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Message #3 in our 1 John series
INTRODUCTION
Jab 1
Tell the story about cutting guitar strings with my dad's nail cutters.
He knew it was me. I knew it was me. I would not admit it was me!
Jab 2
In August 2019, there was a study that looked at why people hate admitting their mistakes.
67% hate admitting when they're wrong (vs 11%).
66% believe that talking about their faults will make them vulnerable to rejection or mockery from others (vs 19% of people who admit their mistakes).
50% do not reveal their true selves for fear that others will dislike them (vs 12%).
"When a person makes a mistake, they may try to cover it up or place blame elsewhere - and while that seems quite underhanded and unfair, it is often motivated by fear and insecurity," explains Dr Jerabek, president of PsychTests.
It Wasn't My Fault - New Study Looks At Why People Hate Admitting Mistakes | Markets Insider
Jab 3
We've been working through chapter 1 of 1 John.
John has been challenging some false teaching that has crept into the church.
Last time, John talked about how genuine Christianity shows itself in our daily walk.
Light and darkness
New life = new lifestyle.
You can't say you're a Christian but not be different. That's walking in darkness.
In the next section, John begins to flesh out what walking in the light is and is not.
Right Hook
Turn to your Bible...
Scripture
1 john 1:8-2:2
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
2 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
EXPLANATION (10 minutes)
Point 1
False teaching, known as Gnosticism, had come into the church.
One of its central teachings was that salvation was achieved by acquiring some kind of higher knowledge.
This meant that what you did with your body was not relevant or essential.
So it was ok to lie, cheat, steal, even kill, perhaps as long as you had achieved salvation through your higher knowledge.
So these false teachers claimed that they weren't really sinners.
John is pretty direct in his response.
He says if you think you aren't a sinner, then you are fooling yourself (literally - deceiving/ leading yourself and others astray).
Not only that, you are not living in the truth. God is truth. You are not walking right with God.
A similar but slightly different claim is that they have not sinned. Their actions in thought, word and deed were not really sin.
Again John is direct. To say you have not sinned is to make God a liar.
Why a liar? Because throughout Scripture, we are taught that we are born into sin. For example...
Being good isn't good enough - Pass mark is 100%
and this sin, this falling short means we are cut us off from God, and so we need to be saved from the punishment of eternity separate from Him.
So to reject the notion of sin is to call God a liar.
But not only were they calling God a liar, but they were also showing that God's Word had not taken root in their hearts.
When a person responds to the gospel - they are accepting the good news that Jesus died for them when they were in a completely hopeless state.
When that happens, then Jesus becomes both our Saviour and our Lord.
It means He (and His Word) takes root in us and impacts every area of our lives.
So if God's Word has really taken root, then a person would take sin very seriously indeed because God's son died an agonising death on the cross to deal with sin.
Point 2
So what are John's readers to do?
Remember, John is a pastor. In 2:1, he calls them My dear children.
Yes, he is warning the false teachers, but he also wants to comfort anyone who may have been led astray by this teaching.
He reminds them that if you do sin, all is not lost; there is a way to reestablish fellowship with Father God. 1 John 1:9
Confess - it means to acknowledge something, to agree with God.
Confessing is part of what it means to walk in the light.
Denying our sin or ignoring it is what John calls walking in darkness and damages our relationship with God.
If I have wronged my best friend/ spouse and am keeping it to myself or refusing to acknowledge it, then our relationship is hindered. There isn't the intimacy that there should be.
So John wants them to confess, to agree with God, that sin is real, that they do sin and are therefore in need of his ongoing mercy, grace and forgiveness.
If they are willing to do that, they can trust that God will forgive them because he is always true to his character. He is faithful and just.
Point 3
In fact, John reminds his readers that Jesus is constantly pleading our case before Father God as an advocate.
Advocate = Defence lawyer
Every time a believer sins, the deserved punishment for that sin is God's righteous anger, but Jesus, the only one who can claim to be without sin, the only one who is truly righteous, stands in our defence.
Jesus' death became the perfect sacrifice needed to avert God's wrath from us.
He is our defence. He is our only defence.
Again John reminds us that Jesus is the only way to be saved.
Jesus' death and resurrection doesn't save everyone. It saves everyone who confesses and turns to Him.
So how do we respond to all this?
APPLICATION (10 minutes)
Action statement
Be willing to confess your sin so you can grow closer to God
Let me ask a few questions.
What is your attitude towards sin? Do you hate it? God does. If we don't hate sin, then His truth does not live in us.
The world wants to eradicate sin by pretending it doesn't exist.
A few years ago, my Nan went to the doctor and was diagnosed with cancer.
The cancer was so advanced that there was nothing anyone could do, and she died within a few weeks.
It is most likely that the cancer had been growing for a long time, but she had ignored it. Sadly ignoring it meant it didn't go away. It just got worse.
Sin is worse! We can't eliminate it just by pretending it isn't really there.
We need to confess it to God and receive the forgiveness and cleansing that Jesus earned for us on the cross.
Do you regularly get before God and examine yourself?
Are you being accountable to someone?
We will grow in our faith if we can learn to talk to each other about our faults, failings, struggles and fears.
Grace - acceptance - challenge - prayer.
Do you want to respond to Jesus today?
If you're unsure whether you've done that already, it's a simple matter of receiving gods free gift. Simply, thank God that he said Jesus died for you when you were in a completely hopeless state and accept him as your Lord and saviour.