This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. As we turn back to 1 John 1, we will commence our reading where we began in the last session. Since this is a separate message, I want to put everything in context. So we'll begin with verse five and again make our way to verse three of chapter two. If you are there, I commence reading 1 John chapter one with verse five. This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while 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, his son, cleanses us from all sin. If we say 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 our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his truth is not in us. My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, And not for us only, but also for the sins of the whole world. The passage that we have just read begins with that statement, God is light. And we spent our time in the last session seeking to appreciate what John would have had in mind in using that picture language to describe the indescribable God. Elsewhere, later on in the book, he's described as love, God is love. But here he's described as light, and we saw something of truth, something of goodness, and something of righteousness. coming through that phrase. And we notice the implications that it invariably brings upon us as we're now asking ourselves the question, how do I find myself in heaven? And we saw that clearly we must begin there. And that's really what Jesus Christ sought to bring to his disciples and consequently what his disciples continued sharing in the first century. We saw there were at least seven if phrases that grow out of that, implications of this God is light. And what we did in the last session was to deal with the first two implications. The first one is a life that is ultimately being lived in hypocrisy, being lived in sin, being lived in self-centeredness that results in gloom being passed on to the people around you. And we saw that that life clearly shows that God is not in you. The opposite is where we ended. And that is a life that is lived the way God himself is, showing that it is his spirit who is working in and through us. And we began to see the proof of that. And it was this enriched fellowship that we have with one another. And that's what makes church life so different from any other communities out there. Church ain't a club. It's a family. It's a very real family. It's a spiritual family. And it's because of the life of God flowing through his people that we share that. When the apostle John ended on a note of the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin, he touched a raw nerve. Sin. It's the worst thing that can happen to any true child of God. We sin against the Lord, we sin against Him daily, and often our consciences smite us. From one extreme, which godliness often prevents us going, to the opposite extreme, where even sanctification is still continuing to deal with on a daily basis. From sins that are overt, external, major scandals, all the way to sins that are in the mind, in the heart, greed, and lust, and so on. For a true child of God, it's painful. Hence that phrase that heads this sermon. If anyone does sin, it's painful. It's the last thing that a pastor wants to hear. Someone to come into the office looking as if the world has come to an end. and saying, pastor, this is what I've done. But any pastor will tell you that that's not something that last happened 10 years ago. It's part of the reason why a church needs an eldership. Because God's people often sin against God. Even when the Lord Jesus Christ was teaching us to pray, remember how much time he spends in that prayer, dealing with this same subject of sin. Soon after saying, give us dearly bread, it is forgive us for our trespasses. And it's not something you prayed a few weeks after your conversion. It's something that you continue to pray even today. Lord, forgive me. And if you're a true Christian, you will know that if there was a way in which you could put the last nail in the coffin of sin, and henceforth have absolutely nothing to do with it, you would gladly do that yesterday. But you also know that almost every night before you go to sleep and you're praying, you are saying, Lord, forgive me. For that unkind word, forgive me. For that wrong attitude, forgive me. for those lustful thoughts, forgive me for this, that, and the other. And it's painful, it's painful. So John is a real physician of souls. When the moment he mentions sin, he knows that I have touched something here, I just can't stop at this point. And so from that point at the end of verse seven, all the way up to verse two of chapter two, you have the word sin appearing so many times it must be obvious that's what John is dealing with. Sin upon sin upon sin. If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us. Our sins. He's just to forgive our sins. Cleans us from all unrighteousness. If we say we've not sinned, we make him a liar. I'm writing to you so that you do not sin. If anyone does sin, Jesus is a propitiation for our sins. And not only for ours, but the sins of the whole world. He's put his hands into this subject. He's folded his sleeves and said, let's get to work on this issue. Because it's a very real issue with respect to the people of God. And it's all because God is light. And the closer you draw to him, the more you see how dirty you are. So clearly, we need to talk about it. Otherwise, we