Walking in the Light

1 John 1:5-10

Introduction: Week 2 of ‘Teaching from the Elder.’

[God is light] The source of wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness; and in him is no darkness at all-no ignorance, no imperfection, no sinfulness, no misery.

And from him wisdom, knowledge, holiness, and happiness are received by every believing soul.

This is the grand message of the Gospel, the great principle on which the happiness of man depends. LIGHT implies every essential excellence, especially wisdom, holiness, and happiness.

1. Darkness and Light must be defined by the Bible.

Question: Pastor, how do I know what is dark and what is light?

Galatians 5:19-26

NKJ  Galatians 5:19 ‘Now the works of the flesh are evident/manifest, which are: adultery1, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders1, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another’. (Gal 5:19 NKJ)

NLT – Galatians 5:19 ‘When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another’. (Gal 5:19 NLT)

The breakdown of these into categories could be

• Sexual Sin – adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness
• Lordship /Worship Sins & failures – Idolatry & sorcery
• Failure in/of character and person – hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions
• Deviant Actions – Heresies, envy, murders,
• Selfish / Carnal Acts/Actions – ‘Party Sins’ – drunkenness & revelries (and such)

διχοστασία = the state of being in factious opposition, dissension, Gal 5:20, Rom 16:17. [Again, the divisions and factionalism that Paul speaks about in these two verses, are those between Christians, not the world of secular politics.]
σις = a group that holds tenets distinctive to it, sect, factions in group; … (with negative connotation) 1 Cor 11;19, Gal 5:20. [This is condemned by Paul because he is discussing divisions in the unity of the faith.]

ὅμοιος = (and the such), things similar to the previous list, namely, “sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies”

Question: What are we supposed to do / think when people differ on biblical interpretation?

Application: People / individuals have different ‘opinions / positions’ on sexuality.

M.H. – ‘Often I think / wonder if people / individuals are not just trying to ‘justify’ certain actions by taking on certain positions / interpretations.

Transition: Which leads me to my second point.

II. Living in the Light is a full time Responsibility / ‘practice.’

Application: We are going to sin (miss the mark) on occasions. But living in and or practicing the truth through/by faith.
Application: Some ‘Christians’ have it backwords! The live primarily following / living in the flesh and then sometimes live in the light only on occasion!
NKJ Galatians 5:24-26, ‘And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another’. (Gal 5:24 NKJ)

Matthew 16:24-26 – ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Let’s begin with what Jesus didn’t mean in this verse.

• Many people interpret the “cross” to be taken up as some burden they must carry in their lives: a strained relationship, a thankless job, a physical illness, etc.
  • With self-pitying pride, they look at their difficulty and say, “That’s my cross I have to carry.”
  • Such an idea is not what Jesus meant when He said, “Take up your cross and follow Me.”

• When a person carried a cross in Jesus’ day, no one thought of it as a persistent annoyance or symbolic burden. To a person in the first century, the cross meant one thing and one thing only: death by crucifixion. To carry a cross was to face the most painful and humiliating means of death human beings could develop

Crucifying the Flesh

1. The “flesh” that must be crucified is the sin principle that exists in our fallen human nature.

In this world we live in fleshly bodies, and the body, being weak (Mark 14:38), is the gateway to sin. Our bodies, though not sinful in themselves, naturally crave comfort and pleasure, and they too often succumb to temptation, producing the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19–21). Sin entrenches itself in the flesh, which becomes dominated by iniquity of all kinds. It is the sinful passions and wayward deeds of the flesh that Christians must crucify.

• In other places, Paul speaks of a crucifixion that happens to the believer through his or her union with Jesus Christ: “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20; see also Romans 6:6). But in Galatians 5:24, it is the believer who has taken action. Crucify the flesh describes a deliberate putting to death of the old sin nature.

• Paul’s instruction was inspired by Jesus Christ Himself, who said, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34, CSB).
  

• Take up the cross is a figure of speech closely related to crucify the flesh. Believers are to behave like a person carrying his own cross to the place of his execution. Paul follows the Lord’s words to their logical conclusion. Not only must believers pick up and carry their cross, but they must also make sure their death sentence gets carried out. Crucifying the flesh illustrates the putting to death of selfish, sinful desires.

• Believers are to take their old sin nature and, figuratively speaking, nail it to the cross. We crucify the flesh through repentance of sin—by turning our backs on the old way of life, by saying no to selfish and sinful passions, and by utterly renouncing the flesh: “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13, NLT).

Crucifixion:

1. In the ancient world, crucifixion was the vilest, most shameful form of death, reserved for the worst of criminals.

• Paul undoubtedly wanted his readers to understand that the flesh is not to be treated with respect, kindness, or even indifference.

• The carnal nature is so evil that it deserves nothing but the most dreadful of punishments. Crucifixion was also one of the most painful forms of execution.

Application: Believers should not expect to put to death the flesh without experiencing some pain and suffering.

• The flesh and the spirit are in continual conflict with each other, so our daily calling as followers of Christ is to crucify the flesh: “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13; see also Romans 6:11).

• Because we have been delivered from sin and death to new life in Jesus Christ, we are to yield ourselves to God for His good purposes and “put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

To crucify the flesh is to obey the call to Christian discipleship.

1. It means losing our life to find it in Him (Matthew 10:39).

• As we daily put to death the sinful nature, we begin to walk in victory over the flesh.

• Conquering the flesh is what Paul describes as walking in the Spirit: “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).
  
  

There was teaching that men don’t sin.

Sinlessness – The belief that Christians cannot sin, sometimes called “sinlessness,” is a theological perspective with varying interpretations. While some argue that true Christians are incapable of sinning, the Bible emphasizes the ongoing struggle against sin and the necessity of confession and forgiveness. The idea of a “sinless Christian” is often understood as a state of being where one is not habitually or deliberately practicing sin, but rather striving for holiness and obedience to God.

‘All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’.

IV. There is an answer/cure/covering for our sin!