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The New Testament lesson this morning is a reading from the first letter of John,
chapter 1, verses 5-10, and chapter 2, verses 1 and 2.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth.
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.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful,
and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say we have not sinned,
we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us.
My little children,
I am writing these things to you,
so that you may not sin.
But if anyone does sin,
we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.
He is the propitiation for our sins,
and not only for ours only,
but for the sins of the whole world.
This is the word of the Lord.
You can take your seats.
So, I just want to introduce our guest preacher today.
His name is John Kong.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the history of our church,
we started in 2006,
and part of the heart of this church
has been to engage the college students
just two blocks down the street
from where we worship.
And so, when this church was started,
they came with two founding pastors
and what's called an RUF minister,
a Reformed University Fellowship minister,
basically a campus minister
to help us reach the students at Cal.
And so, that happened all the way in 2006.
Since then, that original founding RUF minister
has gone and planted his own church in Oakland,
and they're good friends with us.
And now we are at our third RUF minister here at Cal,
and Christ Church is happy to be supporting this ministry,
very excited about what God is doing in this ministry.
Amy and myself have been able to visit
and serve this ministry a few times,
and we just always love spending time with the students
and hearing the stories of what God's up to
at this super formative time in the life of students.
So, I'm going to invite John Kong up,
and he's going to deliver the word today.
And we're so thankful to have you, John.
Thanks, Pat.
Well, good morning, everyone.
It is such a privilege to be here
and have an opportunity to worship with you all
and share God's word with you all this morning.
As Andrew mentioned,
I'm the campus minister for RUF Berkeley,
so I bring greetings to you from RUF Berkeley.
I really appreciate all the prayers
and support from this church.
And if you would love to learn more
about what God is doing in Berkeley
through the ministry of RUF,
I'd love to chat with you afterwards.
So please come find me after worship and say hi.
But as you just heard,
Carrie read our passage.
We're looking at this morning.
It's 1 John 1, verses 5,
through chapter 2, verse 2.
It's a very familiar,
it's a pretty familiar passage to,
I think, most of us,
especially maybe in verse 9
that you just heard read.
It's often quoted
when we're talking about forgiveness of sins,
assuring us of God's forgiveness.
There's a lot going on in this passage,
but the main thing that John wants to tell us
in this passage
is how as Christians,
you and I are to walk in the light.
And I think that is a timely
and important reminder for us.
Andrew prayed this during our time of confession,
but we don't have to look too far
to see how broken and how dark our world is.
You turn on the news,
pull up whatever news app on your phone,
and you will get inundated with news
about the brokenness of our world,
from natural disasters,
to shootings,
to wars that are going on across the globe.
In fact, actually,
you and I don't have to turn on the news.
We just have to walk around our city of Berkeley.
I just have to walk around the campus of Berkeley.
And you come pretty quickly face-to-face
with the homeless problem,
the drug crisis that can ravage our city.
Those are just some of the things
that make this world dark.
They don't even include the darkness
that is within our own hearts.
All of us sitting here this morning
have dark secrets
that we don't want anyone else knowing.
All of us struggle to walk in the light.
But John wants to assure you that,
yes, even though you and I are sinners,
because of Jesus,
our sins have been forgiven.
And because of Jesus,
we can have fellowship with God
and we can walk in the light.
That is the gospel.
That is the good news
that should bring us tremendous comfort and joy.
And so we're going to look at that
through this passage this morning.
But before we dive in,
would you pray with me one more time?
Let's pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
you tell us that your word
is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
And so give us humble and teachable hearts
as we receive your truth today.
And may your word
not only encourage and edify us,
but also give us the strength
to do what you've commanded.
It's in Christ's name we pray.
Amen.
I want to imagine you at a grocery store
buying groceries for the week.
And let's say you have a dietary restriction.
Maybe you can't eat gluten.
You're vegan.
Maybe you don't like,
you can't eat dairy.
And so if you're at a grocery store
and you're buying groceries,
you probably are spending
a good amount of time
looking at ingredients.
Looking to see if the food you are by
is safe for you to eat.
