Basic Training -- 1 John 1:5-10

Okay. Excuse me. I'm just gonna put this right here. Well, good morning, CTK. Good morning, everybody. My long lost friends at CTK, hey, y'all.

Well, good morning everyone. My name is Russell McCutcheon. I am the lead pastor of Reconciliation Church, the church you helped give birth to. So would you please stand with me and let's read God's word.

Our text this morning comes from 1 John chapter one, verses five to ten. In your worship of God, if you would please read with me. Hear the words from the word:

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in him. If we say we have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth. If we walk in 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 we have no sin, we are 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 we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. — 1 John 1:5-10

You may be seated. Again, my name is Russell McCutcheon and I am so excited. I really am excited to be here worshiping with you. It feels like it's been a while, but as we all know, for those of us who have kids as parents, our door normally swings one way. We give birth and we expect kids to go, and likewise, as a church, it was time for us to go and to do what God has called us here to do and to be another mouthpiece, another speck of light in this area to proclaim the glories of God.

But I want to say how excited and how thankful I am to be with you today. Not to just hear myself talk, because there is in me a holy trembling because the word of God is open and I don't take this lightly. This is not a motivational speech and this is not an opportunity for me to come up here and pontificate on the vicissitudes of life and to hear how eloquent I could be. No, God's word is open and as his word is open, he is speaking to us.

Before I get into God's word, let me pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you this morning with empty cups raised to you. And Father, we ask that you fill our cups, fill it to overflowing by the power of your Spirit. We are weak and needy, but you are powerful. I thank you, Lord God, that you would use clay pots that are cracked to house all of who you are, but your spirit seals us and in the places that are broken, you heal. And I pray that as we come to your word this morning, Lord, that you would speak to us deeply. But help us to not simply be hearers of your word but help us to be doers of your word. I do ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Many of you may recognize the name Mary Baker Eddy. She is the founder of Christian Science. She taught in this belief that God the Father, or Mother of all—this is her teaching—this God is completely good and holy, spiritual, perfect. But that also creation is the same way. Creation is flawless, unstained, just as the divine is unstained. And she believed that if she saw disease, death, and sin, that this was not a part of the fundamental reality of creation. It's not a part of our reality, and if we are experiencing that, then we are living apart from God.

But my friends, we have God's word and we know God's word does not teach this. Scripture teaches that man is born in sin, inherited from Adam's fall. The result is that every human born is separated from God. Paul expressed the condition of humanity in a myriad of places, but in Romans 3:23, he wrote:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. — Romans 3:23

It didn't say some. It didn't say a couple. It said, for all have sinned. Somebody say that with me: all. All.

In our text this morning, we will continue in this series—and I love it—called "The Basics of the Faith," and here in 1 John we are reminded of the foundations of Christianity. We will see that God measures our discipleship by our love. Love. This is not a light word. This is not a word that we can culturally steal either, like we love chocolate cake. No, this word is weighty, and our love for God is shown in our love for one another.

I totally believe that the author here had in mind the great commandment. How do you sum up the law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is how our discipleship is measured. It doesn't matter how educated or theologically sophisticated you and I may be, the truth is we need to get back to the basics.

Forgive me for being like a jazz artist right now. I'm gonna get off the script a little bit, but this reminds me of being a former athlete. A lot of times, I guess we play so long.

We come into new spaces trying to show the new coach that we already got this, but a good coach would say, "Yeah, you may have this. You may be good. You may be an all-American, but guess what? We're going to get back to the basics. We're going to get back to what it means to do this. We're not going to be up here all sophisticated. No. We want to get back to the foundation."

I think this is what John is doing with us in the text. So the question before us is this: Are we growing in love? Is the church? Let's make it personal. Is CTK a reconciliation church? Are we growing in love?

Jesus would say it this way:

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. — John 13:35

If you are in Christ Jesus this morning, the Bible calls you a disciple, and Jesus said, "By this, they will know that you belong to me. That you are my disciples. If you love one another."

What I want to say this morning will hang on this hook. I know many of us have hooks in our houses where we hang pictures. You may even put coats on hooks. What I want to say this morning will hang on this hook: Right theology and ethics go hand in hand. Right theology and ethics—how we behave—it goes hand in hand. You can't have one without the other.

