In the first century, Christianity was facing a problem which we still have with us today. The problem was a false gospel, a false Christianity, propagated by false teachers. That has always been a threat against the church, and it remains so today. The enemy works to destroy the church from within and without, and attacks from within are sometimes more difficult for us to discern and to deal with.
So John’s epistle is addressing this by looking at the doctrinal distinctive’s of the gospel, and in this passage, presenting a contrast between the message of God, and the message of false Christians. In vs 5; he says this is what God says. And then in the remainder of the chapter he says this is what false Christians say. So he says in vs 5, this is the message of God; that God is light and in Him in no darkness at all. That’s the standard. That’s the absolute truth. God’s standard is total light, absolute truth, complete righteousness. And he says if you have life from God, if you have fellowship with God, if you are born of God, then you must be like God, of the same standard as God.
That establishes the second part of John’s thesis in vs 5, which is that “in Him there is no darkness at all.” God cannot have fellowship with darkness, because that is contrary to His nature that He is light.
So John has given us God’s message, God’s standard, that God is light. Perfect, holy, the source of truth, the source of life. And then starting in vs 6 through chapter 2 vs 1, John gives us three messages of false Christians. He identifies each statement with the phrase, “If we say…” And in so doing he gives us three false claims of false Christians.
Let’s just identify the three messages of false Christians first of all. Vs 6, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness.” That’s the first one, claiming fellowship with God. We will talk about what constitutes fellowship in a moment. But that’s the first claim of man. The second message of man is in vs 8, “If we say that we have no sin.” And the third message sounds very close to that, which is in vs 10, “If we say that we have not sinned.”
Now after each of those assertions of man, Joh gives a rebuttal according to the truth of God. Notice that after each of the statements of man, which are introduced by the phrase “If we say…” that John follows with the rebuttal that what man says is a lie. And then he sets forth God’s standard in response to what man has asserted.
So John draws a great contrast; God’s message is light. Man’s message is darkness. God’s message is truth. Man’s message is a lie. And John wants to draw the distinction between what God says, and what man says. As Paul states in Romans 3:4, Let God be found true, and everyman be found a liar. John gives us here three claims, three false claims made by false Christians.
The first assertion that we’re going to look at are those who claim to have fellowship with God. The word fellowship is from the Greek word “koinonia.” That word is part of the name of our church, incidentally. I chose that name purposefully because it relates the true nature of the church with God. Koinonia, according to the Greek concordance means association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse, intimacy, partnership. Literally, to have fellowship with God is to share common life.
So they claim to be possessors of eternal life. They claim to belong to God. They claim to possess salvation, to be in the Kingdom. They claim to be a Christian. So many people today claim to have fellowship with God. They claim to know God. But in fact, the evidence of their life says that they do not. Vs 6 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
So they claim to be Christian, but they walk in darkness, and so they are liars because they do not practice what they claim. If they were truly in fellowship with God, then they would not walk in darkness, because God cannot participate in darkness. In Him there is no darkness at all.
John says that they walk in darkness. That simply means that they live in sin. They live habitual, consistent sinful lives. He is not talking about just the big sins, the really blatant sins. But sin is sin. Sin is anything that is not in accordance with God.
And we can inversely deduce from his statement, that they practice sin. Notice he says that since they walk in the darkness, they lie and do not practice the truth. So if they are not practicing truth, they must be practicing sin. They walk in sin, they practice sin. It’s speaking of a habitual sinful lifestyle. Their life has a pattern of sin.
However a Christian is characterized by a change of lifestyle. A change of heart. A change of desires. If they have fellowship with God, then that means they want to be like God, to mirror God, to do His will. John states the positive part of the contrast this way; vs7, “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.”
So a true Christian does not walk in darkness, but he walks in the Light, because God is Light. He walks after God. He is a follower of Christ. That means he goes where Christ goes. He does what Christ does. He loves what Christ loves. Peter has a great way of describing that following, that discipleship of the Christian. In 1Peter 2:21 he says, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” He uses a word there translated as “example” which in the Greek is hypogrammos. That was a writing tablet with all the letters of the alphabet, given to school children as an aid in learning to draw the alphabet, which they did by tracing over the letters. That is what is meant to be a follower of Christ. Tracing our attitudes, our actions, our steps over His life. And that is something that John and Peter both indicate must be practiced.
