I JOHN

I. The Threefold Lie (I John 1:6-7)

A. Three times John accuses certain people of lying

1. First occasion is in verse 6

a. John is laying down the blunt truth that the man who says one thing with his lips and another thing with his life is a liar

b. he is not thinking of the man trying hard yet failing

c. H. G. Wells said, "A man may be a very bad musician and yet be passionately in love with music".

d. a man may be very conscious of being a failure yet be passionately in love with Christ

e. but the person who professes to love Christ and deliberately disobeys him is guilty of a lie

2. The Man who denies that Jesus is Christ is a liar (I John 2:22)

a. the ultimate test of a person is his reaction to Jesus

b. question which Jesus asks every man is "Who do you say that I am?" Matt. 16:13.

c. a person confronted with Christ yet denies Him is calling God a liar.

3. The man who says he loves God and yet hates his brother is a liar (I John 4:20)

a. love of God and hatred of man cannot exist in the same person

b. if there is bitterness in your heart towards your brother that is proof you do not really love God.

c. all protestations of love to God are useless if there is hatred in our hearts toward any man

B. Each of these lies progresses along a natural four point outline - the claim, conduct, condemnation and the cure

II. The First Lie (I John 1:6) - The Claim

A. If we say we have fellowship with God

1. The claim is made to a close walk with God

2. The assertion is made of having a joyous fellowship and walk with the Creator

B. Note the Conduct - and walk in darkness

1. Walk indicates a habitual course of behavior

a. the person claims fellowship with God - yet his behavior and conduct is in the sphere of darkness

b. this rules out erratic ups and down which any believer might have. We have all had lapses in our spiritual lives

c. we have all become cold and backsliders on occasion

d. we are not talking here about that kind of experience.

e. the conduct of this person's life is inconsistent with the claim

C. Note then the Condemnation - We lie and do not the truth

1. Apostle is saying their claim is false

a. claiming fellowship with God yet displaying a life style completely foreign to the claim is a complete denial of our profession

b. Annanias & Sapphira were a good example of this

c. they wanted the people in the church to think well of them, while they were planning to deceive their brothers and give the lie to

their profession

D. Now the Cure - Walk in the tight as He is

1. The remedy for a lie is the immediate embrace of truth

2. To do so means to confess what is untrue as sin and begin to remedy the situation

III. The Second Lie (1:8-9)

A. In the former conflict, John was dealing with the hypocrite who continually practiced his sin while professing fellowship with God

1 In this second lie we have the conflict over the fact whether a believer can sin at all.

B. The Claim - If we say we have no sin

1. It can mean one of two things - a man who says that he has no responsibility for sin or it can mean he has never sinned at all

2. No responsibility for sin

a. it is easy enough to find defenses behind which we seek to hide

b. we can seek to blame our sins on our heredity, our environment, on our temperament, even on our physical condition

c. we can blame another person for leading us astray

d. it is characteristic of humanity to shuffle out of any responsibility for sin

e. John insists that if a man sins excuses and self justification are irrelevant

f. the only thing to do is confess it as sin and failure

3. There are those who claim to never sin at all

a. they are called eradicationists

b. what the Bible calls sin, they call mistakes, errors, frailties

c. they call it anything other than sin because that tends to remove the stigma of their "Being a sinner".

C. The Conduct (1:8) We deceive ourselves

1. Literally - we lead ourselves astray

2. Self deception is a fatal error brought on by our unwillingness to face the issue

3. Those who live in close proximity to anyone like this know the real truth of the matter.

D. The Condemnation - the Truth is not in us

1. "Such a self deceived person may live under a thin veneer of superficial sanctification which he uses to cover a stubborn crust of impendence, under which As world of pride and self will lies hidden".

2. The closer one lives to God and having a clear knowledge of His Word, the keener will be his sense of unworthiness and impurity

3. If we feel we don't sin it is a proof that we really don't know His Word - the Truth is not in us

E. The Cure - Confess our sins

1. The cure is simple for both lies - confess your sin

2. Call sin - sin - When one confesses his sins he is automatically stating his sin has not been eradicated

IV. The Third Lie (4:20)

A. The Claim - I love my brother

1. It is easy to say I love my brother but it is a lot more difficult to prove it

2. Do you know how God says you prove you love your brother (I John 3:16-17)

3. We are to be willing to sacrifice ourselves and our goods for our brothers in Jesus

B. The Conduct - hates his brother

1. What is it to hate your brother (3:17)?

2. You hate your brother when you refuse to feel compassion for him, when you refuse to help him

3. Hating is the opposite of love, when you no longer love you will find that hard spirit return and that is hatred.

C. The Condemnation - He is a liar (4:20)

1. God cannot be more specific than that - you are a liar

2. Love of God and hatred of our fellow man cannot exist in the same person at the same time

3. If there is bitterness, hardness in our hearts toward anyone - that is proof we do not really love God

4. All our protestations of love are useless if there is any hatred in our hearts towards anyone

D. The Cure - be born of God (5:1-2)

1. To be born of God means we are partakers of His nature

2. We begin to think like Him and act like Him

3. It means we begin to obey His commands

4. The two greatest commands are given to us by the Lord Jesus

a. love God with all your heart and mind

b. love your neighbor as yourself

C. Upon these Jesus said, Hang all the law and the prophets:

V. In Summary

A. John is laying down the blunt truth that a man who says one thing with his lips and another thing with his life is a liar

1. He is not talking about the Christian who is earnest and yet often fails

2. H. C. Wells said, "A man may be a very bad musician and yet be passionately in love with music."

3. A man may be conscious of his failures and yet be passionately in love with Christ

4. John is talking about the person who professes to love Christ yet deliberately disobeys him and does not really seem bothered by it

5. He is a liar and does not the truth.