Tests in I John: “Test I: Walk in the Light”
1 John 1:5-10
Paul Watson
I. Light and Dark (v. 5)
-
John first establishes a foundational principle: God is light, and God has no part in darkness. This means:
-
God is glory and splendor.
-
God is self-revealing.
-
God is pure and uncorrupted.
-
God is a guide.
-
God is the great revealer/will ultimately cast out sin.
-
The idea that God is light is undeniable because it comes from Christ himself. (John 1:4,5; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 46)
-
-
The other side of this coin is that there is a force of darkness operating in the world.
-
Darkness” is a Christless life.
-
Darkness is hostile to light.
-
Darkness is ignorance.
-
Darkness is immoral.
-
Darkness is unfruitful.
-
II. Walking in the Light: A Deductive Experiment (v. 6,7)
-
The first of what I will call a series of tests is founded upon the presupposition which John endorses: God is light.
-
The test is this. God is light. You claim to follow God. What is your life full of, light or darkness.
-
John will continue to set up these experiments throughout the letter, and they all are meant to resolve problems created by the inevitable human discrepancies between what people SAY they are, and what they ACTUALLY are.
-
So what does it mean to “walk in the darkness” or “walk in the light?”
-
When looking at someone else’s life, we MIGHT be able to see some indication of the darkness or light thereof.
-
The difficulty with that is that everyone’s lives are like icebergs: with a small visible portion and vast hidden portion.
-
-
If you possess the light that emanates from Jesus, it will quite naturally distinguish you from the world.
-
All of Christ’s teachings show us that we are sinners (John 12:47,48; 15:22-24; 16:8-11) and that this important acknowledgement must come first before the reward of faith is reaped (forgiveness).
-
The world at large though, does not like to be told that it is sinful. All men bristle at the hard truth that they are sinful.
i. Denial of responsibility for sin.
a. “It was determined by my biology!”
b. “I’m a product of my environment.”
c. “I just can’t control myself.”
d. “I’m not such a bad guy!”
ii. Denial of general sinfulness.
a. People think of sin as the kind of things that true crime shows cover.
b. Our every imperfect deed, motivation, thought or intention might fit the biblical definition of sin.
c. We cannot actually number or know all of the myriad ways we may sin against God.
d. “Missing the mark.”
-
John emphasizes a strong distinction between light and darkness but holds no illusions that anyone is perfect.
-
What differentiates Christians is that we acknowledge our sins and receive forgiveness, while the world deceives itself.
-
Those that walk in the light (Christians) are “cleansed,” while the world is unclean.
-
It is JUST that God forgive those who walk in him, because he keeps his promises (Dt 7:10; 32:4; Ps. 145:13; Mic. 7:18-20; John 3: 16-17; 1 John 4:16; 5:13-15)
-
If there is no darkness in God at all then, the sinner who does not acknowledge sins before God and walks in darkness, cannot abide with God.