May 04, 2025

1 John 1:5-10

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

1. It All Starts with a Consistent God (v. 5)

A. The Message Has Not Changed

James 1:16-18

B. God’s Character Has Not Changed

Matthew 4:12-16

Luke 2:29-32

John 1:4-9

John 8:12

John 9:5

2. The Necessity of a Consistent Life (vs. 6, 7)

A. An Inconsistent Life (v. 6)

“If you want to know what kind of fellowship I have with God, examine my relationships with other people. If I don’t have fellowship with, say, my children, I am not walking in the light. The extent to which I am willing to ignore the problem is the extent to which I am willing to live isolated in the dimly lit shadows of half-truths. What is a shadow but a shade from darkness? What is a half-truth but a lie by another name? Something deep within the human condition doesn’t want black or white. We crave endless shades of gray.” JD Walt, “The Seduction of the Middle”

1 John 2:15-17

“Real discipleship in the tradition of Jesus is not the moral crusade to manage sin. It’s about the conversion of our deepest desires. The only way to stop loving the world is to be seized by and given to a far greater affection: the holy love of God. Real discipleship is training the heart by the power of the Word of God and the Spirit of God to desire what is truly good and beautiful and holy and loving—to desire God alone.”- JD Walt

Ephesians 6:12

B. Walking in the Light (v. 7)

John 3:19-21

1 John 1:3

3. The Bottom Line (vs. 8-10)

A. If We Say We Have No Sin (v. 8)

Colossians 2:8

Hebrews 12:15

Matthew 6:14-15

B. The Character of God is to forgive

”Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy with the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.”

”If we could remember that the divine mercy is not a temporary mood but an attribute of God’s eternal being, we would no longer fear that it will someday cease to be. Mercy never began to be, but from eternity was; so it will never cease to be. It will never be more since it is in itself infinite; and it will never be less because the infinite cannot suffer diminution. Nothing has occurred or will occur in heaven or earth or hell can change the tender mercies of our God. Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, overwhelming immensity of divine pity and compassion.” AW Tozer

Micah 7:18-20

”Grace is the good pleasure of God that inclines Him to bestow benefits upon the undeserving.” AW Tozer

C. The Seriousness of What We Say (v. 10)

Romans 3:22-24

Reflection:

Is there any sin or brokenness in your life today that you need to give to Jesus?

Have you held onto a grudge or attitude that has caused greater division in your relationships?

Follow UP in the Word through the Week…

Monday:

Read: James 1:16-18

When you read this passage, is there any way that you have been led to think about God in which He changes?

Tuesday:

Read: John 1:4-9

When John says in 1 John that “God is light”, how does this passage from the gospel of John help you to understand that better?

Wednesday:

Read: John 3:19-21

What does Jesus describe here in relationship to “light” and “darkness”? What relationship should we have with the darkness?

Thursday:

Read: 1 John 1:3

What is “fellowship” and have you experienced it with God and with others?

Friday:

Read: Hebrews 12:15

What is bitterness and what safeguards have you found effective for it in your life? How have you seen bitterness affect others?

Saturday:

Read: Romans 3:22-24

Think about the forgiveness and grace expressed in these verses. Thank Jesus now for that reality. How does that condition of salvation influence your other relationships?