Aber 2019 — Conrad Mbewe on "Walking in Light" (1 John 1:5-10)

well it's a joy for me to be back among you at this conference I can't quite recall the year that I was last here all I do is remember the series that I took because of the the famous hymn that is based on it the the passage that has to do with the gospel of our glorious God but I remember the the warmth of fellowship the joy that I was able to see in many of you the joy of the Lord and since then have been in fellowship with some of you over the years so it's a delight for my wife and I that we should be here among you on this occasion I am speaking from first John and the passage that has been read to you is the one that I am preaching from this morning but let me quickly say a few words about the task that is on our hands before we delve into this passage of Scripture as you know first John based on chapter 5 and verse 13 deals largely with a subject of assurance of eternal salvation reading through it you realize that the Apostle John the the beloved apostle and disciple of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ was also dealing with issues that were taking place in the life of the church that were related to false teachers and so every so often he makes very clear cutting statements that show that he was saying what you are hearing is not only not true but it is also damning heresy in other words if you cling on to it you will no doubt be basing your hope for eternity on that which is a false foundation and consequently you will be lost for all eternity and so what you have as you make your way through this book will be a thread of foundational truths that we should all hold on through in order for us to be assured that we are in the right standing with God there's no way that in the three sessions that I have I would ever attempt to exhaust anything of the issues that John deals with in these five chapters so what I have proposed to do in the three sessions that I have is to pick up at least three of those threads and the first which we are dealing with in this session I am calling walking in the light and that's evidently from first John first John 1 verse 5 to the end of the chapter and then the Lord willing in the next session I will come and deal with working in holiness which is really jumping into the third chapter and then lastly still in that third chapter we will deal with working in love and thankfully that also spills over into the fourth chapter and what I'm really proposing to do by each of these is to to argue that if we are truly believers and we are in a healthy relationship with God then our lives will be characterized by these three realities light which will soon look at holiness and then also love now one of the reasons why such a consideration is vital is because we are all briefly on an earthly journey and we will soon be gone death will not be the end of our existence rather we'll be ushered into an eternity that will be completely based on how we lived here on earth especially with respect to our relationship with God in other words if we are on the wrong side of God we have an eternity to bear a dear price for it so it's crucial that each one of us should ensure that while we are still living we in fact have come into genuine repentance and genuine faith in our Lord Jesus Christ now as you know any matter that is of any serious weight and worth will have a duplicate a counterfeit because the enemy of our souls will want to rob us of that which is of eternal value and therefore to go about casually and carelessly through life thinking that because who ever said something to me must be genuine is indeed to take a risk that only a fool should take if we have any ounce of wisdom we ought to go to the Bible again and again to say what does it really say about the way of salvation what is the real gospel and how do I know that I am in possession of it well that's really the reason why a journey through a book like this is vital and as I've said our very first installment is that of walking in the light in other words if we are truly and genuinely converted then our lives will be described in this way that we are individuals that walk in the light and this we see from this five to the end of first John and chapter 1 John had already began to speak in terms of his own knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ together with the other apostles who had no doubt come to the real experience of salvation and he is saying in those verses that we read to us earlier that it is in knowing him that is the Lord Jesus Christ that they are seeking to share him with others that others may also know him and in that way they will be able to experience a commonality of fellowship and of joy but as he enters into verse 5 he speaks about the fact that he has a message which is not one that they came up with through philosophical deduction but is the message that they as disciples and apostles had received from the Lord and it is a message that begins with the character of God the essential character of God look at the way he puts it in verse 5 this is the message we have heard from him referring to him who is eternal him whom they had met him who is the Lord Jesus Christ and we are proclaiming this to you that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all two quick observations and we will need to move on first of all it is the very nature of Christianity that it is not something that has been coined as men and women have tried to simply understand life and consequently in every generation as education and learning continues therefore it is one that keeps changing because more discoveries are being made Christianity is not like that it has a given edge to it we are simply recipients of the truths that we have come to embrace truths that we jealously defend and truths that we go on to proclaim and declare and these are truths that we have