will not be scratching where it's itching with the people of God. So let's put it there, if anyone sins. What's the implication of this? Especially in the light of God is light. We'll make our way now through these if clauses. The first reaction. which is often the reaction of individuals who know nothing of God's saving grace, is that of denial. It's a self-deceiving attitude. Verse eight, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. And that's the attitude of the Pharisee. Lord, I thank you that I'm not like other men. Terrible sinners in every sense. But look at me, Lord. Fast twice a week, give a tenth of all my income, et cetera, et cetera. I'm a good boy, Lord. That's clearly an individual who is not walking in the light. Who's thinking I'm clean when God is seeing the mess that is on his garments. And often we do that when we do not appreciate how sinful sin is. You see, God is absolutely holy. And when seen from that perspective, a wrong thought is disgusting to him. Sin is not just physical, sexual immorality or putting an actual spear or being here a knife through somebody's ribs. No, Jesus says hatred is murder in the heart. As far as God is concerned, it's serious. And when we begin to think that just because I haven't done something overtly that other people can see, therefore all must be well, we are saying we have not sinned. But sometimes it is by bribing our consciences. Especially through religious activities. The fact that you've gone to church or you've put money in the offering box. That sort of acts as a statement to your own conscience, you can't be that bad. because bad people don't do this. Or another way in which we do it, which is even a lot more common, is that of passing the blame onto other people. The reason why I'm producing these terrible words from my mouth, words of anger, damaging other people, is because these people drive me nuts. So if only I had good people around me, Lord, you know I wouldn't be like this. And all those efforts at self-deception. Because God knows that our hearts are sin factories. That's what they are. And all we need to do is to go to him for cleansing. If we were to be really, really honest with ourselves. So it's important for us to be in the light, to be in truth, to recognize that the issue of sin is an issue within each one of us. It's not about those people out there. It's about me in here. It's about my heart. And that's something we will do because we are conscious of who God is. Which quickly drives me to the second if. And this time it is a soul saving answer. It is one that is inevitable when a person finally comes into the light of God. And he puts it this way. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In other words, because God is light, the moment we begin having any serious dealings with him, that same moment we begin to realize that I am unrighteous. And that's the beginning of hope. The Lord Jesus Christ, at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, gave the Beatitudes, and the very first Beatitude was related to this spiritual bankruptcy. It's a person realizing that he has nothing to give to God. Blessed are the poor, and there is to do with poor in spirit. But notice the second beatitude, blessed are those who mourn. In other words, the moment I come face to face with the reality of who God is, I not only realize that I'm a sinner, but I'm affected by that reality. It so bothers me that I want to do something about it. Again, comparing two individuals, the Lord Jesus Christ gave a parable of the Pharisee who I already quoted earlier on. You remember the way he was praying, I'm not like other men. But remember the publican, the tax collector, who came face to face with God. And the religious Christ says that as he came in, he could not even look up. He fell down and he bit his breast. And his only cry was, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. And Jesus' commentary was that this is the man who went home justified. The reason is because he's the one who was dealing with God as God really is. He is light. In him there is no darkness. I'm a sinner, born a sinner. grown up a sinner, continuing to sin against God. And consequently, I can only go to Him and say, have mercy on me. Have mercy on me. And I already used the illustration of going from a dark room into a room that's full of light. And then you look at yourself. Look at me. That's what you invariably do. Isaiah cries, woe is me, for I am unclean, a man done, I'm a man of unclean lips, among a people of unclean lips. That's the way we all are, full of sin, and therefore coming before God who touches his lips with a burning coal. Friends, That's true Christianity. True Christianity does not produce self-righteous Pharisees. It produces individuals who recognize that I'm a sinner, I deserve to go to hell. Then it also recognizes a God of goodness, a God of justice who has combined that goodness with that justice on the cross in making his own son to pay the full penalty for our sins. And that's the reason why this statement is quickly added. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The background is something we'll come and see a little later in chapter two. But the point that is being made there is that this same God who is light is a God who forgives sin. He is a God who cleanses sin in the lives of those who own up. who acknowledge, Lord, I am dirty, I am filthy. So let me ask, what's your response to this question? And the question being the question of sin. What's your response? Is it of belittling sin in your life? blowing it up in the lives of others? Or is it one that drives you to your knees before the Lord, saying, Lord, have mercy. Lord, forgive me. In a sense, John repeats himself, but opens it up further with these further ifs. The next one is in verse 10, and John shows the self-damning nature of an individual who tries to justify himself that he hasn't sinned. It's digging your own grave. He puts it this way, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Now that's terrible. That's being in a courtroom, and when the judge says you are guilty, you immediately say to him, judge, you are a liar. All of you here are liars. Or just know that when he now comes to pronounce the sentence, yeah, you will pay for the sins outside court and the sins within the court. That's basically what you do. When men and women in an effort to justify themselves, make God the sinner, nothing can be worse than that. Nothing can be worse than that. How do we do it? Well clearly, when you are passing the blame onto other people, God is saying, you've sinned. And you're saying, no. It's my bad upbringing. It's my bad parents. It's my bad spouse. It's my bad children. That's the reason why. Otherwise, I'm good. But you know what you're really saying? It's because of you, it's you who's brought these people into my life. So the real sinner is you rather than me. That's self-damning. Do you remember that that's exactly Adam's response when God came to him? in Genesis 3 and said, Adam, where are you? As though to say, Adam, what have you done? Adam, what have you done? And Adam's immediate response is, it's this woman that you put here with me. To modernize it a little bit, it's this woman you dumped here with me. She's the cause of all my problems, all my problem. It's because of her. In other words, if you hadn't done what you did in bringing her in my life, I would be like Angel Gabriel. So it's not really that I have sinned, it's that somebody has made me sin. And that somebody is someone you planted here with me. You are now saying God is a liar when he's saying you've sinned. You're saying God is the sinner and you are the righteous one. Can you imagine saying that about God and still expect that you will have fellowship with Him when you are charging the God of all the earth with failure and with sin? May God help us if that's the way we take it. If there's anything that shows that you are walking in darkness, it's precisely that, precisely that. And as God came and dealt in punishment with Adam, so also will he do with you. No friends, that's not the way to God. John continues, and I love the way in which he proceeds. You can sense the affections of a father, a godly patriarch coming through as he goes and says, my little children, my dear ones, It's an appeal that he's about to make as he continues dealing with the subject of sin in the light of God is light. And what is he really saying? Three quick things. Number one, it is that God is opposed to sin. He's opposed to sin. He is light. This is the way he puts it at the beginning of chapter two and verse one. My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. So although he's talking about God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, he's not now giving us a pass for us to go and enjoy our sin and then quickly come back and go through a kind of quick prayer before we jump into bed. No. God is light. And part of that light is ethical purity. He is holy. He hates sin. And consequently, if we are recipients of his grace, that should be true of us. We too should hate sin and seek to have nothing to do with it. Now I need to emphasize this because it's a sensitive balance which true Christianity clearly upholds. On one hand, there is freeness of grace. The greater the sinner, the greater God's grace to you. We can never out-sin as it were the love of God. But equally true, God hates sin. God must punish sin. And God being light wants his children to walk in holiness. Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. And therefore, if the Lord has truly saved you, one of the ways in which you will know it is that his own love for righteousness will be poured out in your own heart and life. So let me quickly offer a warning before we proceed, and it is this. Anybody who teaches you a Christianity that suggests that you can wallow in sin like a pig in mud and still find a God who is saying, come in, come in, come in to heaven, come in. That person is not your friend. That person is your enemy. Never go that road. As John goes on to speak, and we'll deal with it tomorrow, as it goes into chapter three, the Son of God came to destroy sin. That's what he came to do. If somebody gives you the impression that you can continue in sinful ways, as long as you're putting money in the offering bag and coming through church, everything's going to be okay with you, that person is a servant of the evil one in your life. And the sooner you discard the person from you, the safer you will be. Christianity is opposed to sin. But the second statement that John is clearly making here is that Christianity recognizes the reality of sin nonetheless. Look at that verse again. My little children, I'm writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Listen to this. But if anyone does sin, Now that's Christianity. On the one