I mean, obviously companies know this.
And so a lot of the marketing
that companies will do,
the branding,
the packaging that they will put on their food
is they will put in big bold letters
a statement about this food.
For example, that this food is gluten-free.
This food is dairy-free.
This food is vegan-friendly.
So you will know right from the outset
that this food is safe for you to buy and eat.
They put that in big bold letters.
It's a message for their consumer.
What John is doing in this passage,
he's doing something kind of similar,
which is he is putting in big bold letters
a message about God, right?
John is putting in big bold letters
a statement about God.
And that statement is that God is light,
that he is darkness-free.
That's the main message that John wants to share.
If you go back with me, look at verse five,
the first verse of our passage.
John says this.
This is the message we have heard from him
and proclaim to you.
This is the message.
In the first four verses of this letter,
we didn't read that this morning,
but John is preparing you for this message.
It's kind of like an intro.
Because in those first four verses,
John has been saying that he's heard
and he saw and he's touched Jesus.
He's had fellowship with them.
He's gotten to know him.
He's been with Christ.
And he wants to tell you something
that he has learned from that time he spent with Jesus.
And then in verse five,
the first verse of our passage today,
he finally comes out and says it.
And he says,
God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
This is the message.
This is the news that John wants to share with us.
In the first four verses again,
John has kind of said as an introduction
that you and I can have fellowship with God.
And now in verse five,
he says that God is light,
which means that for us to have fellowship with God,
you and I have to walk in the light.
But therein lies our problem.
We are not in the light.
We are unfortunately in darkness.
Light and darkness can't coexist.
And so what do we do?
How do we react to this message?
For some of you, maybe you hear that
and you think, okay,
I need to work really hard
to cleanse myself of the darkness inside me.
But then you realize,
try as hard as you might,
you can't do it.
And you despair.
And others of you,
maybe you hear that
and you think,
okay, well then what's the point?
I'm just going to live my life how I want
because there is no hope for me
to get rid of this darkness inside myself.
There's no point in trying.
And John wants to dispel
both those notions in his message today.
He wants to tell us
that because Christ confronted the darkness for you,
you and I can walk in the light.
Right?
That because Christ confronted the darkness
for you and for me,
you and I can walk in the light.
And we want to look at this
through three points this morning.
And the first is God is light.
Second is that we need light.
And third is Christ brings light.
Right?
God is light.
We need light.
And Christ brings light.
And so first, God is light.
When you think about the concept of light,
when that word gets used,
what images go through your mind?
Maybe for some of you,
you think of like a warm, sunny day at the beach.
You're enjoying the sun rays, the sunshine.
And so light has the idea of warmth
and beauty and life.
For others of you,
maybe you like backpacking.
Like Melissa just said,
she came back from vacation.
She was in nature.
And you think of light as like,
it's nighttime, it's dark,
and light is like a flashlight,
lighting your way back to where you're staying.
And so light then has the idea of safety,
of security.
Or maybe continue on with that camping thing.
Maybe you think of light as like
roasting marshmallows by a fire,
making s'mores with your family and friends.
And so light there has the idea of friendship
and love and family.
Those are all concepts
that can be associated with light.
And they all convey something different.
But they also all have one common thread
that runs through them.
And that common thread is that light is good.
And so that's what John wants to tell us.
The first thing that John wants to tell us,
he wants to proclaim,
he wants to emphasize to his hearers,
is that God is good.
If someone comes to you,
maybe you have a friend or a neighbor
who's not a Christian,
they say, hey, you believe in God,
can you tell me what God is like?
I don't know what adjective
comes to your mind first
when you're describing God.
My guess is for most of us,
if we were to describe God,
we'd describe him as powerful,
as holy,
as righteous,
as just,
as wise.
And yes,
God is all those things.
It is important
that he is all those things.
But how far down the list of adjectives
would it take
before you came
to describe God
as good?
It's not that difficult,
I think,
for people who
believe that there is a God
to also accept
that that God
has to be
holy
and powerful
and wise even.
But when it comes
to God being good,
that is harder
for us sometimes
to believe,
isn't it?