received from God himself therefore they don't change and I said that quite deliberately because especially in the Western world where the human mind is being given a level of autonomy and position that it doesn't have and education has become a form of God despite the fact that is constantly changing this aspect of recognizing that God's Word God's truth is unchanging we are merely recipients of it we are stewards of it and our task is to be faithful that's all we have to be faithful in ensuring we are passing it on but the second preliminary comment a lot to make from this passage of Scripture has to do with the fact that with respect to our relationship with God we must always begin with God rather than ourselves we see it very clearly here that which we have heard from him and proclaim to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all I'm emphasizing this because the day in which we live the tendency even among pastors and preachers of God's Word is to begin with the man or woman in the pew it is what do they want what do they like what are they comfortable with and then we make our way back to Scripture and say okay then what do we find here that's going to make them comfortable and now that's wrong we we are beginning from the wrong end of the stick the Christian faith begins with the question who is our Creator who is the governor of history who is the coming judge of the living and the dead and then ask the question what kind of being is he once we know the kind of be is then we ask ourselves the question then what kind of individual should we be in order to make sure we are on the right side of God those two basic truths must remain foundational with respect to any true religion the givenness and the reality of the kind of God who is there well Joel tells us here one aspect concerning this God and it says God is light in him is no darkness at all if you familiar with John's writings you will know that he is fond of picture languages and there's no doubt that as he uses the word God is light he is using an image in order to convey to us biblical truth what is it that is encapsulated in this picture of light and one suggest to you at least three realities concerning God first of all it is the reality of truth truth God is truth and that's pretty obvious because when you are in a dark room you don't quite know what is there but when either the Sun comes through some windows by opening curtains or you turn on the lights you are able to see then your eyes communicate to you the reality which is there and that's what God is he has revealed himself because of his very nature there is no obscure unity with God he has so revealed himself that you can know him there's no hypocrisy with respect to this God he will not say one thing to you today and then a few years later you discover that there was no truth in it it was falsehood no the God who is there is truth itself it's it's the embodiment of truth that's who he is but secondly light conveys the reality of goodness goodness and its it conveys goodness in terms of of wholeness and and health and and growth and enjoy instead of gloom and and decay and death I think we all know that back home where I come from which is in Zambia Africa every day is fairly bright we have enough sunshine that we hardly ever use the phrase Wow it's a good day today because every day is a good day but having travelled to your corner of the world I've began to appreciate why that's so much part of your greeting is because you can have days and weeks and months when you hardly see the Sun and so when finally the the clouds give way and the is sunshine coming through is not only you as you greet one another even the birds you can notice that there are songs speak in terms of joy and gladness and so on this is the sense of goodness that comes with light and that's true about this God as well but the third aspect concerning this light that we should not miss especially as we go through first John and it is in terms of moral purity moral purity God is one who is of absolute moral purity by this little phrase after that and in him is no darkness at all in other words the God who has created this universe the God who governs it is one who will not compromise as far as sin and holiness are concerned and if you embrace a religion that allows you to be defiled and corrupted spiritually and morally and somehow you think that God will accept you that way throw that religion away because the God who is there is light is of moral purity he must punish sin he cannot dwell where sin is well that's where John begins and I want to ask the question is that where you begin is that the God that you have come to know is that the God that you declare to all around you that the one who has made this universe the one we will finally have to meet on the day of judgment this is his nature and he will never change we are the ones who must change we must deal with this reality this is the God with whom we have to do now if this is true and it is then there are some implications upon us which we have to deal with and those implications you see right through the rest of this chapter indeed right into chapter 2 the first few verses you can't miss it because of the if clause that you keep coming across again and again and again let's quickly see that and then we will open that up by way of consideration the first one is in verse 6 if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness we lie and not practice the truth the second is in verse 7 but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin the third is in verse 8 if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us the fourth is investment 9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and then the last at least for us m1 is in verse 10 if we say we have not sinned we make him a liar and his truth is not in us conditional state Mintz and the reason why they