Jesus Is More than Your Imaginary Friend

1 John 1:5-2:2

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7But 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.

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

1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

Jesus Is More than Your Imaginary Friend

Have you heard of the movie IF? It’s a kids’ movie. It’s an acronym for Imaginary Friend. I haven’t seen it myself, just trailers. But I think the concept and even just the title is clever. The word “if” is what makes imagination possible. It allows you to dream up all kinds of crazy and creative scenarios. We make games out of it, e.g. “If you were stranded on a desert island…” “If you won the lottery…” If can be fun.

But if can activate your imagination to do something else too. John uses that word 6 times in the portion of his first letter that we read earlier today. And while each one of those ifs did activate our imagination, the scenarios they posed were far from hypothetical; they were far too real. While each one of those ifs did prompt us to picture something in our minds, the pictures they painted were not all wildest dream scenarios; some of them contained nightmare fuel.

I want to walk through those ifs with you today. They come in three pairs:  

If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, purifies us from all sin.[1]

That’s the first pair. Here’s the second:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.[2]

And finally, we read:

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us… But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins.[3]

Let’s start with the first part of the first pair – claiming to have fellowship with God but walking in darkness. You know what that looks like, don’t you? When somebody pretends to be one thing in public, but in private he acts completely differently. What do you typically call that kind of person? A hypocrite! A fraud. A phony. A liar. A pretender.

But this isn’t just some somebody, is it? This is we. This is you. It’s me. We’re not talking about anybody else, we’re talking about ourselves. And, as I said before, this if isn’t some hypothetical; it’s real life.

When do you claim to have fellowship with God, yet walk in the darkness? Well, you’re all here. It certainly looks like you have fellowship with God. But would a stranger, or even your friends, immediately recognize you as a Christian by the way you talk or act? Do you watch your language around certain people, but less loose with the profanities and vulgarities with your close friends? If we had St. Peter bumper stickers, would you put one on the back of your car, or would you be too afraid of the poor impression people would have of your church based on the way that you drive?  

And those are just the little things, the petty things. What other things do you do under the cover in darkness that would make your mother blush or your heavenly Father sigh in disappointment? What about the unloving way you treat your family behind closed doors? The uncharitable comments you make about people who aren’t in the room? The promises you break to do or be something good at the first chance you get of scratching that old itch for the bottle or the digital brothel.

If we claim to have fellowship with God and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.[4]

We’re hypocrites, frauds, pretenders – every one of us. This is not some imaginary scenario. This is real life. We’re walking in darkness. We’re hiding from the light of God. We’re like cockroaches, skittering from one dark corner to the next trying to escape his light but everywhere we go, it exposes us.

There are times when a caring family member or friend calls us out on our hypocrisy. And sometimes, we’re thankful for it. Sometimes that’s all it takes to turn us around. And that’s great… when it works. But it doesn’t always work, because we’re not always willing to listen to criticism no matter how compassionate and constructive it may be.

Sometimes we claim to be without sin. We downplay what we do, as if other people doing the same thing somehow makes it OK for us to do it too. We deny any kind of wrongdoing, and turn it on the other person, e.g. “Who are you to judge me? You don’t know me.” We manufacture and then hide behind our made-up excuses, e.g. “If you only knew what that other person did or what I’m going through, then you wouldn’t be so harsh.”

But what does John say?

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.[5]

If you take a comprehensive look at your life and you don’t feel even the slightest bit of guilt, then you’re lying to yourself. You’re delusional. The truth is not in you.

Again, sometimes we’re blessed with people in our lives to call us on our lies and to open our eyes to see the truth – to see the way that we’ve hurt other people, that we’re hurting our own souls. And if you’re privileged to have a friend like that, it’s possible for you to confess your sins and start the road to recovery. But that doesn’t always work either, because sometimes our hearts are so stubborn and so proud that no amount of talking would ever convince us that what we did was wrong to begin with. That’s why John goes on:

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.[6]

I could argue with my friends and family until I’m blue in the face. They’re just people and theirs are just opinions. They don’t get to decide what’s right or wrong for me.

But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? God is the one who gets to decide what’s right and what’s wrong for everyone. And if I defend my sinful decisions even to the degree that I disagree with God, then I’m in trouble. And we’re so good at that. We ask the same questions of ourselves that the devil asked in the Garden of Eden, “Did God really say…?”

Is it really so bad to let your mind wander when you see an attractive person? Is homosexuality, transsexuality, pansexuality so sinful and wrong? I have friends in the community. They’re not hurting anybody. They’re nicer, kinder than some Christians I know. God isn’t going to audit my taxes, is he? He doesn’t mind if I fudge a few numbers to get a better return. After all, the government does the same thing to me every time I stop at the pump or pick up groceries. I’m just playing their game.

We are so skilled at imagining that we are so innocent. But when God shines his light on our hearts, we’re more like cockroaches running to find the next dark corner to hide in. And each pair of ifs that John writes here just shows us how bad our hearts can get. Each one is worse than the next.