You want to have correct theology and go around and talk about infralapsarianism and all of these big theological words, but yet if you fail to live in a way that honors God, it's no good. And if you seek to say, "I want to live right. I want to do all of the right things," yet don't have the foundation of God's Word, that's irrelevant also. They go hand in hand.

So I want to flesh out this main point by looking at three things. First, understanding God results in a changed life. I'm going to talk about that, and we're going to see that in verse five. It's not just information, but something happens in my life when I truly understand God.

Second, spiritual integrity and the health of the Christian community are connected. Verse seven: when we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

Finally, we say this often, but let's not hear this statement and say, "Oh, I got that," but let's sin in it. We are sinners saved by grace. Verses eight and nine: if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, but if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse.

Understanding God Results in a Changed Life

Let's dive into the basics of the faith. Point one: Understanding God results in a changed life.

Verse five says this:

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you. God is light and there is absolutely no darkness in him. — 1 John 1:5

Right thinking about God is foundational. Dare I say, it's a prerequisite for life in the Christian community. You and I must have a right understanding of who God is. When we understand who God is, our lives are billboards. As we move around, people are looking at us, and our lives have a flashing sign to say, "This is the transformation that God brings in us."

Whether we are single or married—see, it's just not for married folk to display who God is for. My single folk too, your life, my life must tell the truth about who God is.

John builds all that he says theologically on the revelation that he received from Jesus. He starts out by saying, "The message we have heard from him and declare to you." I love it. John is not coming up with what he thinks. He is not just crafting things in his mind like the sister who's long gone—Mary Baker Eddy. He did not consult with the philosophers and the thinkers of his day. He got this from Jesus.

He proclaimed a message, and I think we need to understand this: The word of God is a message. It's not speculation or philosophy. It is not speculation or philosophy. In the word of God, there breaks in the lordship of God.

John says here that God is light. Light is the quality possessed by God. It speaks of the ethical qualities of God—the goodness, holiness, righteousness, truth—and so many more. But this is what it means that God is light.

It says of Jesus in John 1:9:

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. — John 1:9

And then Jesus says this of himself in John 8:12:

I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. — John 8:12

So I must ask us this question: Are you living in God's light? Or are you living in darkness? Don't presume. Think deeply of that question. Are you walking in God's light, or are you living in darkness?

He's addressing a group called cessationists. Who were they? They were people who had been a part of the community but had withdrawn from the community because of the new beliefs and ideals that they had that did not align with the truth of God's word.

So we must ask ourselves: What do we believe about God? In a very pluralistic society, what do we believe about God? I do love the theology that we have as a church. We call it a reformed theology. That's okay, but thinking about the depth of who God is and living in light of that—what do we believe about him? Are we willing to obey God's commands, which based on this letter is love of the Christian community? Do we have a right view of Jesus? Do you believe that he is 100% God, 100% man? Or do you believe he's just a good moral teacher, or someone who said good things? What do you believe about Jesus?

My friends, to deny the truth of what is written here is to step out of the light and break fellowship with God's people. Our theology must be anchored in what God has said about himself, or it will be shaped by whatever wind of doctrine comes our way. And I see this in our society now. Somebody comes up with a new idea, a new thought, they promote it. We splash it all on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We get on YouTube and record, and then it gets a hundred thousand views—that's new teaching. When we have that age-old word of God right here. You can get all the new teachings, but I want this. I hope you do too.

Walking in the Light

Jesus said he is the light of the world. We don't walk in the light when we don't walk in the light as he is in the light—we live in darkness. This is not what God is. God is not in darkness. He is in the light because he is the light.

When we live in the light of who Jesus is, when false teaching comes our way, we reject it. We're able to sniff it out. It's like the person who is able to see a counterfeit dollar bill. The reason they know it's a counterfeit is because they have studied in a meticulous way the real dollar bill. And so when a counterfeit comes, we reject that.

When we spend time in his word—and I think that's a word for me and that's a word for all of us—instead of just saying "I'm gonna read a scripture in the morning and go about my day," how do we immerse ourselves in God's word to the degree that when someone says something, we say, "That's not biblical. That's not right"?

God's work is to bring light that eliminates darkness. Our lives must reflect that we understand God. But here's the next thing I want us to see: in verse seven, spiritual integrity and the health of the Christian community are connected.

