go towards the light...

1st John 1:5-10

5This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us

These five verses pack so much power and truth in them. I mean look at verse five. God is light. To emphasize that, John adds "and in him is no darkness at all." Think about it. God is light. Light is pure. Light illuminates. Light causes life. God is light. This verse sets up who God is and what follows explains where we stand.

In verse six, it says that if we claim to be in fellowship with Him, but yet continue to walk in darkness, we are liars and do not the truth. If we claim to be Christians, but yet continue to walk in our sins, we are liars. Now understand this: I am not saying Christians are perfect and don't sin. They sin, but if God (who is light) is in their life, then they repent and strive to to not sin in the sight of their Lord. Look at what Christ said in John 12:35-36,

35Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
36While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them.

He tells us to walk in the light, because if you walk in darkness, you don't know where you're going (surprise). Well, how do we walk in the light? It says in John 3:21,

21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Abide in truth and you'll abide in the light. In verse seven, it says that if we walk in the light, just as God is in the light, we will have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin. Two things to point out here:

One is that it says as "God is in the light", once again setting up where God is. God is light. In Psalm 104:2 it says how "He covers himself in light as with a garment." God wears the light like a clothing. In the verse before it says, "you are clothed with honor and majesty."

Second thing is, it places those who walk in the light under the shed blood of Christ.

Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

In order for there to be redemption, blood always has to be shed. We see it in Genesis 3:21, that God killed the first animal in order to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness. They had lost their righteousness and The Lord shed the blood of an innocent animal to cover their sin. The fig leaves of their self-righteousness could not cover them. I learned that fig leaves are soft like velvet and will shrink under the light of the sun to about a quarter the original size.

Ok, now think about that. God is light. Adam and Eve tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. When God found them, since He is light, what effect do you think it had on those fig leaves? Let's just say they probably weren't covering up much.

But we are so quick to do the same thing. We think good works and being a good person will cover our sins in the eyes of God, but we have no idea who he really is. God is light and in the light of his law, it shrinks the fig leaves of our self-righteousness and exposes our true hearts. Look back at verse eight:

8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We can put up this front that we're not sinners, but who are we fooling?

1 John 2:4
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

We're not fooling anybody.

The last two verses just repeat the thoughts of the others. John repeatedly drives this home (almost like he is trying to make a point). "If we say we don't have sin, we decieve ourselves. If we say we don't have sin, we're liars. If we say we don't have sin, the truth is not in us."

I've been accussed of painting things black and white before, but i really think this passage can only be taken in that way. Either you abide in the light or the dark. Either you live in sin or you confess your sins and strive for righteousness. In verse nine, it says:

9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

My friends, if you are walking in sin, confess them to the Lord and turn away from them. Serve Jesus as Lord and walk in the light of his prescence.


"He that has an ear, let him hear..."