Before I go to the text, actually, let me share with you something personally. When I was in grade school, my dad bought my brother and I our first motorcycle. You can imagine two boys getting a motorcycle. That was probably the high point of our life at that point. It was a small Yamaha 65, which was essentially a miniature motorcycle. I remember my dad sitting us down and giving us our first lecture on what a motorcycle is, how to ride it, how to take care of it, and how to make sure that safety always came first. Two things about that experience that will never leave me. First, I remember how excited I was to ride it for the first time. And then second, I will never forget this, was my dad jumping out in front of me and telling me to stop. I nearly ran him over the first time. As I think back on it now, that was probably the most impressionable lesson that I had ever learned. Obviously, the reason why he did that was to teach us how to stop the bike on a moment's notice. The first time, again, when he did it, I had absolutely no idea what to do. The second time I did it, I remember killing the engine by slamming on the brake without pulling the clutch. And then after several more times of doing that, I finally learned how to stop the bike without any problems. And in fact, I remember being so proud of myself that I did it several more times when nobody was looking. It was great. It was a lesson to be learned. And what I learned on that day was to pull what essentially was an emergency stop. It was a test to determine how well I could handle myself in an emergency situation. This morning, John is going to pull an emergency stop on all of us today. He's doing this to get our attention concerning a spiritual truth, which is absolutely critical for our Christian faith. So having laid the foundation for the gospel in verses 1 through 4, John is now going to give us the first of several tests concerning authentic Christian living. He's going to teach us the meaning of true saving faith through two very significant contrasts. Those contrasts are the differences between light and darkness, and saying and doing. And this begins, then, the first test of how to know that you are truly a child of God. Well, beginning in chapter 1, verse 5, through chapter 2, verse 27, John gives us the test of what it means to walk in the light. It's here in verses 5 through 10, though, that he presents the foundation, the basis, and of what it means to have genuine faith in Jesus Christ. Beginning here and going all the way through to chapter two verse two, six clauses in this unit are going to weave together this section into one basic unit. The three if we say statements that you see there in your text are going to be the most prominent of them all. Today, I want us to learn what it means to practice our Christian faith. to practice our Christian faith. In other words, how should we live in order to validate our profession of faith? What does the Christian life look like, and especially in regards to the truth about Christ and the truth about our sin? Well, today we want to focus in on the practice of our profession of faith. And next time that we come together, we'll look at the provision for our Christian faith. Well, again, as we begin to look at verses 5 through 10, there are really only two main principles that should be embedded in our walk with Christ. The first is that in order to be saved or in order for our faith to be real, the truth must be declared. The truth must be declared. The second is that sin must be confessed. The truth about God must be declared, verses five through seven, and the sin that is present within us must be confessed. And that's verses eight through 10. So if there are two words that I would want to have cemented in your mind concerning your own profession of faith, it would be these two words, and this is basically my outline this morning. Declaration and confession. Two simple words that have profound significance on the reality of our saving faith. Declaring the truth, confessing sin. And in fact, think about these two words in terms of John jumping out in front of you and pulling an emergency stop on your faith. Stop. Think seriously about whether your practice of faith matches up with your profession of faith. Because this is what it means to live the Christian life. John says, given how easy it is to be deceived by false teachers and their false teachings, this is one of those emergency situations. And so we must think seriously, soberly, about what it means to practice our profession of faith. And the practice begins right here in verses 5 through 10. Well, again, with your Bibles open, let me read this section for you. And just for clarity's sake, the text that I'll be reading from is the new legacy standard version of the Bible. John writes this. And this is the message we have heard from him declare to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not do the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he himself 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 that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. These are profound words. And as I said before, clearly John is concerned here, concerned about the practical aspects of our Christian faith. Here he draws this distinct contrast between those who walk in the light, verse five, and those who walk in darkness, verse six. And then he describes for us with apostolic clarity, the light, the lies, and the lifestyle that are essential for living out the Christian faith. So much so that when we get to verses 8 through 10, then he's going to focus in on the self-deceiving contradiction of those who claim to be a Christian, but who are in reality not. And the reason is, is because they deny the very reality of sin itself. He brings us to a point of realizing the necessity of confessing sin. and what it means to be cleansed from sin on a daily basis. Now, again, the reason why this is so critical is because there are those who profess faith in Christ, but they do not possess it as a child of God. For those who are true believers, they are those who declare the