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. — 1 John 1:7

Verse six tells us that to say we have fellowship with him but walk in darkness is to lie to ourselves and not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

This word for fellowship in the Greek—this word is an expression of full fellowship established by our common faith in Christ. It speaks of a sharing, a bond of relationships—like "I'm all in." When you read Paul talk about the right hand of fellowship, this is not just shaking a hand like we shake a hand. No, this is a shaking of hands that says, "All I am and all you are, we are connected, and we're gonna walk this thing out. I don't come with reservations in this relationship. I am all in with you as we seek to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ."

Those who walk in light are those who have fellowship with one another, and this walking is not a one-time thing where we say, "Oh, I did that checklist and I'm gone." This is a present-tense Greek verb. It is ongoing. It does not have an ending. This is what that fellowship means.

And I think it's a sad commentary for believers to break fellowship with another believer. Again, here's my jazz coming in: because what does it say about us? That the Holy Spirit is not able—this glue, this very God, a very God—is not able to keep us in relationship and allow us to, even if we have differences, to work those things out? Fellowship with one another.

How do we know that people are walking in the light? John tells us. He informs us that those who walk in the light have genuine fellowship with one another, and their sins are forgiven. There is an intrinsic relationship between our relationship with God and one another. And this is not a New Testament concept. If you go back to Leviticus 19—you know, that book that we tend to skip by when we read the scripture—Leviticus 19 is actually beautiful because at the beginning, God tells his people: "Keep in mind, love God and love neighbor." God tells his people that they were to be holy as he is holy.

Love God, and then after he says that, he lays out a bunch of instructions on how to live with the community. How do you have fellowship with the community? Landowners, if you have land, don't glean the edges of your field. Leave them for the poor and the resident alien. You're not giving a handout. You're allowing them to work. You don't hate one another. You don't treat people bad. Love of community. Love God. Love neighbor.

There were people in the community to which John wrote that would destroy the community. In a place where there should be unity and togetherness, there was division and strife. Have you ever been part of a group like this? When you should be unified, even within the church, there is division and strife even within God's local bride. We see it today. Among God's people in many places, there is sharp division in this cultural moment. And it can be draining.

We are divided over things like CRT, critical race theory. We are divided over what you do socially. If you do one thing, we call that social gospel. That's not the true gospel, but the gospel by its very nature is social. We divide over so many things.

Walking in Truth and Light

We lie to one another. I'm not going to put y'all on blast because I know y'all good folk. There are times when we're smooth with this too. We're not going to come right out and tell a bold-faced lie. We're going to cover that thing up. We're to put a veneer on it. We're to make it sound good. No one in our hearts knows that we are lying. Either we don't want to be exposed or we want to get out of something, but we've bent truth and we tell lies to one another. Those who are brothers and sisters in Christ in the community.

One of the big commandments, one of my top ten, is don't lie. But we do it. We do it. We gossip. We even gossip about the people we sit right next to. You smile in their face. That song "Backstabbers" sits around and goes, "Praise God. It's good to see you, man," and I can't stand there. Again, I'm not talking about you. But understand that God sees this and I believe that it grieves his heart. It grieves him.

Divisions destroy the community. It hinders our ability to do the one another's. When you read Scripture, just notice how many times God calls us to do one another's in a way that honors him. We are called to love one another. John is going to get with that love theme in 1 John. We are also called to forgive one another. We are called to honor one another. We are called to be devoted to one another. We are called to live in harmony with one another. We can't do these things if we are walking in darkness. But for those who walk in the light, there is fellowship.

Many of you know that beauty is seen in contrasts. Jewelers know this very well. If you go to a jeweler and you look for a diamond, notice the jeweler does not take the diamond and put it on the glass. What do they do? They get a black velvet cloth, set it down, and then put the diamond on top so that its brilliance can radiate all the brighter.

As believers, followers of Christ, we are God's diamonds. We are his diamonds, representatives of his in a dark world. How do we shine? Our job is to shine and to radiate and to show others the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is our job.

You are salt and light. A city on a hill that cannot be hidden. — Matthew 5:13-14

We radiate. But we don't radiate to draw people to ourselves. I think a lot of times we want a platform to radiate so we can get people around our agenda. That's not what we're called to. I don't call you to myself. I want to point you to Lord Jesus and say, "Hey, come follow me as I follow Christ." I want to point to him.

