Light of the World

In the early 1990s, I used to do a bit of street witnessing, and it was great to get out on the street and just rock up to people and have a conversation.

And one of the conversations that we would start with was, do you believe in God?

And often, I would say, my memory would say, more often than not, people would say, yes, I do believe in God.

And then we would say, do you know what the Bible says about God?

It says, God is, and then typically the answer, probably in a more biblically-literate society, maybe in the 90s in Australia, in Sydney, people would say, God is love.

And I'd say, yeah, you're right, God is love.

Do you know what else it says about the Bible?

God is.

And then I would say, God is light.

And they would say, oh, okay.

And then you would ask the question, do you think you have ever sinned?

Because sin is darkness.

The Bible talks about sin being a missing the mark, a lack of perfection when it comes to doing what God wants us to do.

And people would typically always say, well, no one's perfect.

Of course, yeah, look, I've sinned, but I'm not as bad as some.

You know, like always, that was always the conversation.

Yes, I have sinned, but I'm not as bad, and I think I'm okay.

You know, like when God looks at me, he's gonna think I'm okay.

And then that would lead to this conversation to say, well, the Bible says sin is darkness.

And so let's think about that.

God is light, sin is darkness.

You've said, I've said, we have all sinned.

And this is true.

This is what the Bible says.

And I think we know it in our conscience.

And then we would say this illustration, imagine there's a room and it's dark.

And then it's got a light in that room that is super powerful.

What happens to the darkness when you turn the light on?

And then they would say, well, it sort of goes.

And then I would explain, yeah, like when you have a dark room and you turn a light on that fills every part of the room with light, the darkness doesn't get to argue.

The darkness doesn't get to debate.

The darkness flees.

And they would be like, hmm, okay, I could sort of see where you're heading with this.

And then I would say, when we come, when we die, if you believe there's a God and there's some moral accountability, which most people who believe in a God want there to be, some level of moral accountability for humanity, and that includes me as well, when I come before this God who is light, there's a problem if I have darkness in me.

There's a problem if I have sin, which I have committed, and I come before a God who is light, because in his presence, the darkness flees.

Now this doesn't sound like good news, but then that would lead us to an explanation of the gospel about what Jesus has done to take away the darkness when he died on the cross.

If God is light and sin is darkness, you and I need a way to deal with the darkness.

Amen?

We are in our second week of our Christmas series entitled Christmas Light.

We feel like the Lord led us to one John, and I know it's got some sort of hard-hitting punchy stuff in it.

It's not all warm fuzzy, let's say.

But we're trusting that as we come under the text, the Lord's going to speak what he wants to speak to us today, and that's to us as individuals as much as a church.

The book of one John is most likely written by the Apostle John, who wrote the Gospel of John.

It's probably, we don't know any of these things, absolutely for sure, but it's probably written between 70 and 80 AD.

So it's towards the end of the first century, and John is writing, and he is in, what is it, west, southwestern Turkey near Ephesus, and he's writing to a church that has some problems, theological problems, and he's addressing these issues, these really heretical beliefs.

So let me read one John one.

John writes, this is the message we have heard from him, and declare to you, God is light.

In him, there is no darkness at all.

God is light, there is no darkness in him at all.

It's a very strong motif, this idea that God is light.

When you think back to the Old Testament, Moses encounters God, his presence, and it's a burning bush.

It's light.

When God is leading his people through the wilderness, at night, there's a pillar of fire.

It's the light that is guiding them.

When the tabernacle is put up, which is the mobile temple, before the temple was built, God's presence is signaled with fire in the golden lampstands.

Psalm 104 says God wraps himself in light, as with a garment.

God is clearly light throughout the scriptures.

Working among people, he's consistently described as bringing light, illuminating darkness.

When the baby Jesus is born and presented at the temple for his dedication, Luke says that Simeon celebrates his coming and says, light for revelation is here.

Light.

God is light.

It's clearly communicated throughout the Bible.

The Gospel of John, we see more talk of God being light and Jesus being light than anywhere else, 40 times at least, or more than 40 times.

And for John, the implication is simple.

Since God is light, Jesus, in bringing God to us, has brought light, divine light.

God is light, and Jesus is the light of the world, and he has brought light.

And this is this idea.

We've got the idea.

Christmas light.

Take off the plural, Christmas lights.

We're looking at the Christmas lights around the suburbs, and we're thinking Christmas is about the light, the light of the world.

Jesus Christ, who came, God in human flesh.

Curiously, the Bible never says that God is law.

Have you ever thought that?

The light does a lot of the job of the law, in a way.

