atonement” when most other bibles use the word propitiation. Let’s talk about this word for a moment. As Paul said, “the wrath of God is being revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” but propitiation is both a covering and payment for this sin and a turning away of God’s wrath. To “propitiate” someone is to satisfy them with something. The wrath of God needed to be satisfied in some way. God does not just turn off his wrath like a faucet but his wrath was absorbed and satisfied through the death of his Son. But God is not only justice and wrath, he is love and grace. The love of the Father sent the Son. The love of the Son willingly came to die in our place. Therefore, the same God who justly pours out wrath upon sin is the same God who justifies us freely by his grace. Jesus is our propitiation. Jesus is our wrath-bearer.

This brings us back to the question of why we love the darkness, that is, why do we continue to struggle with sin. If I am to be faithful to Scripture, one of my jobs as a pastor and preacher is to warn against sin, to uncover sinful habits and attitudes, to shine the light of Scripture into the hidden shadows of sin and exhort us to flee from it. I am compelled by Scripture to give these clear warnings against sin, but I have to tell you this: constantly warning against sin is not my favorite part of the job. It just isn’t. But I love the first two verses of chapter two, because the way John describes his heart is the way I feel as well. After contrasting light and darkness, good and evil, john says to his readers, My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. John’s heart is my heart. I would paraphrase John like this: I preach to you so that you will not sin. I realize that sin will always be a struggle this side of Heaven. Despite what some churches and denominations teach, we will never arrive at a sinless life. But until that day, I preach to you so that you will no sin—and you should know that I preach to myself so that I will not sin.

And now, here comes the good part. I told you that warning against sin is not my favorite part, but this next phrase is my favorite part—But if anybody does sin,[and we will] we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. John didn’t want his readers to sin, or we could say that he wanted them to sin less and less, but when they did sin, John wanted them to know that they had a way out of their sin. Every time we confess our sin, the righteous one, Jesus Christ, goes to work on our behalf as our advocate. He speaks to the Father in our defense much like a defense attorney speaks to the judge on our behalf. Picture the scene this way. God is light and because his very essence is goodness and justice, in order to be consistent with his character, he must punish sin in us. If he doesn’t punish sin they he isn’t good at all. But each time we sin, Jesus is present with the Father working as an advocate on our behalf, interceding for us, helping us.

Now we should not push this analogy too far, otherwise every time we committed a sin, we would get a picture of the Father standing by his throne with his outstretched arm just waiting and longing to destroy us with his wrath, but the Son jumps in front of him and says, “No Father, don’t do it. They didn’t really mean it.” That would be pushing the analogy way too far. However, Jesus is still our advocate speaking to the Father on our behalf. And how can Jesus advocate for us? Because he is our atoning sacrifice—he is our propitiation. Each time you confess your sin, Jesus has already paid for that sin and born the wrath of his Father for that sin. Now here is the really awesome thing. Everything else I have said about this passage has all led up to this one point. Because Jesus serves as our advocate in this way, it means that when we mess up, we have a safe place to go. Isn’t that the cry of your heart? When I mess up, I don’t want to run away and hide my head in shame. When I mess up I don’t want to feel rejected by the world and discarded by men. When I mess up, what I really need is a safe place to run to. Every child with loving parents knows this. When they mess up, sometimes they try to hide their sin, but in the end, they know that the safest place to go is to run in confession to their mom and dad. Even if they have a moment of sorrow, once they fall into the arms of their mom or dad, they feel safe once again. They know they are loved. What this child experiences is just a small taste of what it means to run to the arms of Christ. Even when we mess up, it is the safest place to go. I should say, especially when we mess up, it is the safest place to go.

Isn’t that the cry of our heart? There is no sin too big that God cannot forgive. There is no way you can mess up and be turned away by God. If you confess, he will forgive. If you run to him he will embrace you with open, loving arms. And do you see what this means for our struggle with sin? I think one of the reasons we struggle so with sin is because we are afraid to repent. We don’t see Jesus as our advocate. We are afraid that God will discover our sin and turn his back on us. But when we know that we can trust God with our sin and that we have a safe place to run, it makes confession and repentance that much easier. I’ve seen so many people get right up to the edge of repentance and turn away. Perhaps they love their sin too much to leave it, but for many, I think they get so close to repentance and turn away because they are afraid to move forward. But the way forward is safe, and once we are certain of this fact, we will have all the more confidence to confess our sin. And here’s the best part, once this happens, you start to sin less. You don’t sin more so that you will get more grace, but you start to sin less because repentance becomes a way of life for you.

Rich Maurer

June 10, 2007