truth of God. They confess the reality of sin in their own lives. And we want to look at both of those principles this morning. Let's begin first by looking at the Declaration. And here we're going to focus in on verses 5, 6, and 7. Again, in order for saving faith to be real, we must declare the truth about God within our lives. And this is where we begin in verses 5 through 7. Now, I want you to notice that John begins his letter by reminding us of the message that was introduced in verses one through four. This gospel message, John says, is what we heard from him and what we now declare to you. It's a message that concerns the eternal life. And that eternal life, John says, is that which was with the Father and was manifested to us. He argues that true fellowship with God is really a personal response to the message concerning the person in the work of Jesus Christ himself. And right here in verses five through seven, he reminds us that it is a message that results in a change of character as well as a change in conduct. It is a transformation. And it is a transformation that is so significant that its change is as unmistakable as light is to darkness itself. Notice in verse five how John begins his argument with the very nature of God. This message which we have heard from him and declare to you is simply this. God is light. He is light. What do you mean, John? What do you mean, really, that God is light? One suggestion is that God is morally good. So as the gospel implies, if a person responds rightly to it, then it's going to affect them morally. Their conduct outside will be to conform differently to the unbelieving world that is around us. And though we can, again, agree that this is true, the context here, though, implies that the person who is truly born again will have something deeper happen to them. It will be a spiritual transformation, not just an outward morality check. Not only will the truth affect their conduct, but it will begin to conform their character to the very image of Christ himself. In other words, the fact that God is light implies that there is something about God's nature that is going to radically change us as well. Well, let me dig a little bit deeper into this if I may. The term light here is a common term that is used by most of the New Testament writers. In fact, the word itself is used 72 times in the New Testament. 33 of those times are used by John the Apostle alone. The word can and does refer to that which is morally good, but it's also used to tell us something true about the nature of saving faith. For example, in Ephesians chapter 5, verses 8 through 13, Paul uses it this way, For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of that light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. In other words, believe the gospel and it will transform your life. You will become a reflection of God's light to the world. And that's what I believe John is talking about here in verses 5 through 7. Like Paul, John isn't just talking about our moral behavior as Christians. that our righteous deeds are something that oppose, are opposed to our sinful behavior. He goes on beyond that to say that our very nature is changed from within. And now all that we do expresses and exposes the unfruitful works of darkness. Well, how are those unfruitful works exposed? They're exposed by way of God applying his divine truth to our lives. Light is that which refers to what is true about the nature of God himself. And that light then gives us spiritual insight and understanding into the person and work of God. That change begins to happen radically when a person is born from above, when a person engages in faithful belief in Jesus Christ. We not only believe differently, we begin to behave differently. And we now begin to understand God more clearly because of the spiritual illumination that comes from knowing Christ in a saving way. This is what is revealed to us in scripture. This is what light is all about. Psalm 36 verse nine says, for with you is the fountain of life, and in your light, we see light. Psalm 119, 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. How are we to understand how that can be, that that lamp and that light, that light can give us illumination to the way that we're living and the direction that we're going? Proverbs 6.23 tells us, for the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs for discipline are the way of light. You wanna know how it is that you have light to your path? You do it by engaging in the word of God. And again, Psalm 119, 103 says, the unfolding of your words give light. It gives understanding to the simple. So as God begins to work the power of His light in us through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, we then begin to understand divine truth as God understands it and as He has revealed it. This is the application of the gospel, John says. And let me tell you, Satan would stop at nothing to prevent you from experiencing that light, from experiencing God's light. How do we know this? We know this because 2 Corinthians 4, verses four through six tells us that in whose case the God of this age who has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Christ Jesus. For God who said light shall shine out of darkness is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. When we are evangelizing, we need to pray that that light shines brightly in the heart of a darkened, depraved sinner who we once were. And again, this is precisely what the gospel does for sinners who are saved by God. God's light enlightens our mind, it penetrates our hardened heart, it gives us understanding that applies the truth of Christ to our life. But just as that same light has the ability to expose moral evil, it also provides for divine understanding. It illumines, it enlightens, it informs, it clarifies, it explains the truth about God. And supernaturally, it transforms our understanding, our comprehension, and our recognition regarding the truth concerning Christ. One author put it this way, light is knowledge of the truth, darkness is therefore ignorance, falsehood, and