When you look
around and see
some of the injustices
that go on
in this world,
I'm sure some of you
have asked the question,
where is God?
Does he care?
When you hear
that a friend of yours
or a family member
has been diagnosed
with a debilitating illness,
or worse yet,
when you hear
that that friend
or family member
has passed away
all too early,
do you question
the goodness
of God?
Scripture reminds us
in a lot of places
that God is good.
1 Chronicles 16,
give thanks to the Lord
for he is good,
his mercy endures forever.
Psalm 34,
taste and see
that the Lord is good.
In James chapter 1,
James says,
every good gift
comes from above,
coming down
from the Father
of lights.
Right there,
again,
God is associated
with being light
and with good.
And so similarly,
John wants to remind
his hearers,
he wants to remind you
that God is good.
He wants to reassure you
that even though
this world
is often dark,
that your Heavenly Father
is not.
He is light,
he is good,
right?
That's the message
John saw with Jesus.
That's what Christ reveals
when he comes to this earth
and that's what John
wants to proclaim
for you and I
to hear.
So the first thing
for it,
the first thing it means
for God to be light
is that God is good.
But this light imagery
also has another aspect
to it,
doesn't it?
Maybe instead of imagining
a campfire
roasting marshmallows,
you imagine light
as like wildfires
burning through acres
and acres of land
and so light there
has the idea
of being maybe even
dangerous and destructive.
Maybe instead of
like a flashlight
lighting your way
back to the campground,
you imagine light
or you think of light
as like a police light
shining behind you
when they've pulled you
over on the side
of the road
and so light there
has the idea
of embarrassment
and shame.
Perhaps instead of
like a sunny day
at the beach,
you picture light
as like one of those
heat waves
that we've been having
and so instead of
warm sunshine,
you imagine light
with the feeling
of uncomfortableness,
maybe even of pain.
When John says
that God is light,
he adds a phrase
that in him
is no darkness at all.
Light gets rid
of darkness,
the two are opposite
of one another,
God is a good God.
His goodness
is better than
anything you or I
can ever dream of.
But that also means
that darkness
cannot have fellowship
with the light.
Now that's good
in one sense.
We want a God
who can get rid
of darkness.
We want a God
who is righteous
and just
and makes things fair.
Right?
If you're driving
down on the highway
and you see someone
driving past you
way too fast,
weaving in and out
of traffic,
you want the police
officer to pull
that person over
so that the streets
are safe to drive again.
If you are in school
and you get an email
from your professor
saying there's been
a lot of you
in this class
who have been caught
cheating,
you don't want
your professor
to let them off the hook.
You want him
to be fair.
We want a God
who won't put up
with sin.
We want a God
who won't be affected
by the darkness
and instead
will remove it.
We want all those things
until we are the ones
speeding down
the interstate,
until we are the ones
who are caught cheating.
We want the light
until we realize
that we ourselves
are not in the light.
We're actually
in darkness
and that's the problem
we have.
I don't know
if you noticed
in our passage today
but starting in verse 6
there is a lot
of if statements.
John has proclaimed
this message,
God is light
and then he works out
the implications
of that for us
in these conditional
if statements
and in verse 6
he says,
if we say
we have fellowship
with him
while we walk
in darkness
we lie
and do not practice
the truth.
So John first says
you and I
can't live in both worlds.
You can't live in darkness
and have fellowship
with the light.
John doesn't beat
around the bush.
He says if you say that
he calls you a liar.
Now some of you
might think,
okay well then
perhaps I'm not
actually walking
in darkness.
I'm not perfect
but I'm not walking
in darkness.
There's plenty of people
out there who are
doing worse things
than me.
They're really walking
in darkness.
I'm not.
But John is dismissing
that notion.
In God
there is no darkness
at all.
Not even a smidge.
Unless you are living
a perfect life.
Unless there is no
iota of sin in you
then you are not
walking in the light.
You do not have
fellowship with God
and if you say you do
then you lie.
Well then some of you
might say fine.
It's impossible.
I'm going to be honest.
Say I can't live perfectly.