have an inevitable consequence is because of the kind of God who is there in other words we'll all have serious decisions to make and all those decisions hang around the fact that God is light and if we are to truly live in biblical assurance then we too must walk in that light let's go through each one of them as an implication first of all it is the implication on us if we are working in darkness if we are walking in darkness and the implication is fairly straightforward it is this that if we are working in darkness and then we are claiming to have fellowship with him we are lying at least we are deceiving ourselves because of his nature this week we read verse 6 if we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness we lie and do not practice the truth would not practice the truth I think the point that the Apostle John is making there is that birds of a feather flock together you cannot be one who loves seen and then be claiming that you are in partnership that you are walking with the Living God it can't be you cannot be an individual who does not embrace truth and integrity that is not part of your life and then you claim that you you have come into a living relationship with God that's not true because the very nature of God is a nature of integrity what you see is what you have there's no double dealings with him and therefore you cannot be a person who lives in in corruption in in deceit in defrauding others and then somehow show up at church on Sunday claiming that you are in fellowship with the Living God you are not to bring some other aspect of this light it's the aspect of goodness you can't be an individual who is spreading misery wherever you are going and then somehow on a Sunday wearing your Sunday best look like an angel in church that's not the God of the Bible you can be sure that however your life was in the course of the week that's the real you and your closest friend is not God it is the evil one the one you are really serving he is your master and not our God so as you look at this it makes sense that we should look at our lives and say okay what is emanating out of me am i someone who loves truth and desires truthfulness am i one who is radiating warmth and blessing and love to those who are around me is there goodness and mercy that is touching the lives of people am i an individual who seeks moral purity as it says where that is missing you are cheating yourself you are lying but the second implication because God is light and it is this that if we are working in the light then there is a fellowship we experience but a novice you'd think you'd say a fellowship with God that we experience instead he says no a fellowship with one another with other believers let's read this very quickly in verse seven he says but if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin let me come a little bit as a surprise because initially he was talking in terms of us and God but thankfully the God who has made us is a God of community even within himself there is Father Son and Holy Spirit in eternal love eternal communion it's within his essential nature and consequently in saving us he doesn't just give us a vertical relationship with himself he also serves us in such a way as to make us a people of community a people that love one another a people that care for one another you remember when our Lord Jesus Christ was asked what the greatest commandment was his answer was it is this you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your mind all your soul and all your strength he did not stop there immediately said and the second is like the first we shall love your neighbor as you love yourself and he says all the law of God hangs on these two so you don't choose if your true believer that as long as my relationship with God is okay I don't care about others it's all about me and God there is no such option with the Living God if you are walking in the light as God is in the light you will be a person whose spiritual life is integrated with others in their spiritual life now that's an all-important test because a lot of what light has to do relates to their one another realities of life so for instance we were saying that it has to do with truth well who are you being challenged to be truthful to will it's at a horizontal level it has to do with goodness again who is it that will be experiencing something of the warmth of that goodness it is the one owner and similarly with respect to morality the aspect of living a life according to God's Word the Ten Commandments help us to understand that and we soon discover that way as the top half relates to our relationship with God the bottom half has to do with our relationship with one another so however you might want to look at it if you are truly walking in the light you're not only having fellowship with God praise God for that you're also having fellowship with other believers that's a good place for us to park right there is that true of you do other believers matter to you do you live a life of truthfulness and love goodness and moral purity with respect to others who name the name of God but what is also interesting is the next phrase and the blood of Jesus is Son cleanses us from all sin I say it's interesting because it's easy for us to conclude that God is light is primarily referring to the fact that he is absolutely sinless and therefore if we are walking in the light then we must be absolutely sinless but clearly if we are absolutely sinless then what is this about the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin so walking in the light is primarily this disposition this compass of life that points in the direction of moral purity of holiness now clearly of God he's already there but with respect to our lives because we are being sanctified for us walking in the light is working in that direction with a clear resolve that I want to be like