I invite you to turn to 1 John. I took something out of the 1 John vault to finish off our day here. And then I took out about a thousand words. So, not to worry. First John, I'm going to read chapter 1, verses 5 through 10. Our sermon will focus on verses 5 through 7. First John, chapter 1, 5 through 10. This is the Word of God. This is the message that we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. In the blood of Jesus, his son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 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. Let's pray. God of light, in whom there is no darkness at all. As we examine your word this afternoon, prepare our hearts to receive it and prepare our wills to obey it. Teach us what it means to walk in the light and to shun darkness. Through Christ our Lord, amen. So as we're just occasionally in 1 John, just a reminder that John continues to do battle against false teachers that have caused problems in the congregation. And the problems have been so bad that they've even caused them to doubt their salvation. And the message that John proclaims is God is light. God and light were also terms that were used by John's, by teachers in John's day, false teachers. Now this was, these were early Gnostics. If you know what Gnosticism is, full-blown Gnosticism really comes to fruition over the next, you know, 50 to 80 years or so, but the seeds are there and it's known as a religion of light. And for them, what light was, was special secret knowledge, and if you have this special secret knowledge, then you could obtain salvation. Almost sounds like ancient Scientology or something. And the thing was, is that's what salvation was, was knowledge. If you just believed the right things and somehow you were able to get this information by, I don't know, perhaps paying some false teachers to give it to you, it didn't really carry over into your moral life. It didn't carry over into moral purity and ethical uprightness. There was not a connection between light of salvation and holiness. They thought this secret knowledge alone was enough to save and didn't apply to their lifestyle. Well, we know this doesn't sound right to us. We know that you cannot only have Jesus as Savior, but you must also have him as Lord. And in verses five through seven, John starts to unfold this. We learn that Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of light because God himself is light. Our three points are God is light, walking in darkness, and walking in the light. So in verse 5, John explains how a Christian should view God and how he should view light. He explains that God is light, and this light is not just new knowledge, but salvation itself, and it includes holiness and ethical uprightness. Verse 5, this is the message we have heard from Him, and proclaim to you that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. This is the message they heard from Jesus that they're proclaiming. And what does it mean that God is light? Well, to say that God is light means that He's completely and 100% entirely holy, righteous, and true. To say that God is light is to put God in direct conflict with the darkness of this world, and in direct conflict with the prince of darkness. One of the major themes of John's gospel, if you read through it, you can pick up on this next time you read through it if you haven't, is there's a conflict between light and darkness. It's light versus darkness. John begins his gospel in a similar way that he begins this letter. After talking about the Word in John 1, he talks about light. John 1.4, John says this about the Word, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And then in verse 5, John says Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And then in verses 7-9, John the Baptist was a witness to the light, the true light which enlightens and has come into the world. And then later in John 8-12, Jesus says it himself, I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. So these are just a, this is just a little sample of at least 16 places in John's Gospel where John talks about light. Jesus is the light of the world. And from these verses we've surveyed, we see that the light that Jesus brings is eternal life. When John says God is light, he means that God is the source of salvation and He is perfect and holy and just in His being. Verse 5, back in 1 John 1-5, emphasizes God's holiness by saying, in Him there is no darkness at all. John doesn't say there isn't any darkness. He adds at all for emphasis. God is always upright, pure, holy, and just. This means that God is not the author of evil. That God and God alone is good. God is light and superior to the darkness in every way. James 1.17 teaches this too. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. So because God is light then, and we are the children of God, then we are called to walk as children of light. We are called to reflect the character of our Heavenly Father. Jesus calls us to be the lights of the world. Gospel of John 12, 36, believe in the light while you have the light so that you may become children of light. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls the disciples the light of the world. While Jesus was in the world, He was the light of the world. Now that He has ascended into heaven, we are the light of the world as Christ is reflected through us. And as lights of the world, what we're to do is point people away from the darkness of false doctrine. As lights of the world, we're called to point others to the very Son of God, who as we confessed this morning, as we confessed the Nicene Creed, that our God is God of God and light of light. And how do we do this? Well, we do this by letting the light of Christ shine and be evident in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. It's very simple. Since our God is light, as His children, we are also called to be a light to the world. Well, next John continues to teach on this theme. He describes contrast. Well, what does walking in the darkness look like then? And how do I know if that's me? Verse 6, if we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. So John explains here that you can't have Jesus as Savior and not Lord. It's absolutely impossible to claim to have fellowship with God, who is light, but then to live a habitually sinful lifestyle in the dark. In other words, you cannot claim to have Jesus as Savior and not submit to Him as Lord. You cannot claim that Jesus is your friend, but then live a lifestyle that looks and smells like moldy rotten fruit. Those things don't line up. The Christian life requires a lifestyle that matches your profession of faith. This is what it means. The Christians are called to walk in the light. John says that those who claim to have fellowship with God and live a life of sin do not practice the truth. Well, to not practice the truth is to practice evil. If you practice evil, you do not have fellowship with God. So this gives us an opportunity here. Am I walking in the light? Well, to walk, that word's used a lot in the Old Testament. It's a Hebrew idiom that refers to how someone lives and behaves. One commentator has a nice description of what it means to walk in the light. He says this, to walk in the light means allowing God's revealed will to motivate and guide one's actions and desires. So, the revealed will of God. Well, where do we find the revealed will of God? Well, we find that summarized for us in the Ten Commandments, which we also read. So to walk in the light for us, what that means is, is that we seek to obey and live according to the law of God, as it's summarized for us in the Ten Commandments. However, we don't do that, so God will love us. You hear me say this a lot when I talk about the law. We don't seek to obey the law so God will love us more. That's impossible for as much as he loves us fully and completely in Jesus Christ. But because God has loved us, because Jesus has saved us, because we are new creatures in Jesus Christ and our children of light, because of this, then we seek to walk in the light. And we seek to walk in the light for two reasons. One is to say thank you to God for everything that he has done for us in saving us from our sins. That's how we say thank you to Him. The second thing, walking in the light, is because if we obey the law of God as the Spirit gives us the ability and desire to obey, the more blessed our life will be, and other people will see that, and we'll be back to being children of light and a light to the world. Walking and practicing are habitual lifestyle patterns and habits, and the results of doing, practicing, and walking according to the revealed will of God results in a life filled with blessing and spiritual health and prosperity. You say, hey, we don't teach the prosperity gospel here. Well, we teach, I would say, maybe we teach prosperity gratitude here. Maybe that's what we could call it. Where just living according to the way that God designs in thankfulness for Him saving us, then our life is just blessed and things just work better and so do our relationships. And when you feel Like you don't have a lot of wisdom, and you're walking in the darkness, and you just feel like you need something. Well, you could certainly read the law of God, but you could also say, you know what, I'm gonna do some devotions in Proverbs, because I feel pretty unwise. Well, the whole book of Proverbs is about Christ as our prophet, as he inspired by the Holy Spirit, the authors, various authors of Proverbs, teaches us what it is to walk in the light. And so this is also here the way of blessing, but it's also a warning for us. We are called to examine ourselves as Christians. Does my speech and language, does it sound like someone who is a child of light? Now, how do you know this? Well, does my speech and language sound different than my non-Christian friends, family, and co-workers? The answer should be yes. It should sound different. And if it doesn't, then we have some examining to do. Are my thoughts, frequently at least, about how can I serve God? How can I glorify God at work and at school and at home? What opportunities do I have to show my neighbors love here on earth? Are my thoughts about, are they more about, well, just got to get to vacation, minutes, right? Or your thoughts about that and you can't think of anything else or more money or more toys or just more fun. Or are you really thinking in your hearts, how can I love God more? How can I love His people more? How can I serve more? If someone spent a day with me and they heard what I said and they could actually be in my mind, that's terrifying. But what would that say about me? Well, this gives us some stuff to work on, right? Some sins to confess, some things to think about, and ask the Lord to help us, to help our walk be more consistent with our profession of faith. I think we'll go on to point three here. So John, he does give a warning in point two, essentially, you need to make sure that you're not walking in the darkness. But then he says, but if we walk in the light as He is the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. First, we remember