1 John 1

WHY DID HE WRITE 1 John?

One of the great things about the writings of John is that he always tells you exactly why he’s writing. He doesn’t leave you guessing. He wants you to know why his writings exist.

The Gospel of John was written so that people would believe.

John 20

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

For this reason, the Gospel of John is a great book to have someone read who you are trying to share the gospel with.

In 1 John 1 he is writing to a different crowd for a different reason.

1 John 1

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.

John doesn’t just want you to have salvation when you die. John doesn’t just want you to be a bit more moral in this life.

John wants your joy to be complete. Not worldly happiness from circumstances, but a true joy that surpasses all circumstances which only comes from a relationship with Christ.

This letter is written to reveal how you can find that type of joy.

THE LIGHT AND THE DARK

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 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, purifies us from all sin.

Throughout the book of 1 John, John consistently uses contrast to show how Christians should live.

Here he talks about the light and the darkness. The interesting thing about light and darkness is that you become comfortable in whichever you’re in.

We’ve all had the experience of going to the movies in the afternoon. You sit in a dark room for 2 hours. The movie ends, and you walk outside to see a blinding light which physically hurts your eyes.

When you spend time in the light, you get used to the light.

When you spent time in the dark, you get used to the dark.

What John is saying here is that Christians should spend their time in the light. If you’re a believer and you spend all your time in the darkness, you are deceiving yourself into thinking you’re happy. You aren’t living out the eternal life which you claim to have.

When you live in the light, you complete your joy.

When you live in the darkness, you lie to yourself! You fool yourself into thinking you’re happy.

BALANCE

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Before you get too discouraged, John clarifies his point. He isn’t saying that any Christian who steps into the darkness and sins isn’t a Christian.

In the same way that any Christian WALKING in the darkness lies to themselves, any Christian claiming to be without sin DECEIVES themselves. He actually makes this sound a little worse because he says we make God a liar.

Whether you’ve been walking in the walking in the dark or you’re walking in the light but struggling, John has the same words of encouragement.

Confess your sins.

He is faithful.

He will forgive you.

He will purify you.

All of us will slip into the darkness. You can be assured, if you confess your sins, He will be faithful to forgive and purify you.

Sean Chandler | Associate Pastor

Sean has been a part of the association of Hill Country Bible Churches for over twenty years. He received Christ as a youth while attending Hill Country Bible Church Austin. He attended Hill Country Bible Church NW from 1989 to 2002. At that time he began attending HCBC Pflugerville. He served as a student ministry intern there for two years. In 2008, Sean graduated from Columbia International University with a double major in Bible and Bible teaching. Sean married his wife, Jennifer, in 2006. Their first child, Liam, was born in 2012, and their second, Chloe, was born in 2014.

He blogs regularly at seanchandler.net.