I'm just going to live
how I want to live.
And John anticipates
that too.
Look at verse 7
with me.
Verse 7
John says
but if we walk
in the light
as he is in the light.
Do you notice
John doesn't make a case?
He doesn't even try
to make a case
about whether or not
you can walk
in the light.
He just assumes
that it's possible.
John knows
that our default reaction
as people who sin
as people who are not perfect
is to hide from the light.
John knows this
because he heard it
from Jesus.
In the gospel of John
John chapter 3
verses 19 through 21
this is right after
the famous
John 3 16 passage.
Right?
God so loved the world
he gave his only son.
Right after that passage
this is what Jesus says.
Listen to what
he says.
The light has come
into the world
and people love
the darkness
rather than the light
because their works
were evil.
For everyone
who does wicked things
hates the light
and does not come
to the light
lest his works
should be exposed.
but whoever does
what is true
comes to the light
so that it may be
clearly seen
that his works
have been carried out
in God.
We hide from the light
because we fear
the light will expose
our darkness.
We fear being fully known.
We fear all of our deepest
and darkest secrets
being shined
under a spotlight
because we fear
being rejected.
We fear being canceled.
We fear the guilt
and the shame
that it would bring
on us.
And yet we are also
somehow drawn
to the light.
We want to be able
to walk in the light
to not walk in darkness.
And John says
that we can.
And that leads me
to my second point.
We need light.
More specifically
we need to walk
in the light.
Right?
If God is light
and we want fellowship
with the light
then we have to walk
in it.
And the question
is how.
And John highlights
here at least three things
that we should see
happen
when we walk
in the light.
And the first
is confession.
Walking in the light
means living
a life
of confession.
We see that starting
in verse 8
and 9.
In verse 8
it starts another
conditional statement
similar to verse 6.
He says,
If we say
we have no sin
we deceive ourselves.
If verse 6
wasn't clear enough,
if John had not
convinced you yet
that you were
walking in darkness
he makes it
crystal clear here.
You have sinned.
Now for those of you
sitting here this morning
who are Christians
you know this.
You believe this.
You confess this.
But I want to talk
to perhaps
any non-Christians
in the room
here this morning
for a second.
If you're not
a Christian here today
maybe you're here
because you're curious
about the claims
of Christianity.
Maybe a friend
has invited you
and you've come
this morning
to check it out
and you've been
listening to me
harp on sin
for the last 10 minutes
and you're regretting
your decision
to spend Sunday morning
here.
Let me first say
we are so glad
you're here.
I'm so glad
you're here.
It really does mean
a lot to us
that you're willing
to spend part
of your Sunday morning
here with us.
We don't take it
for granted.
But I also want
to speak with you
honestly for a second.
To tell you
what our world
and what our culture
will not tell you.
Because if you
maintain the belief
that you have no sin
then you are self-deceived.
You are in darkness.
Our world is all
about being authentic.
Right?
Being true to ourself.
True to our heart.
Being true to who you are.
Well unfortunately
if you claim
you have no sin
that is the most
unauthentic act
you could commit
against yourself.
This is why
John says in verse 9
if we confess
our sins.
Again,
John is not
questioning whether
or not you have sinned.
He's just questioning
whether or not
you have confessed it.
Verse 9
is probably
one of the most
comforting verses
not just in the book
of 1 John
but in the whole Bible.
John wants to assure you
that when you confess
your sins to God
he forgives you.
He cleanses you
from all unrighteousness.
Right?
This builds off
of what John says
in verse 7
that the blood of Jesus
cleanses you
from sin.
I think confession
is a scary concept
for us
because we often
are not sure
what happens to us
after we confess
our sins.
And if any of you
have been pulled over
by a police officer
before
and you're sitting there
on the side of the road
and the police lights
are shining
in your rear view mirror
the cop comes up
you pull down
your window
and the cop asks
do you know why
I've pulled you over?
Maybe some of you
are like me.
Maybe some of you
are like me
and when that happens
you say
I'm so sorry officer
I know why
you pulled me over
I was speeding
I was going too fast
I promise I will
never ever do that again.