error. So essentially, when we say that God is light, we're talking about knowing God personally in a sphere in which God exists and God dwells, and only God can be approached. Because not only does God live in unapproachable light, he also is the source of light, which is the truth and the holiness in his essential being. And that's why when we come to Christ, we come to the true light. Jesus said in John 8, verse 12, that I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. God is absolute light. His light is divine truth. And God is comprehensively righteous in all that he does and all that he is. All that is morally good originates from God. And he is the supreme expression of divine truth. And so, in a sense, John says, he is light because he is without any imperfections whatsoever, and we need that light. In the words of the apostle John here in verse 5, and in him there is no darkness whatsoever. And that means that God is by nature totally without stain, without blemish, without blot, without any shade of gray or darkness. There is not one ounce of falsehood, deception, uncleanness, unholiness, or sin in him. He is completely pure, he is completely true, he is holy in all of his perfections, amen? And again, what John is saying here is that God is light without any imperfections whatsoever. So relating that to us, John says, this is the foundation of your Christian walk. This is the character of God. And every true Christian will manifest in some measure the character of his father. That means that God's nature as light has an inescapable bearing on the faith and the conduct of every believer. Because John says in verse six, simply to claim that one has fellowship with God does not prove the authenticity of your faith. And that's his point. Today there are so many people, so many people who make professions of faith, and yet they are walking in continual and habitual sin, a habit of their life of unrepentant sin. John says those who live that way need to examine the authenticity of their faith. Maybe better yet, they need to understand the character of God. And again, this is John's point of why he's declaring that God is light. Otherwise, they're deceiving themselves. When John uses the verb walk, he is using it as a present tense verb to describe one's daily conduct of life. And the implication is that that lifestyle involves both a knowledge of God and the behavior of Christ. John says you cannot claim to be a believer in Christ if you do not live in the same way that he lived. Over in chapter 2, verses 5 and 6, he's going to nail this point to the wall. By this we know that we are in him. How do we know that we are in him, John? The one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked. Whoa, that's heavy, that's huge, that's significant. If your conduct doesn't match your confession, then even your knowledge of God is askew. When he uses the word darkness as a descriptive characteristic, he's speaking about that which is the exact opposite of God's nature, which is described for us back in verse five, again, as light. Darkness is a word that involves error, deception, ignorance, impurity, and sin. It's essentially a word that is used to describe the person who is unregenerate, not born again. who is dead in their trespasses and sins, as Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter two, verse one. And sadly today, there are so many people who call themselves Christians, but have no idea what this means, who say they believe in God, but the truth about their profession is made plain by their character and their conduct. What is so critical for us to understand and to consider here is that the authenticity of our faith is revealed in our understanding about our own sin. And again, the Bible tells us that a genuine Christian is someone who understands the reality of sin, and they hate it just as much as God hates it. In John chapter three, verse 19, Jesus said, the light has come into the world and men love the darkness rather than the light. Why? For their deeds were evil. Well, in contrast to those who love the darkness, a true believer is one who will mourn over his or her sin. They'll recognize that sin is shameful, it's painful, They'll recognize their own guilt and their own shame. And what they'll do, John says, is they'll recognize their need for Christ. And in the words of the prophet Isaiah, they'll be broken and contrite in spirit of their own sin. In contrast to this, an unbeliever will be in denial of his sin, or worse, indifferent to his sin. They'll either deny it or they'll ignore it. They'll certainly make excuses for it. They will try to rationalize their own sinful behavior. And as a result, John says, they lie and do not do the truth. One commentator says this, when there is a clear conflict between an individual's talk and his walk, it is always his walk and not his talk that reveals what he really is. Again, authentic saving faith is a declaration of the truth, a declaration not by lip, but by life. And in verse 7, then, John gives us this striking contrast between those who profess faith in Christ and those who actually possess saving faith in Christ. Look at verse 7. He says, but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, does what? It cleanses us from all sin. John says if we really believe in Christ, then it's going to show up in how we live our lives. Because the reality of our faith will always be manifested in light of God's revealed word. Just as God himself is in the light, so also are we. Those who walk in darkness, John says, they don't even know the truth. But a true believer is someone who walks in the light, once again, as God himself is in the light. And the verb here, once again, to walk, is used to describe the present tense, ongoing, consistent, and habitual pattern of one's life before God. not just the individual acts of morality or moral goodness. We're talking about a lifestyle here that reflects the very nature of God. And just to be clear, I want to lay to rest this with all of you here this morning, the implication here is not perfection. It's not perfection. The