So that walk in the light, the life of following Christ, of patterning your life after Christ, results in fellowship with one another. The one who is walking in the Light has fellowship with God and with the body of Christ, which is the church. In the garden of Eden before the fall, Adam and Eve had fellowship with God. The scripture says they walked with God in the cool of the evening. To walk with, to talk with, to have fellowship with God is the result of walking in the Light. I think if you are truly saved, you will desire fellowship in the church. If you’re going to a church that is truly preaching the word, that is populated by people who have been saved, I think you’re going to desire regular fellowship. I think the mark of someone who is not truly saved is that they have no desire for fellowship with God’s people. Their life of sin makes fellowship uncomfortable for them. They don’t have fellowship because they are convicted, and they get irritated that they are convicted, rather than converted, and so they avoid church as much as possible. But the one who is truly walking in the light wants to be in church every time the door is open.
And the other aspect of walking in the light John says is that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If you believe in who Jesus is, that He is the Son of God, and you believe in what He came to do, which is to be a substitute for sinners through His death on the cross, then you receive forgiveness of your sins, and you receive His righteousness. It’s the great transaction. My sins are transferred for His righteousness. But that results in more than just forgiveness. It results in a new nature, a righteous nature. It results in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And all of that combined produces something greater than just forgiveness. John says it cleanses us from sin. It takes away the desire for sin. It takes away the power of sin. The blood of Jesus not only provides forgiveness, but it provides the power over sin, so that we are no longer under it’s power. We have been set free from the penalty of sin, and the power of sin. One day, at the return of Jesus Christ, we will be set free from the presence of sin. But even now, we have been cleansed from sin. It no longer defines us, or controls us, nor do we practice it any longer.
So the contrast should be apparent. If you say you have fellowship with God but walk in darkness you are lying. Because he that has fellowship with God walks in the Light with God and does not participate in darkness, but has fellowship with God and other Christians, and is cleansed from sin by the death of Jesus Christ.
The second assertion the false Christian makes is in vs 8, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.” There are a lot of self professing Christians who don’t like the word sin. I remember one lady who came to our services for a while many years ago, and she obviously didn’t care for my constant preaching about sin. She very pointedly made the comment to my wife and I one day that she had left the last church because the pastor always preached about sin. Well, she left our church soon after as well, because I unapologetically preach about sin.
I do so because sin is endemic to our nature. Sin is the reason for the problems of the world. Sin brought about the curse upon the world. Sin is the number one cause of death in the world. Did you know that? It’s not the Covid. It’s not cancer. It’s sin. It is 100% fatal. And every one of us has been infected with it. In fact, the Bible says that is spreading, and it is terminal. You are going to die because you have been infected with sin. And my job, as a preacher of the message of God is to tell you that you have been infected, but that there is a vaccine, there is a cure for sin. And it is Jesus Christ. He is the only cure. I think it’s interesting to note that one of the things that they recommend for Covid is a daily mega dose of Vitamin D. The best source of Vitamin D is the light of the sun. And I am here to tell you that the only cure for the disease of sin is the light of the Son. Walk in the light, as He is in the Light.
So John says that this person who claims that they have no sin are deceiving themselves. They are not deceiving God, and they probably aren’t deceiving anyone else who witnesses their life. But they are self deceived. Because the truth is Romans 3:23 that says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” The truth is Romans 3:10-12 which says, ”THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
And your sins have caused a fatal separation between you and the source of life and light. Your sin has created a great chasm between you and God that cannot be breached. So if you say that you have no sin, you are deceiving yourself and the truth is not in you. And if the truth is not in you, then the light is not in you, so the life of God is not in you, and you do not have fellowship with God. You are not saved. You are not a Christian. You’re deceiving yourself by thinking you have fellowship with God but in fact you are still dead in your sins.
Then John gives the rebuttal, the antidote for sin. He says in vs 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The way to fellowship with God is through confession of our sins. That’s how we are cleansed from sin. That’s how we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. I like how in that verse John distinguishes forgiveness from cleansing. As I said, salvation is more than just forgiveness, it’s being given righteousness, a new nature, a renewed spirit, an indwelling of the Holy Spirit to give us victory over sin.
Now confession is the key to salvation, but it’s also the key to fellowship. Even after we are saved, we still may find ourselves falling into sin from time to time. It’s part of our old nature, and we are not delivered completely from our old nature until the day when we receive a new body and God creates a new earth. But when we sin, even as a Christian, we hurt our relationship with God. We disrupt our fellowship with God. 2 Cor. 6:14 says, “what fellowship has light with darkness?” In order to restore that right fellowship with God we need to confess our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness.
David said in Psalm 32, “When I kept silent [about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. ... I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.”
In Psalm 51, when David prayed for forgiveness and restoration after his sin with Bathsheba was uncovered, he was a child of God. He had fellowship with God, but it was damaged not only because of his sin, but because he had tried to cover his sin. But he confessed his sin and asked for restoration. Listen to part of his prayer. “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. ... Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. ... Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.”
