Sermon Tone Analysis

*“THE TEST OF HONESTY!”*

*1 John: The Epistle of Confidence – Part 2*

*1 John 1:5-10*

*Pastor Robby Roberson*

*May 23, 2007*

* *

*After his prologue (1:1-4), John makes an interesting shift.

Although he has stated that his intent is to testify of the Lord Jesus (v. 3) he now discusses the very character of God.

But, one’s view of God has a great deal to do with his conduct and whether or not fellowship can be experienced with other believers.*

* *

* *

*1.  **THE DESCRIPTION OF THE DIVINE.*

* *

*/“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you; God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”/ (1 John 1:5-NIV).*

* *

*“Right thinking about God (‘God is light’) is a necessary prerequisite for life in the Christian community…to deny the truth of John’s words is to step out of the light and break with fellowship among God’s people.

We must resist sinfulness” (Gary M. Burge, /The NIV Application Commentary: Letters of John/, pg.

63-64).*

* *

*To say that /God is light/ is to discuss Him physically (Ex.

3; the wilderness journey; the Temple~/Tabernacle; Luke 9:28-36) and ethically.

“Since God is light, Jesus in bringing God to us has likewise brought light, divine light…God stands in contrast to darkness, to evil, to error, to imperfection” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

66-67).

“He is speaking physically of the glory of God.

As you study the Bible you will notice that every time God comes upon the scene there is light…but also to say God is light represents, morally, the holiness of God” (Jerry Vines, /Family Fellowship/, pg.

37).*

* *

*“What we are dealing with is a good God, one who can be trusted and loved…by moral purity we are referring to God’s absolute freedom from anything wicked or evil” (Milliard Erickson, /Christian Theology/, pg.

284).

He is (see: Erickson, /Ibid/, pg.

284-297):*

* *

·         */Moral Purity /(He is pure and cannot sin.

He is absolutely free from anything wicked or evil)/:/*

*/ /*

*/“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure” /(1 John 3:3-NIV).*

* *

*/“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong”/ (Habakkuk 1:13a-NIV).*

* *

-          */Holiness…/He is unable to tolerate the presence of evil.

He is, as it were, allergic to sin and evil /(/Ex.

3; Isaiah 6:1-4; 1 Peter 1:15).*

*/“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do”/ (1 Peter 1:15-NIV).*

* *

-          */Righteousness/…this is the holiness of God applied to his relationships to other beings (Gen.

18:25; Jer.

9:24).*

* *

*/“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’

For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone”/ (James 1:13-NIV).*

* *

-          */Justice/…God Himself acts in conformity with his law.

He also administers His kingdom in accordance with his law…and, He requires that other moral agents adhere to the standards as well (Psalm 73:17-20, 27; Amos 5:15, 24; James 2:9).*

* *

·         */Integrity /(integrity relates to the matter of truth)/:/*

*/ /*

-          */Genuineness – being true…/He is a real God (John 17:3; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 3:7; 6:10).*

-          */Veracity – telling the truth/…He represents things as they really are (John 17:17, 19; Titus 1:2).*

* *

*/“A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time”/ (Titus 1:2-NIV).*

* *

-          */Faithfulness – proving true/…He keeps all His promises (1 Thess.

5:24; 1 Cor.

1:9; 2 Cor.

1:18-22; 2 Tim.

2:13; 1 Peter 4:19).*

* *

*/“If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself” /(2 Tim.

2:13-NIV).*

* *

*/“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows”/ (James 1:17-NIV).*

* *

·         */Love:/*

*/ /*

*/“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love”/ (1 John 4:8-NIV).*

*/ /*

-          */Benevolence…/He has concern for the welfare of those whom He loves (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10; Rom.

5:8; Luke 15).*

-          */Grace…/God deals with His people not on the basis f their merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to their need; in other words, He deals with them on the basis of His goodness and generosity.

He supplies us with undeserved favors (Exodus 34:6; Eph.

1:5-8; 2:7-9; Titus 3:3-7).*

-          */Mercy…/This is His tenderhearted, loving compassion for His people.

It is His tenderness of heart toward the needy (Ps.

103:13; Ex. 3:7; Mark 1:41; 6:34).*

-          */Persistence…/He is withholding judgment and continuing to offer salvation and grace over long periods of time (Ps.

86:15; Rom.

2:4; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 3:9)*

* *

*John is pointed about the lack of darkness in God’s character.

In the Greek text he says, “not one bit” (/oudemia/).

“In the Greek text it is actually a double negative.

There is not no darkness in God.

That is not very good English, but it is good theology!

There is absolutely no imperfection in God whatsoever.

There is no spot upon the character of God, no blemish upon the being of God.

In fact, there is not one little shadow of suspicion upon the character of God” (Vines, /Ibid/, pg.

38).*

* *

*“John appeals to historic revelation as the /anchor/ of what he believes…his first response…is to train his followers that theology must be anchored objectively or else it will be shaped by any whim or inspiration” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

65).

“Your concept of God will ultimately determine the kind of life you live” (Vines, /Ibid/).*

* *

*What a God!*

* *

*/“…God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

To him be honor and might forever.

Amen”/ (1 Timothy 6:15-16-NIV).*

* *

* *

*2.  **THE DECEPTION OF THE DECEIVED.*

* *

*Now he is applying God’s character “ethically to Christian living” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

65).

It is against the backdrop of God’s character that John now states the /deception/ of the /deceived/.*

* *

*He does so with three statements which each begin /if we claim/ (or /if we say/).

“Individuals in John’s church were claiming that they had an intimate walk with God, that their lives were unstained with sin, and that they had done no wrong…verse 6 hints that these (professing-mine) Christians were living a double life” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

68).*

* *

*They may also have been claiming that “sin is unimportant – they were not of the world – and that God only looks on the inward condition of a man’s or a woman’s soul.

John says that no such division is possible.

A good God expects good people.

A God of light expects lives that are permeated by such light.

In verse 6 John describes this moral conduct as ‘walking’ (Gk.

/Peripateo/) in darkness.

This is a Semitic idiom akin to the Jewish term /halakah/.

The religious life is not merely a matter of spiritual reflection or intellectual persuasion, rather, it is comprehensive.

It is a habit of walking, a way of living.

These opponents were not just /in darkness, /they were living lives of darkness (conveyed by the present tense of /peripateo/).

They were persistent, dogged, and tenacious in the habits they had chosen.

Smalley translates the verb ‘living habitually in darkness’ and says it ‘implies a determination to choose sin (darkness) rather than God (light) as one’s constant sphere of existence.

This sort of spirituality is a lie” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

68).

“It means to walk in disobedience” (Vines, /Ibid/, pg.

41).

*

* *

*This lie (or deception) is in three directions:*

*/ /*

*/“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth” /(1 John 1:6-NIV).*

* *

*First, they are liars – THEY LIE TO OTHERS.

They say one thing and /do/ another!

Their practice does not measure up to their profession!

“Truth describes not only the reality of God’s existence shown to us in Christ (hence doctrinal truth) but also the genuineness of pure religion, true religion, true personal conduct that coheres with the essence of God’s character” (Burge, /Ibid/, pg.

69).

This is not ignorance, it is a cover-up!

“It is impossible to be in fellowship with God who is light and live a life which is in darkness at the same time” (Vines, /Ibid/, pg.

42).*

* *

*/“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”/ (1 John 1:8-NIV).*