implication here is a direction, a direction of ongoing change and transformation. In other words, what direction is your life headed? Where are you going? Where are you headed? Are you moving towards greater conformity to Christ? Or are you moving towards greater conformity to this world? Through God's divine plan and His purpose, you and I as believers in Christ have the joy of partaking of God's nature. He has given us everything that we need for life and godliness, has He not? And again, this happens by living out the Christian life as Jesus Christ lives His life through us. I have been crucified with Christ, Paul says. Nevertheless, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Again, in this, you and I have the joy of becoming more and more conformed to the very image of the one to whom he saved us, and we are his blood-bought people. The Bible describes this process, again, of conforming to the image of Christ as progressive sanctification. We are progressively being set apart to be like him in all that we say and do. And again, progressive sanctification is the process God uses to conform us more and more day by day, moment by moment into the very image of Christ himself. And as part of his, as his children, we are presently being set apart daily to live more like Christ. And as we fix our eyes on the author and the perfecter of our faith, we continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ as we apply his truth to our lives. And again, this cannot happen until a person becomes a new creature in Christ. The Bible tells us that when a person comes to saving faith in Christ, they become God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. Well, as a child of God, we have been transformed through faith. We have been freed from sin. We've been given the ability to walk in this newness of life. And so why would we not want to walk in the light and refuse to walk in the darkness? You and I now have the freedom of knowing that through Christ's death, we have been completely cleansed from all sin, past, present, and future, amen? I love that. How do we know this? How can we be sure that we are indeed a child of God? Jesus, John says, if you walk in the light as God himself is in the light, it will be made evident in your relationship with others and in your relationship to Christ himself. The expression, as he himself is in the light in verse seven, implies genuine spiritual Christian fellowship and the forgiveness of sin. And again, fellowship with one another is that beautiful word koinonia. It is being rightly related to God and others who are in Christ Jesus. And as I mentioned last Lord's Day, it is that sweet participation and partnership that we experience when we are spiritually reunited to Christ, to God, and then we are united to one another. It is also the freedom from shame and guilt when we confess our sins to God. Why? Because walking in the light is that continual habitual pattern that we all experience together when we are made to live in obedience to God's word. when we become partakers of the life of God himself, who is Jesus, and when the blood of Jesus himself, his son, is applied then to our account. When this happens, we are spiritually cleansed from every kind of sin that once condemned us to an eternal hell. As a believer, if we walk in the light, we demonstrate conclusively what it means to be a child of God and not a child of the devil. And this is the darkness of sin that no longer characterizes our life. And again, walking in the light exposes the sin that infiltrates every true Christian's life and Christ's blood then immediately purifies and cleanse us. Why? Because we are God's children. We are adopted into his family and we are made to live like him. Do we still struggle with sin? Absolutely. But our life is so radically different. Why? Because of the principle here in verse seven. It's that sin no longer has a dominating rule in our life. And this is John's argument. Sin no longer dominates the direction of our life. Christ does. The light does. And sin no longer characterizes what we do. It is not who we truly are. Because if anyone is in Christ, the Bible tells us he is what? A new creation. The old things have what? Passed away. Behold, new things have come. That is such a beautiful verse. It is such a beautiful text of scripture that ought to drive us to our knees to be thankful to God for what he has done for us in Christ Jesus. We are new creations in Christ because of what He has accomplished for us on the cross, not because of what we say. Again, do we still battle with sin? Absolutely. But sin no longer has that dominating rule in our hearts. And this is why verses eight through 10 are so important. Not only do we declare the truth about God with our lives, but we confess our sin. And this brings us to point number two. The saying is true. God's light exposes every imperfection in the lives of Christians. Well, as we come to verse eight, once again, John is figuratively slamming the brakes on sin by acknowledging our response to it. Like my dad jumping out in front of me and telling me to stop, John is jumping out in front of us and telling us to stop, pay attention, think seriously about what it means to be a Christian, and trying to convince us that sin is still an issue, even though we've come to saving faith in Christ. The truth is this, sin will always be a present reality so long as we live in our unglorified state. Even though sin no longer dominates us or controls how we think and live, we are still incarcerated in this unredeemed flesh. And I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get rid of this carcass. I can't wait for the day when we enter into God's glory to stand before Him perfectly clothed in the righteousness of Christ without any, not just the penalty of sin being dealt with, not just the power of sin being dealt with, but completely the presence of sin. Amen? I tell you, it's going to be a glorious day. But even though sin no longer dominates us again, it is there. We still live with the propensity to dishonor God. And those who deny such a thing do not