What am I doing?
I'm confessing.
I'm confessing
my transgression
and the question is
why?
Why am I doing that?
And it's because
I'm hoping
that the police officer
will let me off
with a warning.
And sometimes
it does work
you get lucky
you get let off
with a warning
but sometimes
a few weeks later
in the mail
you get
a big
fat
fine.
Well John here
is saying that
when you confess
your sin
you do not have
to worry
about whether
or not
you'll be forgiven.
Jesus has paid
the penalty for you
his blood
has already
cleansed your sin.
It's like
if you got pulled over
for a speeding ticket
and the cop
did not let you off
with a warning
but actually
gave you
a ticket
but instead
a few weeks later
instead of getting
a large fine
in the mail
you get a letter
saying that
that fine
has been paid
in full.
Friends,
God did not
shed his son's blood
to withhold
that from you.
Come to Jesus
confess your sins
and be assured
that his blood
washes over your sin
again
and again
and again.
So walking
in the light
for us
first means
living a life
of confession
but the second
thing we should see
we see
is having fellowship
with one another.
This goes back
to verse 7
John says
if we walk
in the light
we have fellowship
with one another.
When God calls us
out of darkness
and into light
he doesn't just
call you out
individually
he calls you
into the light
with one another.
Because if you
can imagine
if you are walking
in the light
by yourself
surrounded by darkness
that can be lonely
that can be a scary place.
But John here
is saying
that you are not alone
that walking
in the light
means having people
around you
walking with you
being there with you
helping you
when you falter.
And that
should make sense
especially if our life
is already
characterized
by one
of confession.
Because when you
and I do life
together
we unfortunately
sin against one another
because we're sinners.
But when we
confess our sins
to God
we should also
confess our sins
to one another.
God has given us
each other
to bear one another's
burdens
to assure one another
of God's promise
of forgiveness
he has for us.
Don't bear the weight
of your sin
by yourself
but live a life
of confessing
and forgiving
one another
as God forgave you.
The third thing
that walking
in the light
means
is living a life
that dies
to sin
and lives
to righteousness.
And I get this
from chapter 2
verse 1
John says
I am writing
these things to you
so that you
may not sin.
John lays out
the purpose
of this section
he has been saying
all these things
so that we
might live a life
walking in the light
which means
leaving the darkness.
John
and more importantly
God
wants us to walk
in righteousness
because sin is destructive
it dishonors God
and it hurts us.
Now you might be thinking
alright
I know that
one God is light
and because he is light
two I need to walk
in the light
by confessing my sins
by having fellowship
with one another
by living righteously
but man
that is
that is so hard
that is so difficult
where am I going to find
the strength
where am I going to find
the motivation
where am I going to find
the endurance
to live like this
that leads me to my last point
Christ
brings
light.
John anticipates
that question
of where you are going
to find that motivation
to walk in the light
and he answers that
also in verse 1
of chapter 2
after he said
he wants them not to sin
he says
but if anyone does sin
we have an advocate
with the Father
Jesus Christ
the righteous
and so one way
Christ brings us
into the light
is by being
our advocate
when we think
of the word advocate
we think of someone
who is on our side
someone who supports us
who expresses our thoughts
and our feelings
and our dreams
to others
advocate has all those connotations
but here the word advocate
also has a legal connotation
kind of like a lawyer
John is saying
in one sense
Christ
is like our legal representation
I don't know how many of you
might have followed this news
but around two years ago
around this time
one of the biggest news items
was when
the actor
Johnny Depp
and the actress
Amber Heard
were in like a defamation trial
lawsuit against one another
I don't know if you guys
remember this
or how many of you
followed this
it was all over social media
at the time
but if you did not follow
that trial
one of the things
that came out
was that
one of Johnny Depp's lawyers
her name was
Camille Vasquez
she became super famous
and she became super famous
because of the way
she advocated
for Johnny Depp
she was calm
cool and collected
she asked tough questions
on the other side
she made sure
that Johnny's name
and reputation
were not dragged
through the mud