that we can only walk in the light because God has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Our old address is on the street of darkness in the country of everlasting night, which is ruled by the prince of darkness. But now the Lord has come and He has moved us. We have been relocated on the street of light and glory in the heavenly country, ruled by God who is light. That's where we live now in Jesus Christ. And as a result, you can think of this as a new address. So now we walk with God in the light. And our new neighbors here in our church are the fellow saints of God. Walking in the light means we have fellowship with God and we have fellowship with one another. And this is a message that we do need to hear fairly frequently. Because when we think of how we continue to sin over and over again, we might wonder, I know that might say, I know the Bible says this is true of me, but I just don't see it. Because I keep pursuing, and I think I love the darkness too much. And at times I find myself wanting to and strolling down those old streets in that evil neighborhood. Well, if God is light and there's no darkness in him at all, how can the kingdom of light be my home? But John is dealing with assurance of salvation throughout this whole letter. Someday we worry that the Lord might figure out that he made a mistake and we might get evicted and sent back to the darkness. Well, John comforts his struggling congregation and us. He calms our doubts by proclaiming that those that walk in the light have fellowship with each other. And there are also benefits of the forgiveness of sins, as the blood of Jesus the Son cleanses us from all sin. The blood of Jesus has made us clean. We're made clean by the sacrificial work of God the Son. And since a man sinned, then a man had to pay for sin. God had to become man. Hebrews 9.22 reminds us of this. Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. While the blood of Christ has been shed and it has been applied to us, so now we have fellowship with God, who is the God of light. He has no darkness in him at all. We must ban darkness from our own existence. And we can see that this cleansing from sin is continually applied to us. This phrase in John could also be translated, the blood of Jesus his son is continually cleansing us from all sin. So even as we continue to sin daily and need ongoing forgiveness daily, we get continual sin. Calvin says it this way, he says, by new sins we continually separate ourselves as far as we can from the grace of God. Thus it is that all the saints have the need of daily forgiveness of sins. For this alone keeps us in the family of God. Lord's Supper, forgive us our sins. We pray that every day, at least many of us do, and we at least pray it every Lord's Day. So, when we think of the work of Christ, paying for sin, we also think of this work being applied to us every single day as we're cleansed from all our sins. not just the sins that we committed before we came to Christ, not just even those sins that some say are minor, but Jesus paid for all of them, minor sins and serious sins, and cleanses us from every sin, no matter how insignificant it might seem, or no matter how big it may appear to us. We're cleansed from all our sins as Jesus is making us into that pure and spotless bride. This is the beginning of John's assurance in this letter that we'll keep coming back to. It'll probably take us a while. But verse 7 is a good start, it's a good summary of the gospel, and that assures us that our Holy Spirit-enabled efforts to walk in the light as God is light, this is how we say thank you to Jesus for saving us. The work of Christ motivates us to walk as children of light. Now this day has been full, full of many good things. As we conclude, here's the summary rundown. So if you took a nap until now, here's what this sermon was about. God is light, and that light is not just revelation and knowledge, but you want to communicate what you need to communicate in a clear way. So it's loving to communicate. And since God our Father is light, we're called to be children of light, being the lights of Jesus to the world. It's also a destroying and conquering light that pushes back darkness. Light always wins. Kids, that's why we're scared, and you're scared. You want a night light. The light pushes back the darkness. And John also warned us about those who say they have fellowship with God but walk in the darkness. The true Christian professes Jesus as Savior and Lord as he seeks to walk in the light. and we see the amazing benefits that come with walking in the light. It's proof that we're able to walk in the light, when even though we fail at it, we still want to. That should reassure us that God has done a great work in us and that we've been moved, even the fact that we just want to walk in the light and we like it there, that's evidence to us that we have been moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light and the kingdom of Jesus Christ. and we're reminded that we have fellowship with the saints, and we're comforted by the promise that the blood of Jesus forgives us of all our sins continually every single day. As we end our time reflecting on these blessings, let us continually praise our triune God. Praise God the Father for sending us Jesus Christ, the light of the world, so that we might have fellowship with him, Praise Jesus, God the Son, for cleansing us by his blood and for rescuing us from darkness. And praise God, the Holy Spirit, who enables and empowers us to walk in the light as God himself is the light. Amen.