When Jesus sent the disciples out by twos in Mark 6, the Bible says that he sent them out with his authority. Not their own. His authority over evil spirits. So when they went out, they were representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. So much so that in the book of Acts, the religious leaders would notice these uneducated and unlearned men and think, "I can tell because I can sniff the aroma—they've been with Jesus." What aroma are we giving off? How are we radiating as we engage society? As we go out, let's proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified, pointing to his beauty.

When we come together for corporate worship, there is the fellowship of difference. As Scott McKnight calls it in his book, the fellowship of difference. I love this.

Not just difference in skin color because you can have the same skin color and be totally different from the person sitting next to you. The fellowship of difference—I think this is the beauty of the mosaic that God is creating in his church. And one day we're gonna be with him. Revelation tells us worshiping the King right with another. I'm sure I'm gonna be next to a person, a brother or sister singing Swahili to Jesus, and it's gonna be beautiful. And I'm gonna be singing in English. Somebody's gonna be singing in Mandarin. And this is the mosaic that God died—that the Lord Jesus died to create. Can we get a movie trailer glimpse of that right now on Earth?

We Are Sinners Saved by Grace

The last thing I want us to see is that we are sinners saved by grace. Verses eight and nine say this:

If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving 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.

Do any of you actually believe that we are sinless? So dare I say we probably have sinned already today. We shouldn't think this, but however, even though we are not sinless, we should sin less. If we're born in our faith, yes, we are sinners but we should sin less. There is an awareness that as we walk in the light, as we pursue the Lord, we decrease in our love and our desire to sin, growing in our love for Jesus. Yet when we do sin—I'm going to sin, you are—we run to the foot of the cross. And at the foot of the cross, my friends, there is acceptance.

There were those in the community to which John wrote that questioned the very relevance of sin. Many scholars believe that John addressed this issue of Gnosticism, which we still have that idea in our society today. But what is Gnosticism? What is its belief? Gnostics believe that all matter was evil and corrupt, and they believe that you had acquired a special knowledge to have salvation. You know, you do have these secret society groups—the only way you get in, you gotta have this secret knowledge and secret handshake. You come into this group and now you're part of it, but those outside don't have that knowledge. This is Gnostic belief.

Gnostics also believe that all matter was corrupt and evil. Therefore, since all matter is corrupt and evil, our physical bodies—it doesn't matter what you do with your body because it doesn't matter anyway. Just do what you want. It's all about the spirit. John and other writers of Scripture would hear this and say no. Absolutely not. No one can deny the reality of sin.

For all have sinned. — Romans 3:23

The wages of sin is death. — Romans 6:23

We do pay bills, right? And we know bills come monthly, regularly. And sometimes we're like, man, how did this bill get this much? But it doesn't matter how much it is. The bill comes, it must be paid. The bill for sin is death. That's what the text says. In this body, therefore, a person who says that they have no sin—John says the truth is not in him because we all sin, and there is only one recourse for sin. And John says this: confession.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Here, John has given us an exhortation, a warning, and even a command because we are all sinners. And because we are sinners, our reflex should be one of confession. We should be major repenters daily, just going to the Lord, recognizing that we have sinned and we confess that sin to the Lord Jesus. It will be foolish for us not to confess sin because God doesn't have his eyes closed. He is not in a room with the door closed like we may do at home, yelling out the door to our kids, "What are you doing?" because we can't see them. God sees and knows all. Nothing is hidden from him.

The Psalmist would say it beautifully in Psalm 139:

Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. You understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest. You are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. Then he says, where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there your hand will lead me. Your right hand will hold on to me.

Because of who God is—merciful and compassionate—we can go to him in confession. And the promise that we have in the text is that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, or just, to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To forgive means to let go. To let go. Our sins are removed from God's accounting. To cleanse and purify suggests the removal of the residual effects of sin.

God's faithfulness, his faithfulness to us prompts him to make a way for our purification and to satisfy the demands of his righteousness. My friends, if there is no sin, there is no need for a savior.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the truth of your word. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that you dealt with our sin. You are the only one who could deal with our sin. So we don't come to you saying we have no sin. We acknowledge that we do have sin, but we also acknowledge that you are a good savior. We place our trust in you.

And right now, Lord, we are going to partake of a meal that you gave us, remembering what you have done for us on the cross. We love you in Christ's name. Amen.