The Light of Integrity

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Good morning Chapel family. We’re taking this winter to walk through the book of 1 John, which is a little letter that John the Apostle wrote around 90AD. Earlier in his life, John had spent three years actually with Jesus—learning from him; watching how he lived; he actually saw Jesus alive after the resurrection; so this was very personal to John. And in this letter, he was writing to people who were struggling with the darkness of life. Just like we are. And he’s basically saying, “There’s only one light that’s powerful enough to overcome the darkness, and that’s Christ.”

There’s a little phrase in the first chapter that we’re using as the big idea for this whole series. 1 John 1:7 says Walk in the light, as he is in the light. Would you say that with me? “Walk in the light, as he is in the light.” So this letter is an invitation to not just believe in Jesus, but to walk in him—to live our lives by his light. Come out of the shadows; come out of the darkness; and walk in the light.

Now: back in the first century, one of the main sources of darkness in the world was this ugly thing called “hypocrisy.” Aren’t you glad that’s not a problem anymore? Actually, hypocrisy has been an issue in every generation, including ours. Maybe especially ours. We all know what hypocrisy means, right? It’s when we say one thing, and we do…what? The opposite. Like the politician during the pandemic who says, “Wear masks and stay away from big crowds,” and then the next day he’s in a big crowd with no mask. That’s hypocrisy. Or the politician who’s staunchly opposed to abortion, and then you find out he paid for his girlfriend to get an abortion. That’s hypocrisy. And it’s a really quick way for people to lose their credibility.

The opposite of hypocrisy is integrity. “Integrity” comes from the same root as the word “integer.” Remember what an integer is? It’s a whole number. So to have integrity means you are whole or undivided. You’re the same person in front of a TV news camera as you are in your personal life. The things you support on social media are the things you support in your actual life. Your actions line up with your words. You have integrity. It’s the opposite of being a hypocrite.

You know what I’ve found? It’s really easy to spot hypocrisy in other people. Isn’t it? It’s even kind of fun—“Oh, that guy’s such a hypocrite.” It’s much harder to see it in ourselves. And I really believe that one of the reasons the church has lost some credibility in our culture is that at times, we have walked in hypocrisy instead of integrity. And the world is watching. Our friends are watching. Our kids are definitely watching.

One of my very favorite works of art is “Starry Night,” by Vincent Van Gogh. Isn’t that a gorgeous painting? But a few years ago, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. I’ve always loved the warm glow of light from the windows of the houses. But then I looked at the windows of the church. What do the church windows look like? Completely dark. Van Gogh had had a very bad experience with the church—he felt like they didn’t treat him with the warmth and grace that they said they believed in—and I think he was subtly sending that message in this painting. Some of you are thinking, “You just ruined that painting for me forever.” Hypocrisy can do a lot of damage.

So the second chapter of this letter is all about hypocrisy and integrity. If there’s a part of my life where I’m living as a hypocrite, and making the darkness of this world even worse, man, I want to know that. Don’t you? And I want to know how I can change that, and start walking in the light. And that’s what this chapter is all about.

So let’s read the Scripture together—1 John 2, starting in verse 3. Hear the Word of God.

3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

14 I write to you, dear children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. This is the Word of the Lord.

So let’s talk about two things: The Signs of Hypocrisy and The Source of Integrity. The signs of hypocrisy and the source of integrity.

So, first: The Signs of Hypocrisy. If we’re willing to take an honest look in the mirror and allow God to show us our own hypocrisy, what should we look for? John gives us three tests.

First, The Obedience Test. Verse 3 says 3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. In other words, knowing God isn’t just a spiritual thing; it’s an ethical thing. It affects the way we live our lives. And if it doesn’t, we don’t really know God.

When John was writing this, there was a philosophy that was just beginning to gain popularity. It was called Gnosticism, and its followers were called Gnostics. The Greek word gnosis means “knowledge,” so Gnostics believed they had been enlightened with true knowledge about God. And they said the

way you get this knowledge is experiencing mystical insights and visions from God. And when you’ve been enlightened like that, you no longer need to worry about commandments and ethics and all that boring stuff—you’re above all that. And John realized that teaching was beginning to spread within the church, so he says, “No, no, no! You can’t separate knowing God from living a righteous life!” And that’s always been the teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament: the more you truly know God, the more you will want to eagerly follow his commandments.

In Titus 1:16, Paul makes a similar point. He’s talking about hypocrites within the church, and he says They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good. Why don’t you tell us what you really think, Paul? Paul doesn’t mince words, does he? Because he realizes that hypocrisy in the church is disastrous. It darkens our windows and damages our testimony.

Now: there’s an important qualifier in verse 6. Listen: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. So when we think about obeying God’s commands, the perfect model of what that looks like is found…where? In the life and teaching of Jesus. So let’s define obedience according to Jesus, not according to the Pharisees. For example, in the law, God says, “Do not murder.” The Pharisees said, “Okay—I’ve never killed anyone, so I’m good.” Jesus said, “If you’ve had nasty thoughts about someone, you’ve murdered them in your heart.” So Jesus raised the bar and showed the heart behind the law.