But the beautiful thing about John’s imagination-activating scenarios is that while the light does show the downward spiral of our sin, it also shines on the exponential expansion of God’s grace.

What was the solution to the first problem, i.e. claiming to have fellowship with God but walking in the darkness? It’d be tempting to say that the solution is to walk in the light! But that’s not technically a solution, is it? It’s a reform. It’s a way to do something better in the future. But it doesn’t undo the deeds of darkness you’ve done in the past.

The solution to our sin is not reform. The solution is the blood of Jesus that purifies us from all sin.

What was the solution to the second problem, i.e. claiming to be without sin? It’d be tempting to say that the solution would be to confess your sin – to stop deceiving yourself and be honest for once. But, again, that’s not the solution; it’s the reform. You should confess your sin – to yourself and to God – but that’s not going to make up for the sins you’re confessing.

The solution is the faithfulness and forgiveness of God, who promises to purify us from all unrighteousness.

What was the solution to the final problem, i.e. claiming to have not sinned? This time there’s not even a temptation to resolve that ourselves. The solution can only come from Jesus. John calls him our advocate – our defense attorney, if you will. And I can tell you the legal strategy he’ll use in God’s court of law. He will certainly not try to convince the Judge that you are innocent. That would never work, because you’re not innocent. But you have been forgiven. Your own defense attorney has already paid the price for your sin. He gave his life as the sacrifice of atonement for your sins and the sins of the whole world.

No matter where you fall on the spectrum – no matter what lies you’ve deceived yourself into believing or deeds of darkness you have tried your hardest to cover up because you know how bad they are – no matter what your sin is, the solution is Jesus, i.e. the perfect life he lived in your place, the innocent death he died on your behalf, the promise of purification and forgiveness and atonement through his blood. It’s all yours through him.

And this is no dream. Jesus is not your imaginary friend. He is your real Redeemer risen from the dead to give you life – both forever in heaven and here on earth until you get there.

So walk in the light. Stop slinking into dark corners to do dark things. But when you invariably do, confess your sin. Don’t deceive yourself or make God out to be a liar. Be honest and humble, but above all, believe – put your trust and confidence in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and for the strength to live in the light. He is light. Live in him. Amen.

[1] 1 John 1:6,7

[2] 1 John 1:8,9

[3] 1 John 1:10, 2:1,2

[4] 1 John 1:6

[5] 1 John 1:8

[6] 1 John 1:10

St. Pete's on Repeat RSS

Rejoice in Your Fellowship with the Word of Life

1 John 1:1-4

1That 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. 2The 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. 3We 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. 4We write this to make our joy complete. 

Rejoice in Your Fellowship with the Word of Life

What gives you joy? It’s a little bit easier to ask that question a week after a major celebration. When I think of joy, I think about the 96 people who were gathered in this room 7 days ago. I think about the smell of the lilies that still lingers here. I think about the guitars and the violins and piano. I think about the voices and the songs they sang. I think about the window that was painted and the banner and the artwork that was hung. I think about the food and the fellowship we were able to enjoy.

It's easy to think about joy and what causes it a week after a major celebration. But did you catch certain notes of not-so-joyful things in our worship last week or this? I think about the Gospel Reading in both cases.

Last week’s Gospel – the one with the joyous discover of an empty tomb and an angel announcing Jesus’ resurrection – ended like this:

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.[1]

That doesn’t really fit Easter triumph, Easter joy.

Then there’s this week’s Gospel, which started with the disciples cowering in fear behind locked doors. Even after the women finally fessed up to what they saw at the graveside, even after 10 of the remaining 11 disciples swore to the fact that they had seen the risen Jesus alive, there was still doubt and fear. Thomas still didn’t believe, and you have to imagine that he wasn’t the only one.

In fact, we know that Thomas wasn’t the only doubter. There were some confirmed deniers of Jesus’ resurrection. The Jewish leaders come to mind, of course. They paid off the Roman soldiers to spread the lie that a group of fishermen overpowered professional killers and stole Jesus’ body. But they weren’t the only ones.

There was also a man by the name of Cerinthus. If you’ve never heard the name, I wouldn’t blame you. It never appears in Scripture. But we know from history that he was a man who was styling himself as a Christian but who denied so many of the things that are central to the Christian faith, like the fact that Jesus is God, or that Jesus really rose from the dead, or that the Apostles were telling the truth.

I only mention Cerinthus because his false doctrine was the specific trigger for John to write his first letter, excerpts of which we’ll read every week for the rest of the season of Easter. The things that you heard today from the first 4 verses of first chapter of John’s first letter are a direct response to Cerinthus and his false doctrine, which, at first, may feel like this weird niche of church history that you don’t really need to know, but it is remarkable how modern Cerinthus’ false doctrine is.