hand recognizes that God is light and God has come down in the person of his son to do away with sin and God by his Holy Spirit genuinely saves us from sin. And yet at the same time recognizing that we are not yet glorified. We are still being sanctified. And every so often, we will beat our breasts and say, God, have mercy on me. Christianity doesn't play hide and seek, it's real. It's clothing that is made for us. It fits us. I don't need to be a hypocrite. I can be myself in God's presence. One of the most painful passages in the Bible and it's caused a lot of people to to have difficulties interpreting it is Romans 7. Because of the extent to which the Apostle Paul beats his breast there. When he speaks in terms of, I sin yet not I, but it is sin living in me. He says, I want to do good. but sin is right there with me. He opens himself up and says, look, to open me up like an onion and keep peeling me and finally find the me that makes me me, you will find a person who delights in the law of God. That's what you'll find there. But, What a horrible bat. But the bat is there. I find another law at work in the members of my body, waging a relentless war against the law of my body. Consequently making me to do the very things I hate doing. But if anyone does sin, anybody here whose soul goes, that's me, that's me. I wake up in the morning, I have a powerful quiet time. I want to take on the whole world for Jesus. School and work and the family, wherever I am. And by the end of the day, I fall on my knees by my bedside and I'm saying, God, forgive me, forgive me. You see, Christianity recognizes this. And we don't need to be hypocrites with God. We walk in the light. We come before him as we are. And say to him, just as I am without one plea, but that your blood was shed for me. And that you yourself continue to bid me to come to you. O Lamb of God, I come. I come. And that's the reason why Christianity is so glorious. That it can hold these two together. And the reason why it can hold these two together is because of what John ends by talking about in verse two. He begins there in verse one by saying, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Friends, that's glorious. This is the good news that we give to the whole world. It is the fact that God has tailor made a way of salvation that fits us as sinners like hand in glove. And I can go to any person. It doesn't matter their past. Their friends may have given up on them, their relatives may have given up on them, they may have given up on themselves. And I can say to them, your creator, the one who knows you perfectly, has come up with a way of salvation that saves a sinner like you, precisely like you. and then point to Calvary and say, you know what was happening there? The son of God took upon himself your liability, all your sins, past, present, future, all of them, took them upon himself. Having set aside his own righteousness and God takes that wrath that was meant to sink you deeper than the grave into the flames of hell and pours it upon his own son to its very dregs, empties it upon his son. You, your sins are punished in another. in the person of Jesus Christ. And that same Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. Therefore, conscious of your own weakness and your own sin. You don't run in the opposite direction to go and hide from the light, no. You walk right into that light. With your conscience screaming at you, you walk into that light. And you say to the one who dwells in this uncreated being, I deserve to be punished for my sin. But I thank you that you will not punish two people for the same sin. You are a just You punished my Savior for these same atrocities. Lord, I ask not only that you forgive me, but that by your Spirit's power, you help me not to go that way again. Not to go that way again. That's Christianity. Hence, you. Yes, you. Yes, you can walk in the light. You can have dealings with the real God of heaven. You don't need to be a hypocrite. You can take yourself as you are. and he delights in showing grace to those who come to him this way. So let me wind up asking again, the subject of sin, how do you handle it? How do you process it? Because that's what shows the difference between a true believer and one who is a self-condemning hypocrite. Answer that question. How do you handle this reality? Oh may God save each one of us from a life in darkness. A life in hypocrisy. Oh, that each one of us may recognize that seated on the throne of the universe is a God of grace who's given his own son and who invites us to walk in the light. To come out of the darkness. to experience his ongoing cleansing, the cleansing blood of Christ. Let's go to him in prayer. Eternal and gracious God, we are sinners. We know that full well. And we remember the days of our being blinded with respect to your grace when the thought of God made us run away from you in rebellion or in outright hypocrisy. We thank you, Lord, that you've opened our eyes That you're not only a God of grace, God of mercy. That you've given your son, Jesus Christ, appreciation for our sin. To be our advocate at your right hand. That his blood might cleanse those of us who come to you in genuine repentance and faith. Lord, help each one of us in this place to walk in that light, the light of your word, the light of your countenance, the light of your grace. For Jesus' sake, amen. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.