Sundays with Sammy 11 05 2014

11th May 2014To walk in the light – 1 John 1:5-7

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 and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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. 1 John 1:5-7

 

We continue our look at St John’s letters to the churches that he started in order to eradicate the false teachings that had begun in his absence.

 

Last time we heard that:

• John wrote this letter about Jesus, who is the Word of life
• Jesus came from God to show us real life
• When we believe God’s message, we join God’s family

 

The command to walk in the light seems on the surface more an act of sensibility than anything theological or biblical. Why would anyone WANT to walk around in darkness? Anywhere? Inside you are very likely to end up with bruised shins, and outside (especially here where there are no streetlamps – as we have no pavements/sidewalks) well, there are ditches, trees and huge cows to walk into, and trust me, they don’t move when a daft human stumbles into them!

 

I finished the last session saying, ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.’ This is one of my favourite dismissals from the liturgy, and we hear it often, but firstly do we actually hear the words…by then most of us on a Sunday morning are already into ‘what shall I cook for lunch’ or ‘did I wash and dry the kids’ games kit or was that last week?’ mode. But even if we do manage to hang on to those last precious, uncomplicated moments in church before the chaos resumes, what do those words actually mean?? This time, John wants to explain that the light he talks of isn’t necessarily a physical light – although that is a characteristic of God – but the light that drives away fear; light that reveals truth, light that show us where to walk. Next time we will cover sin, but for now let us go back to John’s first letter.  He writes, ‘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 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.’

 

1 John 1:5 - God is perfect and people who know God must not do evil deeds.

John did not invent the message. Remember that he says ‘we have seen’ more than once in his writings so what John writes, we can pretty much assume is as a witness and says that he received it from the Lord Jesus. Jesus, we know, taught those who were with him and He showed them how to know God. He then sent them to teach this to other people which is how the apostolic church was started, and in this way, everyone may know God as well. This is the message that John heard from the Lord and that God is light.

 

God is light by nature, as we learn from the creation story in Genesis.  God said ‘let there be light, and there was light, and God saw that the light was good and God divided the light from darkness’. As light shines, so God shows himself. All light comes from God as God created it. John uses the word light to mean all that is good, holy and right. This message shows something about God’s character. God is good. He is always right, and holy. God, who is light, sees all things. We can hide nothing from him. John uses the word darkness to mean evil acts, sin and error. There can be nothing bad in God. He is perfect and he can do nothing wrong.  The only Old Testament occurrence of this precise phrase is in Isaiah 2:5, ‘O house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of the Lord.’ The Psalms contain similar phrases (56:13; 89:15), as does Isaiah (9:2; 50:10-11; 59:9).

 

Some people may turn from the light. They love darkness more than the light. This is because their actions are evil (this refers to the gospel of John 3:19-21). There can be no darkness in God. Those people who do evil acts cannot share life with God. Those who believe God must live in the light.

1 John 1:6 - People who do evil things do not share God’s life

John now shows how this message should affect our lives. In the next five verses, there are three false things that some people say (verses 6, 8 and 10). After each of these false things, John shows us what the truth is (1:7, 9; 2:1). The effect of what they say is that sin does not affect them. So, it does not matter what we do. They say that they are united with God. But they continue to sin. The Lord Jesus gives a new life to those who believe. This life is from God and only God, through a living relationship with Jesus. This life is unity with God. But there can be no unity between light and darkness.

A person may say that they live with God. But if that person does evil acts, then their words are lies. Their actions are not right. Those actions are darkness not light. That person is like someone who walks in darkness. Darkness and light cannot be in unity. They do not share the life from God. The false teachers said that they walked in the light, but, what they did were works of darkness. They did not do what was right. They did not obey the truth. John believes that the test of truth is not just belief. Truth is not only in what we say. Our belief will affect what we do. We show our belief in God by good and right acts.

 

Verse 7: God has provided a remedy for our sins

There is a contrast here. The person who does the wrong thing lives in darkness, likewise the person who does the right things lives in light. This is how God wants us to live. He wants us to believe the gospel. And we should live to please him. God is holy. He always does what is right. God is in the light because he created the light and is the light. To live in the light is to be true to God. This is to live in the same manner as God lives.

 

Real Christians live in the light. They believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They all share the same life. This unity among Christians shows that they belong to God, united with each other, brothers and sisters adopted by and united with God to be His children and live together. John desires that the readers will come into that same unity.

 

The word ‘blood’ here is referring to the death of Jesus. The Old Testament says that the life is in the blood. Jesus gave his life for us and by his death, Jesus has taken away our sins. He removes all sin from us. But we must believe in him. Remember that nobody can be perfect while here on earth, but we must all try and do what God asks us to do, and when we do stray or make mistakes, God forgives those who believe, and with Jesus we can get back on the right path. Through the forgiveness that we ask for, Jesus makes sinners clean again. Whenever we say the Lord’s Prayer we are asking for forgiveness for the things we have done wrong. Jesus forgives us NOT so we can go and do the same thing again, but to show us how we can move on without guilt and become closer to God.

 

God has made the remedy for our sin. By this, he can make us clean from all sins. So, we can keep our unity with him. This remedy is the blood of his Son Jesus Christ.

 

Some people taught that the human Jesus was not the Son of God. They taught that the human Jesus died. However, they said that God the Son did not die. John makes it plain that Jesus as God the Son did die for our sins.

 

To ‘walk’ is, in short, to live one’s life. One’s lifestyle or way of life can be considered a ‘walk.’ The word also indicates progress. Walking is related to growth; it is taking steps toward maturity. ‘Light’ in the Bible can be a metaphor for life, happiness, righteousness, or understanding. The Bible is clear that light comes from the Lord God, the ‘Father of the heavenly lights’ (James’ letter in 1:17 tells us this also). God is the opposite of evil. The darkness is the Devil, snuffing out your light and happiness and love – do not let him in…call upon God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to fill you with light, whenever you feel the darkness creeping in.

 

So, putting it all together, ‘walking in the light’ means ‘growing in holiness and maturing in the faith as we follow Jesus.’ I leave you this week with my version of a hymn written first in 1558, which is also a wonderful prayer to start the day, or a journey, or even a task with.

God be in this day and in its responsibilities;

God be in my head, and in my understanding;

God be in my eyes, and in my looking;

God be in my ears, and in my listening;

God be in my mouth, and in my speaking;

God be in my heart, and in my loving;

God be in my mind, and in my thinking;

God be in my hands, and in my doing;

God be at mine end, and at my departing. Amen

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