Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

You’ve probably at some point in your life been told not to air your dirty laundry. But I’m going to challenge you this morning to do just the opposite. This may sound like bad advice, but I want you to understand it at least this morning as referring to your sin. Confession of sin is perhaps one of the most difficult actions we can take. It’s like taking off your shoes and letting everyone smell your dirty, sweaty socks.

Nobody likes to admit that they’re wrong. But in order for us to have a relationship with God, we must air our dirty laundry before Him, so that He will wash us clean.

“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.” (1 John 1:5-10)

It’s important to note that everything that we know about God comes from God Himself (v. 5a). We don’t just make things up about God. We must not create God in our own image.

I read a book not long ago titled, “Imaginary Jesus.” The author tells a story in which he had constructed a false version of Jesus who he worshiped, but in reality wasn’t worthy of worship. Only the real Jesus is worthy of worship. We must accept God’s self-revelation of Himself.

Notice where this truth about God came from. John wrote that “we” have heard it from “him.” The apostles received the truth about God from Jesus Christ Himself, whether through Christ’s teaching while on the earth, or through the full revelation which came by the Holy Spirit. We know about God and who He is because God reveals Himself to us.

God reveals Himself to us through the world around us. Every element in all of Creation points to the Creator. Every flower, every creature, from the smallest to the largest, and even the vastness of the universe testifies that God made them all. God made all these things and they work together so perfectly that there is no other explanation but God.

But God reveals Himself even more fully through the Bible. We have God’s perfect Word, and we must not seek to redefine who God is. Not only can we know that God exists, we can know things about Him. He is a personal, knowable God.

We learn, here, that God is light, and in the light (v. 5b, 7). His glory shines so bright that it eliminates all darkness, and the light of His glory illuminates Himself so that we can see how glorious He is. But what does it mean that God is light? He is truth (v. 8). He is morally pure (2:8, 17).

If we walk with God, we walk in the light, not in darkness (v. 6-7). This just makes sense, right? If God is light, in whom there is no darkness, then if we walk with Him, then we, too, will be in the light. So what does it mean for us to walk in the light? I think it’s really easy to know what it means to walk in darkness. We’ve all been there.

But walking the light is somehow more difficult to describe. Maybe this is because we don’t walk in the light enough. But it’s really simple. If God is light, and this means that God is truth and morally pure, then for us to walk in the light, it means that we must believe truth and live according to God’s Word. There is a lot of falsehood in the world. If we desire to walk in the light, we must shun all falsehood. If we desire to walk in the light, we must own up to how we’ve broken God’s Law, how we have not and cannot obey it perfectly, and how we need God’s grace.

You have heard that it was said, “don’t air your dirty laundry.” But I say to you, you must air your dirty laundry before Him if you want live in His light. God sees what is done in secret, both the good and the bad. Don’t try to hide or mask your sin before God. If you try to hide your sin from God, you both deceive yourself and call God a liar (v. 8, 10).

We are not only to confess our sins to God, but to one another. The Bible says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.” (James 5:16a). We’re really comfortable in the church praying for health problems. But how often do we hear a brother or sister in Christ say, “I’m struggling with anger towards my coworker. Please pray for me.” Is it because we don’t sin? No, it’s because the church has somehow gotten more ashamed of the fact that we’re each individually sinners, rather than collectively rejoicing in the grace of God.

We need to confess our sins to each other. We confess our sins to each other so that we all stay humble together. We confess our sins to each other so that we can forgive each other. We confess our sins to each other so that we can pray for each other.

So airing your dirty laundry is a biblical concept. So why do people say not to do this? The problem comes in because we don’t want to air our own dirty laundry, but someone else’s. It’s easy for us to want to shine a light on the deeds of others. It’s a lot easier to talk about the faults of others. But God wants us to walk in the light. The text is clear about how we walk in the light. We must confess our sins to God. Then, having confessed our sins to God, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.