It shines in the darkness and goes, well, that's not right.

That's not right, but that's the job of the law.

So it's almost like the law is a servant to the light, the law points out where sin is and almost musters it together and ultimately puts that sin that the law highlighted onto Jesus in our place.

God uses the law, he gives the law, but he's not law.

He is light.

God is light.

Think about light.

It's fast, very fast, powerful, pure, revealing, healing.

Having made this simple statement, God is light, John goes on to outline three claims.

I just want to work through them from the text pretty quickly.

The church he is addressing has three main problems, claims that have been made.

Number one, verse six, if we claim to have fellowship with him, so they're making this claim, we claim to have fellowship with God.

Yet, walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

John is noticing that they are claiming to know God.

They're claiming to be Christians, these people in one of these early churches in the first century.

But their actions don't match their belief.

You claim to know God, but you're not acting in line with the truth.

So that's one.

We'll come back to what the answer that he gives, how he addresses the claim in a moment.

The second claim is even more bold.

Verse 8, if we claim to be without sin, so this is what they're claiming.

We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Some in this church in the first century are claiming to be sinless.

They're already perfect before God.

Maybe this isn't too far away from that Aussie idea that I was leaning into in the talk in the introduction, where people say, oh, I'm not that bad.

But in saying that, they're saying, well, I'm pretty good.

I don't think I need a saviour.

I'm not as bad as the next person.

And so there is this problem when people have a self-assessment that says, I'm okay.

I don't have a problem with sin.

Now John says, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves.

We are deluded.

The truth is not in us.

And then the third claim is quite similar.

If we claim, verse 10, if we claim we haven't sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.

This time John says, if you reckon you are sinless, you haven't sinned, that's not just an issue in your wrong self-assessment, but because of what you are saying, you are now inadvertently, maybe, calling God a liar.

Because God says very clearly in his word, we have all sinned.

Humanity has fallen short.

Romans 3.23, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6.23, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Our Lord, God says all have sinned, yet this church has people in the first century saying, we're all good.

We're all good.

Maybe you can relate.

I've spoken to people here who come to church, and right now, I know, you feel like you are pretty good because you've told me that, and you maybe don't need Jesus.

Well, I would respect your position.

I would just say to you, as I have said, it's not what the Bible teaches.

We have a problem.

This darkness, this sin needs to be dealt with.

So let's go back.

We'll backtrack and see what John's answers are to these three claims.

So verse 6, if we claim to have fellowship and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and don't live out the truth.

But if we walk in the light, John says, as he is in the light, there's something really obvious that will be evident.

You will have fellowship with one another.

That's a marker.

And the blood of Jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin.

So John immediately is saying there is, through Christ, a vertical reconciliation, peace with God, but that has a horizontal, like the cross has this up and across.

There's always that side to faith in Christ.

He gives us the power to be reconciled with others.

And this is what John's Gospel tells us in John 13.

By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

So there is a very practical outworking of Christianity.

If you claim to know God, it will be evident in how you interact in community with other human beings.

Now he says, very importantly, that walking in the light is all about living in the power of the purifying blood of Christ.

So that's a big thing to hold that thought on, but we're going to come back to that.

The purifying blood of Christ.

The second claim, if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

And then he says this beautiful line that many of us know as a memory verse.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If we confess, if we own up, if we take what is in the darkness, which is where sin often lurks, and bring it out into the light, before God who is light, we are promised, he is faithful and just, he is merciful, he will forgive us through Jesus, and will cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Is that true that things happen in the dark that are sometimes not great?

I think we all know that.

Even as simple as most of us have shoes on, especially if you have socks on and maybe boots, if you have them on for a long time, have anyone been for a hike?

And what goes on in the darkness is quite painful, because maybe they're just not quite right fitting, those hiking boots.

And at the start of the day, you're thinking, this is not going to be good at the end of the day, because something's rubbing in the, and then it starts to be hurting by the, anyone know what I'm talking about?

By the end of the day, it's with great trepidation that you pull the boot off and the sock.

And maybe you find a leech down there.

It's the truth, isn't it?

In the darkness, you find a tick somewhere in the dark, and then you've got to wear them the next day, and you haven't been able to clean it, and this thing, oh, it's got infected now in the dark.

Is there any amens?

But you know, like, this is obvious.

We know it, we live this stuff.

Things grow in the dark.

And this passage, it's again, a beautiful line of scripture.

If we confess our sin, if we bring it out into the light, the light of God's love and justice and truth, and often that's in community, isn't it?

With others, in a safe place with others, there can be incredible healing and transformation.