now just as a disclaimer
I'm not trying to make a stance
one way or another
on what ended up
in that trial
both celebrities
have a lot of issues
both of them
seem to be walking
in darkness
given a lot of the testimony
I don't
I didn't know
all the details
of the cases myself
but
the point
of bringing up
this illustration
is because
public consensus
was that Camille
did a much better job
defending Johnny Depp
than the other side
and at the end
of the trial
Camille did such a good job
she did such a good job
that she actually
got promoted
to being partner
of her firm
but she did such a good job
because instead of
making Johnny Depp
pay like
I think 20 million dollars
in damages
the judge ruled
that Johnny
only had to pay
like 1 million dollars
she reduced that fine
by like almost
19 million dollars
but that means
that Johnny Depp
still had to pay
a 1 million dollar fine
so can you imagine
if after the ruling
Camille then went up
to the judge
and said
your honor
instead of Johnny Depp
having to pay the fine
I will pay the fine
for him
right
no lawyer
in their right mind
would ever do that
not even the best lawyers
in the world
would ever do that
but that's what
Jesus did for us
Jesus is not only
the best lawyer
the best advocate
we could ever ask for
but he also went above
and beyond
and paid our penalty
for us
and that's what is meant
by that word
propitiation there
in verse 2
of chapter 2
right
Jesus brings us
into the light
first by being our advocate
but secondly
by being the propitiation
for our sins
and propitiation
that's a big
nice vocab word
what it means
is to appease anger
and in this case
it means to appease
God's anger
imagine if you
parked your car
here around Berkeley
and you left
your wallet
in your car
and you walk
back to your car
and there's been
a smash and grab
and your wallet
is stolen
the first thing
you might feel
is you might be distraught
right
how could this thing
happen to me
but pretty closely
the next emotion
you might feel
is anger
right
you'd be angry
that someone
would do this
to you
and even if
the perpetrator
was caught
even if the perpetrator
fixed your car
replaced all
of the contents
in your wallet
you
could still be angry
right
what would it take
for your anger
to go away
would the perpetrator
need to spend
some time in jail
for what they did
would the perpetrator
maybe need to pay
for the counseling
you now need
because now you're
traumatized
and are afraid
to drive in Berkeley
whatever the case
may be
something would need
to be done
in order for your
anger
to be removed
well that's what
Jesus does for us
when we sin against God
when we walk
in the darkness
we not only have
the guilt of that sin
but we also bring about
God's righteous anger
because of it
and so when Christ
died on the cross
for your sins
his blood not only
washed away the guilt
but he also removed
God's wrath
for you
it's no coincidence
that when Jesus
died on the cross
the whole land
was covered in darkness
Jesus Christ
the light of the world
he brought his light
into the world
and he faced
the ultimate
darkness of death
for you and me
the darkness
that you and I
should have faced
so that you might
be brought into the light
so that you
could walk
in the light
right that's
the gospel
that is good news
you and I can be free
to confess our sins
to one another
because we know
Jesus has paid the penalty
and removed God's wrath
for us
you and I
can strive to live
a life that dies
to sin
and lives to righteousness
because Jesus Christ
the righteous one
has already closed us
with his righteousness
you and I
can have confidence
knowing that we are
already walking
in the light
because he has brought
his light
in exchange
for our darkness
do you remember
in the very beginning
I said
that God is good
right
well one reason
that he is good
is because God
sought out a solution
for you
to get you
out of walking
in darkness
and into his
glorious light
right
the goodness of God
was manifested
in Jesus
when he became
the propitiation
for your sins
when he rose
and ascended
into heaven
and is even now
your advocate
before the Father
my friends
be assured
of that goodness
find joy
in that goodness
and walk
in that goodness
amen
let's pray
dear heavenly Father
thank you
for being a good
good Father
for sending your Son
to face the darkness
so that we can walk
in your light
Jesus thank you
for not only appeasing
God's wrath
towards our sin
but for continually
advocating for us
even now
in heaven
Holy Spirit
apply these truths
to our lives
so that we might
walk in them
it's in Christ's name
we pray
amen
thank you
God
Him
grenade
thank you
forising