So how do you honestly assess if you’re failing the obedience test? I was speaking with someone from The Chapel last week, and she was wrestling with an ethical decision. And she said, “I’ve been up all night thinking about this, because I have a really sensitive conscience.” And if you have a sensitive conscience, you’re going to come to the obedience test, and you’re going to beat yourself up. Because if you look hard enough, you’re going to find places where you don’t follow God’s commands, right? So here’s my counsel: ask yourself, “Do I have a strong desire to obey God? Is that my driving passion?” John Calvin said this is talking about “those who strive, according to the capacity of human infirmity, to form their life in obedience to God.” Let me ask you: are you striving to form your life in obedience to God? Because if you are, of course you’re going to fail sometimes—but God sees your heart. And like John said in chapter one, God is eager to forgive when we confess. That woman who called me about that ethical decision was striving to form her life in obedience to God—that’s why she called me—she wanted to get it right. And that shows her heart was aiming in the right direction.

So…that’s the first test. “We know that we’ve come to know him if we keep his commands.”

The second test is The Love Test. Look at verse 9: 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. If you have a genuine relationship with God, it will come out in the way you treat people. Anyone walking in the light of Christ will be a lover of people, not a hater.

Now: John actually introduces this second test starting up in verse 7—look what he says: 7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. So this command to love people is found way back in the Old Testament: love your neighbor as yourself. That’s not a new concept. But then in verse 8 he says: 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him… And the “him” refers to Jesus. So it’s sort of an old command, but it’s been updated and refreshed and redefined by Jesus. The law said to love your neighbor; Jesus said, “Love your enemies too.” Whoa. Jesus said, “I love you so much I’m going to lay down my life for you, and you should be willing to lay down your lives for each other, too.” Wow. “In

fact,” he said, “This is how people will know you’re my disciples—if you love each other like that.” Jesus made really big deal out of love.

And John is saying, “Since that’s so important to Jesus, if we claim to follow him, it needs to be really obvious in our lives. And if not, we’re actually living with hatred.” That’s a strong word, isn’t it? And John speaks in very strong terms: light and darkness; truth and lies; love and hatred. So for John, if you’re not loving people, you’re actually, by default, hating them. If you walk by the wounded guy on the side of the road, you’re not just not loving him; you’re hating him. If you make no effort to welcome the stranger or clothe the naked or visit the prisoner or help the sick—Jesus talked about all of those, right?—if you make no effort to love those people around you, you’re not just not loving them; you’re hating them. I think John is trying to get our attention.

In one of his books, author Erwin Lutzer re-told the story he had heard from a Christian living in Nazi Germany. Listen to these words:

I lived in Germany during the Nazi Holocaust. I considered myself a Christian. We heard stories of what was happening to the Jews, but we tried to distance ourselves from it, because what could anyone do to stop it?

A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we could hear the whistle in the distance and then the wheels coming over the tracks. We became disturbed when we heard the cries coming from the train as it passed by. We realized that it was carrying Jews like cattle in the cars!

Week after week the whistle would blow. We dreaded to hear the sound of those wheels because we knew that we would hear the cries of the Jews en route to a death camp. Their screams tormented us.

We knew the time the train was coming, and when we heard the whistle blow we began singing hymns. By the time the train came past our church, we were singing at the top of our voices. If we heard the screams, we sang more loudly and soon we heard them no more.

Years have passed, and no one talks about it anymore. But I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. God forgive me; forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians yet did nothing to intervene.

According to John—according to the Bible—that’s hatred. And that’s hypocrisy—it contradicts the message of Christ, and it breaks the heart of God. I think one of the reasons God laid the City of Paterson on my heart so strongly, and why I’m so passionate about loving and serving the people of that city, is because I had allowed my suburban Christianity to keep me from loving some people who live twelve miles away. And that was hypocritical.

Look again at verses 10 and 11: 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. Think about that! When we fail to love—when we live self-indulgent lives, wrapped up in ourselves—life becomes meaningless. It’s like we’re walking in the dark. But John says when you love, it’s like the lights get turned on, and you gain a purpose for life.

Okay—third test: The Materialism Test. Verse 15: Do not love the world or anything in the world. This can be confusing, because John 3:16 says For God so love the world… So why shouldn’t we love

the world like God does? Well, totally different meaning of “world.” The world that God loves is the people of the world—he loved us enough to send his Son to die for us. But in this context, “the world” means the world system that excludes God. The material world. Don’t give your deepest love to anything in this material world. Why not? Verse 17: because the world and its desires pass away! It’s all temporary!

If I get too excited about the Giants playoff game today (I mean, let’s get practical, right?)…if that’s super important to me, and my heart is deeply wrapped up in it, I’m being foolish, because NFL football is such a temporary thing. Last time I read Revelation, there was no football in heaven. So be careful about giving your heart to something that’s temporary. Your sports team; your house; your car; your favorite vacation spot—none of those are bad things! And we can enjoy those things. But if we start loving them, like it says in verse 16, they can lead to envy and pride and distracting us from God.