Last week I got a notification from Facebook. It originated from the church account. One of our Easter posts was generating engagement – people were not only responding to it, they were commenting on it – which is usually a good thing, but not this time. This time it was from a man making the same claims that Cerinthus did so many years ago. He said sarcastic things like, “Come, join our cult.” He posed memes of simple-minded Christians still waiting 2,000 years to return.

It wasn’t very pleasant. I deleted them almost immediately. It threatened to sour the joy of Easter that I was so looking forward to celebrate – not only for me but for anyone else who happened to read them too. But it was so real and it was a good reminder that these footnotes of ancient history still rear their ugly heads so many years later.

The Apostle John wrote his first 2 letters in direct response to that kind of ridicule and denial. And do you know what his response was? No one can rob you of the joy that is ours through the fellowship we have with God and with each other.

John starts his first letter by talking about

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.[2]

It’s a little bit cryptic. It makes you wonder what he’s talking about, but thankfully, he doesn’t leave us hanging for very long. He says,

“This we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”[3]

If that’s still a little confusing, maybe it’s helpful to compare what John writes here to how he starts his Gospel:

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”[4]

John is talking about Jesus. “The Word” is a special title the Bible uses to describe Jesus. And in these first four verses, John tells us some very important things about Jesus. First he tells us that Jesus was there from the beginning. In other words, he is confirming for us what people like Cerinthus (and trolls online) deny – that Jesus is the eternal Son of God. In fact, John doubles down on this point in the next verse. He says,

“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.”[5]

Long before Mary ever gave birth to Jesus, he existed as the eternal Son of God. It’s quite possible that that seems obvious to you. Maybe you were blessed to have grown up in a Christian household where Jesus’ divinity is a given, but that’s not a universally accepted truth – not then, not now. But it is important. It means that Jesus wasn’t just some guy. He wasn’t a martyr for a cause. He wasn’t a mentor for us to mold our lives after. He wasn’t a man who reached a certain level in the game of life and earned a special reward or recognition for his achievements.

Jesus was and is the Son of God from all eternity. He helped to form and fashion this world when it was created. He was the subject of the promise of salvation that God gave to Adam and Eve when they fell into sin. He was the message and oftentimes the messenger of grace and peace and comfort and forgiveness to generations of believers, until he finally entered into this world. Or, as John puts it here:

“The life appeared… the eternal life, which was with the Father… has appeared to us.”[6]

This is big news! The almighty, supreme Being who presides over the whole universe, who is infinitely greater and better than us in every imaginable way didn’t remain aloof from us. He didn’t turn his back from us when we sinned and disappointed him. He turned his face toward us. He made his love known to us. He spoke a word of forgiveness, and that Word was God made flesh, i.e. the man Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is literally the incarnation of God’s love for you.

And that’s no fairy tale! It’s not wishful thinking or a delusional fantasy. It’s a verifiable fact. How many times does John confirm it here?

“…which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched…”[7]

The eternal Son of God really did become a real-life, in the flesh human being. Shepherds and wise men visited him at his birth. Rabbis marveled at his spiritual maturity as a young man. Countless people heard his sermons and benefited from his miracles. A city crowded with pilgrims witnessed his death.

But, if you’re like me, that’s not what you’re thinking of when you hear John say,

“…which our hands have touched.”[8]

You’re thinking of Thomas, aren’t you? Putting his fingers in the holes in Jesus’ hands. Putting his hand in the hole in Jesus’ side. Jesus’ resurrection was no fairy tale either. The eternal Son of God, who lived a human life and died a human death, conquered death and rose from the grave. The dead man lived and there were witnesses to it. More than 500 people heard, saw, looked at, and touched the risen Jesus.

Men like Cerinthus – and modern-day trolls and cyber bullies – may deny it, but Jesus really is “the Word of life.” He lives! He is the expression of God’s love for you, and he lives for you. He died on the cross to forgive your sins and he rose to new life to give you eternal life with him forever in heaven. No one can rob you of that joy. Nothing can stand in the way of the fellowship that you have with God, or with each other, because of what the Word of life did for us all.

I asked you earlier what gives you joy. This is what gave John joy – proclaiming the Word of life, writing his Gospel so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name,[9] celebrating the fellowship that we have with God and one another forever through the life, death and resurrection of the Word made flesh for us.

I pray this brings you joy too. When life has you down or doubting, listen to the Word of life; he tells you all about God’s love for you. When the devil or your own conscience condemn you, look at the Word of life; he gave his life for you on the cross. When you are low on hope or joy, feel the Word of life on your forehead or in your hands and on your lips; he gave his body and poured out his blood to forgive you all your sins, and he washed you with water and the Word to unite you to himself forever through his resurrection from the dead.

Rejoice in the fellowship we share with God and one another through his Word of life. Amen.  

[1] Mark 16:8

[2] 1 John 1:1

[3] 1 John 1:1

[4] John 1:1,2,14

[5] 1 John 1:2

[6] 1 John 1:2

[7] 1 John 1:1

[8] 1 John 1:1

[9] John 20:31

St. Pete's on Repeat RSS