When we confess our sin as David did, then John says that God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God is faithful and righteous, or just. What does that mean? God has punished Jesus Christ for our sin. He has exacted the penalty due to us upon Jesus Christ. So it would be unjust for God to hold our sin against us, because our sin was held against Jesus. And so based on our faith in Christ as our substitute, we have forgiveness of sin. And notice once again John uses the word cleanse. God gives us forgiveness and restoration that we might live free from the power of sin.
The final assertion that false Christians make is found in vs 10. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” The previous person said that they had no sin. This person says that they have no sin. I don’t see much of a difference in the two statements. But perhaps the previous person of vs 8 says that he was not a sinner. And this person denies that what he is doing is sin. That may seem like a minor distinction. But I think it’s a common claim among professing Christians today. They would like to think that what they think is ok is not sin, even though it is contrary to what God says.
The usual excuse is that when the Bible spoke of this issue, whatever it is, it was a cultural thing. When Paul said it was not permitted for a woman to teach, well, that’s cultural. When the Bible speaks about homosexuality, it’s not really talking about a loving, committed relationship between two people of the same sex. The big one today that is glossed over is living together. The common refrain is that if the young people love each other and they decide to live tougher without being married it’s ok, because love is more important than legality. But whatever sin it is they want to excuse, they override the word of God.
Now when they make the excuse that their sin isn’t really sin, that God doesn’t care about this thing, then John says that they make God a liar. That’s pretty serious. In the other assertions, John said that the people making the assertions were lying. In this claim, the person makes God a liar. Now we know that God cannot lie, because in Him is Truth, and there is no darkness at all. So I think what John is saying is that they are in effect calling God a liar. God didn’t mean what He said. God didn’t speak the truth. To call God a liar is blasphemy.
The other thing John says is that when they make this claim, God’s word is not in them. Now some commentators say that the word should be capitalized. That it is speaking of Christ. And that may be true. If they are blaspheming God and saying that their sin isn’t sin, then they cannot be saved, and thus Christ is not in them. But I also think it is applicable to the written word. Those that say such things cannot know the word, they do not have the light of the word in their hearts, they do not comprehend the word. Psalm 119 says, “Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The word of God is a preventative for sin. The Word of God is the antidote. But the word of God is a preventative.
So what is John’s rebuttal to this claim of the false Christian that they have not sinned? It’s found in vs 1 of chapter 2. I would remind you that the chapter designations are not inspired. I do think that they are for the most part helpful but they are later additions to the Bible as we know it. They are not in the original text. And in this case I think the chapter break is not helpful. The answer is in vs 1; “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
The Bible teaches that we all are sinners by nature. John desires that we do not sin, but because we are sinners, there is an antidote which is the blood of Jesus Christ. And if we sin, we have an advocate who is Jesus Christ. Advocate comes from the Greek word “Paracletos,” which means one called alongside to help; or an Intercessor.
That word paracletos, someone called alongside to help is reminiscent of what John was talking about when he said Jesus cleanses us from all sin. Because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which is credited to us, which is granted to us, we have the Spirit of Christ residing in us. And because the Spirit of Christ resides in us, we have the power to overcome sin. God doesn’t just say to us in the new covenant, do not sin, but He gives us a Helper so that we might not sin. And that Helper is the Spirit of Christ.
Jesus in the Upper Room before His trial and crucifixion promised the Helper would come to them and what He would do. He said in John chapter 16 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. ... 13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose [it] to you.”
When we have the Helper indwelling in us, then we will know the truth of God’s word, because He will reveal the truth to us. Those that call God a liar the truth is not in them, and the Word is not in them, so they twist the truth to validate their sinful lifestyle. But for those who know the truth, to them who are walking in the light, and are sons of light, the Spirit of Truth is given that we might know the truth and the truth would make us free from the bondage of sin. We have a Helper and an Advocate with God who is in us, and who helps us, both at the throne of God where the judgment of God lies, and who helps us here on earth because He understands our weaknesses, having been in the flesh as a man like us.
What a wonderful gift we have been given in our salvation. We have forgiveness of sins, power over sin, power over death, even eternal life, and fellowship with God who is the source of life and the source of joy. And we have the help of God, we have the Helper, the Spirit of God within us to help us as we go through this time on earth. He is our Comforter, our Helper, our Advocate, our Shield, our Defender, our Captain, our Substitute, our Sacrifice, He is the Word of God, our Savior, and our Lord. I hope that you know Him, that you know the fellowship of God. If you don’t have fellowship with Him, you can do so today by confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior, confessing your sins to receive forgiveness and cleansing, that you may receive life everlasting, and the power to live life free from the condemnation of sin. The invitation is given to you today to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Call upon Him today and receive life in Him.
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