know God. John says we must acknowledge the truth about our own sin. And the statement of verse eight is hypothetical. Someone may claim that they have no sin, but how foolish is that, John says. That's like saying sin has no relevance to my life whatsoever. Sin has been eradicated from my life. Again, really? Just look in the mirror and you see the fallenness and the results of sin. John says that is a direct contradiction to the reality of the Christian life. In fact, it's a direct attack on the Christian view of sin. The Bible says in Romans 3.23, for all have and fallen short of the glory of God. Hebrews 12.1 says that we need to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us. But right here in verse eight, John says, if we say that we have no sin, we're deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Again, the key to this statement here is the phrase, have no sin. That little phrase describes the internal sinful struggle as opposed to the act of sinning, which is actually John's final argument in verse 10. Again, we struggle with sin. Sin is a reality. And here in verse 8, we're not talking about, again, the act of sinning. John is describing those who deny that the very sin nature even exists. And the emphasis is on a willful self-deception. I refuse to believe that I have a sin nature. They refuse to acknowledge that they are really sinners at heart. They redefine what sin is in order to make themselves acceptable to God in their own minds, and as a result, they live a self-deceived life. John says if we believe that, then we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. The truth is the revealed truth of the gospel. And it's the only truth that can address man's unregenerate nature. This is not natural truth, human rationality, or logic, John says. This is God's truth. This is divine truth. This is special revelation. This is the truth that comes directly from God. And it's centered on the person and the work of Jesus Christ alone. John says if we claim to be without sin, we are demonstrating complete ignorance and self-deception regarding God's revealed word. However, by way of contrast, in verse nine, a true believer will confess his or her sin. Look at verse nine. I love this. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To confess here literally means to say the same thing that God says about our sin. It's admitting and acknowledging to God that I agree with you about the nature and the manifestation of my own sin. It's saying to God, you are exactly right. I am a sinner. And what I've done in your presence is an offense against all that is holy and righteous. Oh Lord, forgive me. Forgive me. Don't hold that against me." It is more than just acknowledging our sins privately. One commentator nails it here when he says, to confess is the willingness publicly to acknowledge and to admit our sins and to call them what God calls them. Such a confession is more than a general acknowledgement that we are all sinners by nature. Such confession costs little and does not meet the need. We must honestly confront and frankly confess the sins we are guilty without defending ourselves or excusing our sinful deeds. And the plural sins here demands that the specific sins be named and confessed. It is a humbling experience and guarantee of our sincerity. The present tense underlines that such a confession is to be our standing practice whenever sins do occur. Now, this means as best we can, we must confess our sins on a daily basis. Hopefully, you'll start out with a long list of sins and get to a littler list of sins. But again, not to put you on the spot, well, I guess I am putting you on the spot. When's the last time that you confessed your sins to God? David in his prayer in Psalm 51 is one of the most beautiful and glorious confessions of sin in all the Bible. In Psalm 51, the first part of it, David teaches us to take responsibility personally for our sin. He goes on to say that we do this by agreeing with God that He alone has the authority to condemn us and again, or to deliver us from sin. Psalm 51 goes on to say that David then does this by publicly confessing that he is by nature a sinful creature. And then in verses seven through 10, he comes clean before God so that he can have the guilt and the shame permanently wiped away. David's example to us is so apropos, so beautifully articulated. Confession frees us from the guilt and the shame of our own sin. The truth is God has already forgiven us our sin in Christ. We just need help with the guilt and the shame of it. Let's remember, David confessed his sin before Nathan the prophet, only when David wouldn't do it himself. And likewise, as God has to open the spiritual eyes of our mind in order to recognize our sin, our obedience to confession then does not earn His forgiveness, but it does express it. The phrase to forgive means to send away, to dismiss the charges. It means that the debt has been canceled. It's mean that the debt has been completely taken care of. In Jeremiah 31, 34, the prophet tells us that when God forgives, he deliberately chooses never to bring it up again. In Isaiah chapter 44, verse 22, he covers them with a thick cloud, never to be seen again. In Micah 7, verse 19, tells us that our sins have been dropped into the depths of the sea, never to be retrieved ever again. And again, that's past, present, and future sins. Why has he done this? Because the word cleanse here means to purify. And that is such a beautifully descriptive word. Purification has to do with being washed thoroughly from our sin. to clean that which was impure and make it sparkling bright and clean. No blemish, no imperfection remains. The sinner is completely cleansed inside from any guilt or shame that might have been brought to the surface by sinning. And again, it's a word that implies transformation in the new life. And here again, John is writing to believers about this. Sinners need to confess, repent, and turn to God for all their sin. But as believers, we have that beautifully, again, relationship with God that every time we do sin, every time we do give into the