Copr. 1997, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D.
LESSON 2 LIGHT AGAINST DARKNESS (1 John 1:5-10)
Copr. 1997, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All Scripture references
are to the NIV unless otherwise noted. Suggested answers are
found within parentheses. The lesson assumes the teacher uses
a blackboard. This lesson can be found at:
<URL:http://www.cameronlaw.com>
INTRODUCTION: Lets review for just a minute. Remember we learned
last week that John had a message for us about the Word of life
(Jesus). That message was that he was a competent witness to tell
us about the Word of life; and that if we listened to him we could
enter into fellowship with John, Jesus and God the Father. To enter
into this fellowship would make God's joy complete! Lets dive into
the beginning of that "fellowship" message now with our lesson this
week!
I. THE MESSAGE ABOUT LIGHT AND DARKNESS
A. Read 1 John 1:5-6. When you are walking through the woods,
you often have to make a choice of trails to follow. In these
two verses I see a fork in life's road. What are the two
options according to John? (Light and Darkness) [Split
blackboard with captions]
1. What other descriptions does John make of these
options? (Verse 6, end, "true/false")
2. What are some other terms you would use to describe
these two options? ("Good/evil," "Right/wrong,"
Righteous/Unrighteous.")
3. Where does John put God? (Light-exclusively)
B. Last week I asked you why Jesus was described as "the Word
of life." Let me ask you this week, why is God described as
"light?" Why is this word appropriate or properly
descriptive?
1. What comes to mind when you think of light? (Power.
Ability to see. Activity. Exposure. "I am the light of
the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in
darkness...." John 8:12)
2. Last week as we were leaving church Margie was talking
with me about another idea on my question last week about
why Jesus is called the "Word." She said that if you
think about creation, the world was created by a "word."
Word also signifies the power of Jesus.
a. Thinking back to creation again, what was created
first? (God spoke "light" into existence. Gen. 1:3)
b. Do you see a connection between God's first
act of creation and what He is called? (Light
defines God. He created us in His image. Therefore
it is natural, perhaps required, that when He began
"speaking" creation into existence He started with
light.)
C. When I started out I asked you about the options (on the
road of life) "according to John." In v. 5 John puts in a
little note about the source of his message. Did it begin with
him? (No! He says, "This is the message we have heard from him
and declare to you...." Who is this "him?" (The Word of life -
- Jesus!)
D. Jesus' message to us is that God is light with no darkness
at all. Why add this note that there is no darkness in God?
(Three reasons: first, the gods that existed at the time had
a "dark side." You had to be careful how you dealt with them
because you could trigger injustice. Second, you need to know
the nature of the fellowship. You are now fellowshipping with
"someone" who is completely light -- completely good. Third,
evil did not proceed from God.)
II. HOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT "TRAIL."
A. Reality check one: Read v.6 again along with v.7. Remember
John starts out in the first four verses to tell us how to
have fellowship with God. Then we started out saying that this
was like a trail in the woods: you have options to go left or
right. One trail takes us to this fellowship with God. To
know whether we are on the right trail John continues in v.6
with a kind of "self-test."
1. What is this first "test?" (Walking in darkness. If
you walk in darkness, you are not on the right trail and
you will not have fellowship.)
2. Notice what we have to add to the "darkness" side of
our chart to help us understand what it is:
a. Those who falsely claim to walk in the light;
b. Liars; and,
c. False life.
3. Let's look at the word "walk." The contrast is
between walking in the light and walking in the darkness.
What do you think is meant by "walking" in light or
darkness? (The greek here is "peripateo" which Thayer
says is Hebrew for "to live." (Not sure what Thayer means
by saying a greek word is Hebrew for something.) Vines
adds that while this word means a physical walk in many
places in the N.T., it is never means a physical walk in
John's epistles. From this I understand John to say "our
custom" is to do evil or do right.)
4. Do we see this today? That people call darkness light?
(I cannot know I'm on the wrong trail, I cannot head
toward the road to reform unless I admit that sin is sin.
If I call sin righteousness, I will always continue on
the wrong trail until it kills me.)
B. Reality check two: Read v. 8. What is the second test of
whether we have fellowship with God? (If we claim to be
without sin.)
1. Is this a test of our actions, like v.6? (No. This is
a test of our attitude, our thinking. Instead of using
the word "claim," lets use the word "think" to make it
more personal.)
2. Therefore self-test two is: Do you think you are
without sin?
3. If you flunk this test, what is the result? (A lack of
truth in us. This places us on the wrong trail and on the
darkness side of the blackboard, right?)
4. Do you think these people know this? If someone
claims to be without sin, you would think these would be
"good" people. (v.8 we "deceive ourselves.")
5. Under what circumstances could a person think or say
they were without sin?
(a. Claimed perfection. I once heard a lady who
claimed to be a modern prophet also claim to have
lived the last six months without sin. Those who
claim that we can reach perfection in our actions
need to carefully consider this verse.)
b. Claim that sin is no longer sin for the
righteous. This is the idea that we can do what we
want, because sin is not longer sin for Christians.
This is the opposite extreme from perfectionism.
Sin does not matter because it is somehow
transformed into righteousness. John says that sin
is sin and we need to deal with it.)
C. Reality check three: Read v.10. What is the third test of
whether we are on the trail to fellowship with God? (If we
claim (or think) we have never sinned.)
1. Is this a more outrageous claim than those described
in v.8? (Yes. They claim not only present sinlessness,
but the claim that have never sinned.)
a. Are these people just confused? (In v.8 John
suggests that those who claim present sinlessness
are "self-deceived." But those who claim to have
never sinned make God out to be a liar and God's
word "has no place" in them!)
2. How do these people who claim they have never sinned
"make [God] out to be a liar?" (God has clearly revealed
to us the natural state of our hearts in Gen. 8:21: every
"inclination of [our] heart is evil from childhood."
Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure. Who can understand it?")
D. Reality check four: Lets go back to v. 7 again. John gives
us not only "negative" tests for whether we are on the right
trail, he also gives us "positive" tests.
1. What is the test to know that we are on the right
trail? (We walk in the light.)
a. What do you think this means?
2. Does walking in the light mean you are without sin?
Taking into account what we have already discussed, does
John strongly suggest that those who walk in the light
are keenly aware of their sins? (Praise God! We are on
the trail to fellowship even if we have sin. The fact
that you have sin in your life does not disqualify you
from being on the "correct" trail. But remember if you
are walking in darkness, you are not on the right trail.
3. It seems a contradiction to walk in the light yet have
sin. What happens to our sin?(v.7 The blood of Jesus
purifies us from sin.)
E. Reality check five: Let's look at v.9 again. What is the
"positive" test here for whether we are on the trail towards
fellowship? ( Confess our sin. We do not deny it. We are
honest with ourselves about our sin. Once again we are told
(as in v.7) that God will "purify" us from our sin. If we say
we are perfect, we have nothing to purify, God has nothing to
forgive.)
F. How is it with you friend? Do you readily confess your
sins? Or do you claim to be without sin?
1. Are you on the trail to fellowship with God or on the
trail to everlasting darkness?
III. Next week: "Walking Life Jesus." We study the first part of
John chapter 2. Study!