It's what John says in response to them.

And we also need the blood of Christ for this to happen.

So we're gonna come to it right now.

The third answer to the third claim, if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

And then he says, my dear children, I write this so that you will not sin.

I don't want you to, you know, bring that body of death, that flesh, bring it under the Lord's grace, learn how to live without sin.

But if anyone does sin, and you will, we have an advocate with the Father, hallelujah.

Jesus Christ, the righteous one, isn't that a lovely way to describe him?

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.

John is wrapping these three claims up with his answer, in the clearest fashion he knows how.

He's saying, we are sinners, you're deceived if you think you're not, but 1 John 1.9 is the truth.

If we confess our sins, we've just said this, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.

And then the question should be, how?

How does that happen?

Well, we're told, confess your failing, and cling to God's willingness to forgive, and he will cleanse you.

He will make you right.

And then, of course, if we're having this conversation on the street and you don't know about Christianity, you might say, okay, I'm owning up, but how does God fix my sin?

Is it just like verbally?

I ask and he says, you're forgiven.

No, the Bible says, there's something that's happened to enable God to forgive us.

And this is verse seven, the blood of Jesus, his son purifies us from all sin.

That's how.

The blood of Jesus, we have an advocate, the righteous one.

The word atoning means propitiation, which is a fancy theological Greek word, which means taking away the wrath of God.

The Bible says that God is angry at sin.

He is loving and he is light.

But there is a sense of his wrath resting on sin.

And this is how Jesus is able to make away.

I've got to just, this is not a scripture.

The perfect blood of the lamb of God.

Is that there?

Yeah.

Jesus Christ is deemed by God the Father to be a sufficient sacrifice to pay for our sins and to appease his wrath.

Does that sound religious?

It does, doesn't it?

It sounds jargon-esque.

But I, with you, stand under the text of scripture and am reminded God is the most creative being in existence.

He created from nothing, with the most extraordinary and vast creativity.

He chose to make that how we get forgiven.

He chose to have a lamb of God which is required to die in our place.

We might ask, why does there need to be a sacrifice for sins?

Why?

Because God has designed it that way.

I don't mean to be patronising.

I'm the same as you.

We come under it.

We don't have any other choice if we're going to believe the Bible.

The answer is this, because life is in the blood.

The blood of humanity matters.

We know that.

Life is in the blood and sin causes death, which means sin stains the blood of humanity with death.

We weren't meant to die, but we do.

It's because of sin.

And only, this is what scripture teaches from the start to the finish.

Genesis 3 has a lamb that is, or an animal that is killed that the clothing is allowed, used by God to clothe the sin of the first humans who disobeyed.

Only the perfect blood of a worthy sacrifice can pay for my sin and your sin.

Sounds like something out of Tolkien.

It sounds like some sort of long-winded sci-fi, but it's not.

Amen?

It's not.

It's what the Bible teaches.

Life matters so much that sin has a consequence, and we need to have a sacrifice provided to pay for our sin.

We can't do it ourselves, but Jesus can because he lived a perfect life.

That's the Gospel.

We have an advocate, a defender, someone who comes alongside us with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.

He is the atoning sacrifice, not only for our sin, but also the sins of the whole world.

The light of the world was destined to defeat the darkness by the shedding of his blood.

It's very important that the final Armageddon that you read about in Revelation, when we are given a picture of the representative, the king of kings, the champion of God, his armies, when he defeats the devil, he already is bloodied because he defeats the devil at the cross, amen?

It's done at the cross in his perfect shed blood.

Matthew 4.16 says, Jesus quotes Isaiah, the people living in darkness have seen a great light.

When Jesus turned up, he was a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned because sin causes death and the Saviour is light, and he came to defeat the darkness.

This is what happened at Christmas.

The light became human.

Matthew also tells us that Mary, when she first heard about the fact that she would have a child, Matthew 1.21, the angel says, you'll give birth to a son, you're going to name him Jesus because his destiny is, he's the light of the world, but he's going to save the world from the darkness.

He's going to save them from their sins.

This light took on the darkness.

It's literally what happened on the cross.

The light of the world gave his perfect blood, and what happened when that event was occurring?

Do you remember?

It went dark for three hours, supernaturally.

Isn't that astonishing?

The light of the world who came to defeat the darkness, who came to shed his blood to pay for the sin of the world.

When he was doing that, the sky went dark.

The universe, the cosmos went dark.

Matthew 27 tells us, from noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the land, and then three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani, which means, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?

The light is engulfed in that moment by the darkness.