flesh, we then can confess it and know that we are washed clean. And what a beautiful thing that is. It involves the process, again, of putting sin to death, being made alive in the Spirit. To be cleansed from our sin is to be put to death that which was already crucified with Christ. Why? So that we can live in the freedom of righteousness, which comes by faith in Jesus Christ. It is the experience of freedom and liberty from sin. And rather than living in the bondage of guilt, shame and the condemnation of sin, it is recognizing who we really are in Christ, victors over sin, overcomers over sin and recipients of his wonderful grace. Again, we are sinners who are made into saints, and we are then saved by His grace through faith alone, so that we can be made to live more gloriously dependent upon Christ. This is the total cleansing that restores us to fellowship with God. And I find it so encouraging that John says, if we confess our sins, God acts to forgive and cleanse us from our sins. And that definitely implies an action on our part. We must confess. We must confess daily. We must remember that the blood of Jesus, his son, has cleansed us. That he is the cleansing agent, not our confession. Confession simply makes possible the application of the divine cleansing. In other words, it's realizing and remembering day after day that when we confess our sin, God has already forgiven us our sin because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our place. It is a constant reminder of what Christ has already done for us. Well, then we come to verse 10, the final false claim John says, if we say that we have not sinned, we make God a liar and his truth is not in us. The assertion of verse 10 is nearly the same as the assertion of verse 8, but much more emphatic and much more cutting. Verse eight speaks of the self-deception, and verse 10 then shows that such a claim makes all that God said and did in Christ a lie. Saying that we have not sinned is a blatant refusal to acknowledge any sinful deeds in our conduct. It implies that not only have I not sinned, worse and much more blasphemous is that God is a liar about my sin. Such a person who makes such a claim has no business calling themselves a Christian. It is blatant defiance against Almighty God. It accuses God of being a liar. Keep in mind, the word liar here doesn't just mean that God is someone who tells lies. It actually declares that in his character, he is a liar, false to his very nature. And it reduces God to the level of the devil. The bottom line is this, if we say this, then God's word is not in us. And that means that the gospel itself is not in us. Such a statement is proof that the person has rejected God's good news. They have rejected God's revealed word. And that the divine message personally communicated and embodied in the Christian gospel has found no lodging in his life or in his being. So where does this leave us? What questions can we ask of ourselves from John's statements here in verses five through 10? Let me give you a few by way of application. First, do you believe the gospel message? Do you believe it? Do you understand the difference between walking in the light and walking in darkness? Second, have you examined the authenticity of your own faith? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13 verse 5, we must test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Are you practicing the truth? Or are you simply deceiving yourself? Third, do you have a realistic perspective concerning your own sin? Do you see yourself as a sinner in need of forgiveness and cleansing? Or are you living in denial about your own sin? Fourth, are you confessing sin? Are you publicly and privately acknowledging your sin and need for Christ, or are you hiding your sin? The bottom line application to all of these questions is God has made a provision for your sin. He sent Jesus Christ to die in your place. To take upon himself your sin so that his righteousness would be imputed to you. If you've put your faith in him, repented of your sin, then the gloriously good news is that he has forgiven you. He's forgiven you for all your sin. If you haven't surrendered your life to Christ, Now is the day. Today is the day. Don't wait. Acts 4.12 says there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 16.31 says believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Romans 10, 9 and 10 says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, a person believes, resulting in righteousness. With the mouth, he confesses, resulting in salvation. Please remember, in order for saving faith to be real, there must be a declaration of the truth. There must be a confession of sin. Without it, we are without hope. We are without life. Oh, that God would give us that life and remind us of that life each and every day. And may God use this truth again for His glory and our good. Amen? Let's pray. Father, as we bow our heads and humble our hearts before you, We are sobered to think that this is such a tremendous truth that we need to understand, to apprehend, to understand with our life, not just with our mind. Father, we need to know what it means to be truly saved. We need to know what it means to walk in the light as you are in the light. We need to know the light and the light is Jesus Christ himself. Oh Father, help us, remind us continually to draw this text out in our lives so that we can apply it in ways that would shape and conform us more and more to the image of Christ each and every moment of the day. I thank you for your gospel. I thank you for Christ. I thank you for the glorious truth of now that I have confessed and repented of my sin, I know that I have eternal life in you. I pray that for those who are here today who do not know you, for those who do, I pray that they would walk victoriously, confessing their sin all day long, recognizing their need for you, but resting in you, depending on you, and giving you the glory that you alone deserve. Thank you for our time this morning. Thank you for your word. And we just ask your blessing on the remainder of our service. Amen.