So…those are the three signs of hypocrisy: the obedience test, the love test, and the materialism test. If we claim to follow Christ and we fail any of those tests, there is some level of hypocrisy in us. If you’re being honest, you probably didn’t pass all three test with flying colors. Right? And maybe God has used his Word to put his finger on some specific issues in your life.

So how do we respond? How do we turn from hypocrisy to integrity? Let’s talk about The Source of Integrity. And first, let me tell you how not to do it. This is how not to respond when you realize you’ve been a hypocrite—you ready? Don’t resolve to try harder. Don’t make a list of all the ways you failed the obedience test and the love test and the materialism test, and put that list on your bathroom mirror, and promise yourself every day, “I’m not going to do that anymore!” Don’t do that. Why not? Because when we do that—if that’s the approach you take—one of two things will happen. If you’re pretty successful, you’ll become a self-righteous jerk, and you’ll look down on everybody else. If you’re pretty unsuccessful, you’ll become depressed and you’ll hate yourself. Either way, righteousness without a relationship will make you rotten. (that’s kind of catchy). Pursuing righteousness without a relationship with God never ends will.

So how should we respond? The answer is found in the little poetic section in verses 12 through 14. Listen to how it starts:

12 I am writing to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. 13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one.

When John says “children” and “fathers” and “young men,” I don’t think he’s talking to literal children and fathers, etc. He’s talking about different stages of Christian maturity, and he’s emphasizing different truths for different stages of maturity. But really, all of these things apply to all Christians. So if we can get our hands around these truths—if we can find our identity here—then we will have the power to live lives of integrity.

So, three truths about every true believer in Christ.

First, The forgiveness of Christ. Some of you grew up in homes with very harsh parents. And if you did something wrong, forgiveness did not come easy. There was anger; there was lots of guilt and shaming. So you always felt like you were walking on eggshells; you couldn’t do anything right. And as

soon as you got old enough, you spent as little time at home as possible, right? Why? Why would you stay away from a home like that? Because the human heart needs grace. The human heart needs forgiveness. And when it’s lacking, we instinctively stay away, and eventually we resent it.

So look at verse 12: I am writing to you, dear children, because if you try hard enough, your sins will be forgiven. Is that what it says? What does it say? …because your sins have been forgiven on account of his name. This is a done deal. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ, every sin you’ve ever committed or ever will commit is covered by his blood. Forgiven. He’s not like those harsh parents that you couldn’t do anything right. He is full of grace. And the more you realize that, the more you want to be around him, and worship him, and serve him. And that’s when your life takes on integrity.

Secondly, The knowledge of Christ. Verse 13: I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. You know him. Just like John actually knew Jesus in a personal way, he says, “You know him.” Now, maybe you don’t feel like you know him that well, but if you’re a believer—if you’ve received Christ—the door is open and he’s just waiting for you to lean in and know him better. Later in this book, there’s a phrase that I love—it says “perfect love drives out fear.” In other words, the reason we should obey God and live with integrity is not because we’re afraid he’s going to crush us if we don’t. The more we know Christ, the more we’ll see his love for us, and the more we’ll want to serve him and honor him.

And then finally, to turn from hypocrisy to integrity, we need to see that we have The spiritual power of Christ. Look at the second part of verse 13: I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. There is a spiritual battle going on. And there is a spiritual enemy trying to drag you down. 1 Peter 5:8 says Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. And if you don’t believe that, you’re even more vulnerable. So think about this: what Satan wants, really badly, is lots of Christian hypocrites. Don’t you think? Satan wants pastors getting caught in affairs; he wants Christian business people committing fraud; he wants Christian college students gossiping; he wants to mess you up and drag you down. Because that way, the lights of the church grow dark, and people turn away from God.

But look at this truth in 1 John 2:13—you have overcome the evil one. You have! You’re probably thinking, “How did I do that?” And the answer is, “Jesus did it for you.” When Jesus was tempted by Satan, he never gave in once. And then on the cross, he broke the power of Satan once and for all. Jesus overcame the evil one. And if you are in him, you get in on his victory, and you have access to his power. You just have to claim it. You just have to walk in it. Because of Christ, Satan has no power to drag you down. He can try, and he will try, but greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

So when you’re tempted to hate; when you’re tempted to cheat; when you’re tempted to binge; when you’re tempted to be a hypocrite, recognize the spiritual battle, and claim the power of Christ. You have overcome the evil one; now live like it.

Hypocrisy is such a damaging thing, isn’t it? It drives people away from the church; it drives people away from God. But thank God, the reverse is also true: integrity is so powerful. Jesus walked in beautiful integrity—his life always matched up with his words. And he’s calling us, as his people—his church—to walk in integrity. We’ll never be perfect, but the more we lean into the forgiveness of Christ, and the knowledge of Christ, and the spiritual power of Christ—in other words, the more we lean into Christ, we will naturally live out what we believe. And the light will shine out from this church, and the light will shine out from your life, and the darkness will not overcome it.