We can sometimes forget that light is a force, a powerful force.

It pushes back the darkness.

The darkness flees.

A couple of months ago, we were in bed, it was a Saturday night, and our bedroom is sort of towards the front of our house on the steep road.

And we heard these sort of explosions going off out the front, and cans rattling down the steep road, and it's like, Oh, what is going on?

And that was right outside our front driveway.

So, you know, I got up and went out there, and there were what seemed like some teenagers in trees, just up from our house, who had some sort of bomb they'd created somehow in cans, and they were throwing them, and they were exploding, putting shrapnel everywhere, and then rolling down the road.

And it's landing near cars, and it's, you know, it's like...

So I just went out there, and then they disappeared.

So, I went and bought meself a light.

I went, I need a light to shine at those fellas, so that I can let them know I see you, and then walk up and have a chat with them.

So I got this light, which I won't shine on your face.

This is 1500 ANSI lumens.

And it struck me the other day, it's a weapon.

You know, like if someone was sort of attacking you, and you had a light that's 1500 ANSI lumens, it's one shine in the eyes, and they're not seeing much for a little while.

Of course, I would never do that.

I would pray for them as a pastor, and be very lovely.

Turn the other cheek.

Now, after I went...

You won't even see my cheek.

So why am I talking about torches?

Because light is powerful, and light is awesome, and Jesus is the light of the world.

Jesus is the light of the world.

And when he was dying, this is a profound mystery that we don't quite know the answer exactly.

But it strikes me that when Revelation talks about the end, and it says, those who have faith in Christ do not go to the second death.

There will be a resurrection of all of humanity, and we will face the judgment.

And it says, you will be thrown into anathema, the cursed place, the outer darkness of the second death.

That's where sin takes you.

But how wonderful is it that when the Lord Jesus died on the cross, there is this sense that, Romans says, if I'm a Christian, I was in him.

I've died with him.

And he died with us, for us, the second death, so that we didn't have to die, amen?

Hallelujah.

That's what the blood of Christ does.

That's what the light of the world did.

Because the light could not be contained.

The darkness could not snuff it out.

And that's what Isaiah 53 says.

He will see the light of life.

John 1 says, the light shines in the darkness.

This is from the Gospel of John.

And the darkness has not overcome it.

God so sent his son that we might be saved and not perish.

Without the light that God has provided in the Gospel of his son, who is the light of the world, we stumble, don't we?

We stumble in the darkness.

And ultimately, we will be sent to the darkness of the second death.

But we are told very clearly that there is eternal life as a gift, immortality brought to light through the one who is only the immortal one, Jesus Christ, the light of the world.

He makes a way for us in him to join in his reward.

Which is eternal life.

I wonder if you need to hear those glorious words of 1 John 1, 8 and 9 today.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Isn't that wonderful?

You don't have to claim that you're not a sinner, neither do I.

So there's no point in listening to the evil one say, you're a sinner.

God doesn't want you coming near him.

What do we say?

Well, you got that right.

You're a liar normally, but that's true.

I am a sinner.

I am.

And I also believe what the Bible tells me, if I confess my sin, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Hallelujah.

God is light and he invites us through Jesus what Christ has accomplished on the cross and in his resurrection to come to the light and be cleansed.

Isn't that good news?

God is light.

He reveals sin and imperfection.

He highlights what is wrong.

And yet, he is the light who heals, restores, forgives, renews, and reappoints.

He is faithful and just.

You can trust him.

He will take away all of your guilt and shame.

All of it.

All of the ancient failures and the fresh ones too.

Hallelujah.

All of those old failures, that the devil wants to say, you can never get clean from that.

No, you can.

You can, because we're all fallen.

We're all sinful.

And we add to the old ones with fresh failures.

But his blood is enough.

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The band are going to come up and lead us in some more worship.

But as they do, I would love to pray.

Let's come before the father.

Do you need to confess your sin to him now?

Please do so.

If you confess your sin, I confess my sin, he is faithful and just, he'll forgive you of all unrighteousness.

And in another place in scripture, he says, he wants to purify for himself a people who are his very own, eager to do what is good.

It's why Jesus came to earth, to save you, to save me.

Lord Jesus, we confess that you are the light of the world, and sin is darkness and we don't deserve it, but you have made a way for us to be filled with the light of righteousness.

You know our hearts, you've heard our cries, you've heard our confession.

Thank you that you promised to forgive.

And may we continue as the light of the world in Christ, to take this glorious gospel to places that are dark, that many others might be drawn to the light and find hope and eternal life in Jesus.

Amen.

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