God or as we say christ-like now if that is what is happening in your life then John here is saying that you will be an individual who when you do wrong you will make a beeline to the foot of the cross that you might find full and free pardon from the atoning sacrifice of God's own son isn't that true that one sign of an individual who has truly become a Christian is that you've got a tender conscience a very tender conscience you are like a cat that's constantly cleaning itself constantly other people looking at you and saying that man that woman is truly godly but when you go into God's presence you're saying lord have mercy on me a sinner a sinner that's a sign that you are working in that light it's a sign that the Lord has saved you well let's hurry on because there are a few more implications here the next implication in fact the next three are related to this same question of sin sin which we find at the end of the seven the best way to put it is this if someone asked you and you are a person who is religious and it asks you the question have you sinned the immediate response of your soul depends on whether you're working in the light or not generally speaking a person who is religious yes but has not known the grace of God in salvation they tend to have a religion of self-righteousness self-righteousness and that's because they don't know God remember the Pharisee in Jesus's parable who went to the temple to pray and his immediate response was lord I thank you that I'm not like other men and in the process event points at the tax collector and says at least I'm glad I'm not like him I fast twice a week I give what I have to the poor I do this I do that hey I'm doing good and Jesus says at the end of that parable he's the very one who goes home exactly the way he came still an ant patterned sinner oh that's the first implication that John here listen to this in verse 8 if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us in other words if our very first reaction to the possibility of their being seen in our lives is not I'm not a sinner where did you see me sinning and so on most likely we have not yet come on our knees before the cross to say Lord in my actions in my words in my thoughts in the intentions of my heart there's nothing pure except what you have put me in sin my mother conceived me as David said in his wonderful son what is your reaction to this question of sin in your life are you conscience of an all-seeing God a good God who invites you to himself a morally pure God who is averse to say are you conscience of because if you're not you will be plagued with self-righteousness you will be because you are not walking in the light now on the other hand if you are walking in the light and this question is put to you as to whether you are a sinner or not your answer is yes em but for the grace of God it's God's grace alone that makes any difference whatsoever and that grace is one that is given in the person and work of Jesus Christ and that's the second if that he deals with day as we go to verse 9 we if we confess our sins and that's what we'll do well at meet our sin he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness in other words the God who is there the God of truth has informed me that he has provided a substitute in the name of his son the Lord Jesus and that substitute has paid the full price for my sin he is truth and consequently I believe him he is goodness his love his mercy his kind his graciousness and consequently yes I have sinned but he has taken his son to take my place to suffer my punishment to drinking his full wrath against me because he is a good god and he is indeed morally pure and consequently by his Spirit has come into my life and genuinely saved genuinely saved me that I now want to be like him he faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness if you're walking in the light that's you that's you it's not self-righteousness because you know you have none it is the righteousness of God's own son the Lord Jesus Christ well let me hurry on because we now need to deal with this final aspect and it is a failure to walk in the light which is self damning when now you make God out to be the exact opposite of who he is if we say we have not sinned we make him a liar and his word is not with us what a tragedy what a tragedy that he who is light by your very claim you make him out to be life to be darkness in order to justify yourself oh that God would have mercy on you would have mercy on you that you should seek to taint the purity of the Holy One to justify yourself to somehow make another way into his heaven in the end you only make the damnation you deserve even worse well let's hurry on to cross because we could go on as I said there is a lot of material for us to cover there as I said at the very beginning we must begin with who God is is that your Christianity one in which you have come to embrace that the God who is there is a god of absolute purity of truth and goodness and morality and therefore I have to deal with this matter have you come to those terms because all let me plead with you this world will give you a good you'll like a God created in your image to worship gladly and then perish forever have you embraced this God the God and father of our Lord Jesus and if you come to him in a way by which on his terms your sins can be forgiven your life can be changed and consequently in this life you can get closer and closer to the grave knowing you are getting closer and closer to meeting your God who is light who is truth who is goodness and who is moral purity and your soul longs to may God help each one of us to walk in the light

Channel: Evangelical Movement of Wales

Views: 3,318

Rating: 4.8857141 out of 5

Keywords: preaching, sermon, Aber2019, Conrad Mbewe

Id: 1xYvifAH6t0

Length: 45min 38sec (2738 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 11 2019